Jan 2012 - UK Economy KPIs

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Created on Tuesday, 21 February 2012 22:48

• Q4 growth disappointed with the econonmy slightly contracting.
• Bank of England maintain interest rate at 0.5%, and bond purchases target at £275bn.
• Inflation continues to decline, reaching a 6-month low at December

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Jan 2012 - European Economy KPIs

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Created on Tuesday, 21 February 2012 22:48

• The ECB cut rates for a second time at its December meeting, and announced unlimited 3-year liquidity support for banks.
• In Greece, the new coalition the government appears to have made little effort to adhere to its IMF/EU program while it has been negotiating with its creditors. With elections looming, the political environment will be one to watch in coming months.
• Overall Q4 Eurozone growth is flat, although a clear contrast between the core and the periphery, with core inflation is levelling off at moderate rates.

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Jan 2012 - Global Economy snapshot

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Created on Tuesday, 21 February 2012 22:48

Headlines:

• The Investment industry news at the start of 2012 has been dominated by the ECB’s long-term refinancing operation and its success will clearly be an important driver of economic and market activity.
• The impact of Trichet being replaced with Draghi appears to have had significant effects: a rate cut and a QE ‘type’ scheme, which has limited some of the short term issues of the stressed financial/economic institutions, although pressure to deleverage remains intense.

2012 - Global Economy Outlook

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Created on Tuesday, 21 February 2012 22:48

Headlines:

• Investment returns for 2012 on short maturity portfolios is speculated to be low given the low level of bond yields.
• The government announcements in 2011 regarding the short to medium term future of government bonds appears to have been taken in by the market, as reflected by the flatness of the front-end of yield curves for the US, UK, and Germany.
• Whilst with bond yields at historically low rates the downside risks are limited, any stronger than expected economic performance, particularly if accompanied by higher than target inflation indicators, could lead to markets discounting interest rate increases.

Year-end 2011 - US, UK, and European Economies

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Created on Thursday, 19 January 2012 22:48

Summary of the Key highlights/KPIs of the US, UK, and European economies over 2011

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Year-end 2011 - Global Economy

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Created on Monday, 16 January 2012 22:48

A good start to the financial year, but by the end of 2011, the finance headlines had been dominated by interest rating decisions, Sovereign debt, and more QE talk.

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