NN IP: Die Zeichen der Zeit

ECB in wait-and-see mode but ready to act if necessary

Since the ECB’s March meeting, the news on inflation expectations has not materially improved. For now the bank needs time to assess the impact of the measures taken in March, and  is very much in wait-and-see mode. This does not mean that the ECB is sitting back and relaxing. 

Sign of the times

Will we ever get back to the growth rates from before the crisis? Will policy makers be able to solve the puzzle that monetary, fiscal and regulatory challenges pose and design the right institutional framework to manage it all? The only thing we know is that we do not know the answers to these questions.

Spread products discount a mild economic recovery

Credit spreads have tightened again in the past weeks, thanks to a broadening of the improvement in macroeconomic data surprises worldwide. Next to fading global growth concerns, also the fears of a nearing turn in the credit cycle have receded.

Will cyclical optimism finally start to pay out?

The Q1 earnings season is so far nothing to get enthusiastic about, especially not in the Eurozone. Earnings therefore fail to move markets higher. There is however one interesting observation in equity markets and that is the renewed outperformance of cyclical sectors.