UK Commercial Property Data Response Colliers/Real Estate Capital Pricing Survey The most interesting aspect of the latest Colliers/Real Estate Capital (REC) property pricing survey was that it indicated a rise in prime yields in recent months. To the extent that this marks a... 28th March 2012 · 1 min read
Nordic & Swiss Economics Focus Lessons from the Icelandic crisis Three years after entering a depression, Iceland has staged an impressive turnaround, which, on the face of it, bodes well for the peripheral euro-zone economies that have suffered from similar... 27th March 2012 · 1 min read
Canada Economic Outlook Better export growth will help bolster GDP growth We expect GDP growth to slow after the first quarter, as consumption growth fades and housing investment begins to decline. Only a pick-up in business investment growth and a positive contribution... 27th March 2012 · 1 min read
US Data Response Consumer Confidence (Mar.) The slight fall in the Conference Board's measure of consumer confidence to 70.2 in March, from a 12-month high of 71.6, only reversed a small portion of the gain in February. We are not too worried... 27th March 2012 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Focus Lessons from the Icelandic crisis Three years after entering a depression, Iceland has staged an impressive turnaround, which, on the face of it, bodes well for the peripheral euro-zone economies that have suffered from similar... 27th March 2012 · 1 min read
Japan Economics Update Tankan to signal return to anaemic growth The Bank of Japan’s Tankan survey for March (to be released on Monday) will probably show a small improvement in business conditions in the first quarter, consistent with a return to growth in GDP, as... 27th March 2012 · 1 min read
US Housing Market Data Response Case-Shiller House Prices (Jan.) The stabilisation in Case-Shiller house prices in January adds to other evidence that the housing market is on the mend. We expect that 2012 will go down in history as the year that the most severe... 27th March 2012 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Turkey and Hungary hamstrung by the markets Central banks in both Hungary and Turkey kept interest rates unchanged today as the recent increase in market tensions snuffed out any hope of a shift towards looser policy. We expect the bias towards... 27th March 2012 · 1 min read
Europe Commercial Property Update Are Polish retail occupier market conditions as healthy as they seem? Yesterday’s retail sales data from Poland suggest that occupier demand for retail floorspace in Warsaw is still strong relative to most of Europe. But the big picture is that consumer spending growth... 27th March 2012 · 1 min read
UK Commercial Property Update The best may have passed for hotel property returns The Olympics are now only four months away and one obvious, potential beneficiary is the London hotel sector. But even if London hotels do receive a boost, this won’t disguise the weak demand... 27th March 2012 · 1 min read
Japan Data Response SME Confidence (Mar.) Confidence among Japan’s small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) jumped sharply in March after several months of small declines. However, sentiment is clearly fragile as firms expect conditions to... 27th March 2012 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update Argentine Q4 slowdown is a sign of things to come Official GDP data continue to overstate the health of Argentina’s economy and we estimate that growth slowed to 4.5% y/y in Q4. The current economic model is reaching its limits, and with little... 27th March 2012 · 1 min read
Capital Daily Treasuries unlikely to be rocked by a buoyant labour market 27th March 2012 · 1 min read
Commodities Update Global outlook still points to lower commodity prices A quick review of recent developments in the world economy supports our relatively downbeat forecasts for the prices of the commodities, notably oil and industrial metals, most sensitive to global... 26th March 2012 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update A tough year ahead for Vietnam after Q1 growth slows sharply GDP in Vietnam grew by just 4.0% y/y in the first quarter of 2012 – the weakest rate of expansion since the first quarter of 2009. The economy faces a difficult year in 2012 due to a combination of... 26th March 2012 · 1 min read
