New NIBC Markets Roundup Available

THE HAGUE, The Netherlands - A new NIBC Markets Roundup is available on www.nibc.com, entitled:

US retail sales show that consumers still suffer

Key points are:

- Stock markets and government bond yields ended lower on Friday as concerns rose that there will not be a strong recovery, following weaker than expected US retail sales and consumer confidence (p.2 & p.3). - This week, the focus will be on housing market figures and business surveys in the US, on the PMI indices in the euro zone on Friday, and on CPI inflation in the UK tomorrow (p.2 & p.3). - The Chart of the Week shows industrial production and the wholesale inventories/sales ratio of durable goods in the United States. The modest US GDP contraction of -1.0% (q-on-q annualized) in Q2 came after sharp declines in Q4 and Q1 as exports fell less sharply than imports and government spending supported growth. Encouragingly, there are indications that the recession has ended over the last months. Yet, consumer spending fundamentals are still weak. Moreover, the expected positive GDP growth in Q3 and Q4 is mainly based on government spending and inventory developments. Indeed, inventories are still high compared to sales, but the pace of decline may moderate, thereby supporting GDP growth.

The full report is available on NIBC’s website: www.nibc.com/PRESS/RESEARCH/Pages/default.aspx

Regards,

NIBC Research

Web:www.nibc.com

Source: NIBC

For more information, please contact: Press: Corporate Communications, Phone: +31(0)70-342-56-25, Email: info at nibc.com; Investors and analysts: Investor Relations, Phone: +31(0)70-342-98-24, Email: hans.rijnberg at nibc.com