The Corner | April 8,2015 | German factory output disappoints as fears of slowdown in the U.S and China hit exporters in Europe’s largest economy despite the weakened state of the euro. Elsewhere, retail sales are expected to contract in the euro area having shown gains since the final months of 2014.
MADRID | April 7, 2015 | By Fernando G. Urbaneja | There are two lingering black marks against the Spanish economy. The first is rampant unemployment, which is second only to Greece in the euro area and the OECD. The second is a large budget deficit-the largest in Europe-which remains stubbornly high and is still some way off the target of 3% of GDP. Against that backdrop, the Spanish economy has returned to stronger growth this year, with forecasts showing the economy could expand by as much as 3%.
The Corner | April 7, 2015 | Although the eurozone PMI for March was slightly disappointing, confidence reached its highest level since 2007, according to data released on Tuesday.
The Corner | April 6, 2015 |Figures released today show that unemployment in Spain has fallen again, with Spanish consumers more confident than ever about the trajectory of the economy.
April 6, 2015 | Guest post by Jean Tirole | Embroiled with the Greek crisis, European policymakers will soon have to step back and reflect on the broader question of the future of the Eurozone. Before calling for an exit or, on the contrary, for further integration, it is worth pondering over the consequences of each option.
The Corner | April 2, 2015 | Manos Giakoumis, chief analyst with Greek financial website Marcropolis, speaks to The Corner about the most pressing issues currently confronting the Greek government. He notes that the ECB squeeze on Greek banks issuance of T-bills could prove problematic in the month ahead, and says that the thorny issue of privatisations could continue to thwart negotiations with the country’s creditors.
The Corner | April 2, 2015 | La Caixa Research | Competitiveness gains in the Spanish economy are set to persist as wage increases continue to lag behind other euro zone countries.
BRUSSELS | April 1, 2015 | By Alexandre Mato | Former British MEP Stuart Holland, who was economic assistant to Jaques Delors when the French politician was the EC President, speaks out against German finance minister Wolfgang Schäuble’s negative influence in attempting to derail the Juncker Plan.
The Corner | March 31, 2015 | German and Spanish retail sales have improved markedly compared with this time last year. Unemployment figures for the euro zone are expected to fall slightly, while results of EU inflation figures will be keenly monitored in the wake of the ECB’s sovereign bond purchasing programme, launched earlier this month.
ATHENS | March 30, 2015 | By Manos Giakoumis via MacroPolis | Following the Eurogroup decision on February 20, Greece returned 10.9 billion (European Financial Stability Fund) EFSF bonds at the end of the previous month. That transaction reduced accordingly the country’s debt and the debt to GDP ratio by more than 6 percentage points.