In Europe

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Swiss leaks: HSBC under fire after admitting to have helped conceal $100 billion

MADRID | The Corner | After the biggest banking leak in history, British bank HSBC admitted on Sunday that its Swiss subsidiary systematically helped big fortunes dodge taxes and hide millions of dollars of assets. Switzerland and the whole industry are under the spotlight: long known for its banking secrecy, the country signed a fiscal transparency agreement with Brussels in 2004 which has proved insufficient. A new, enlarged version of the accord is being debated now and expected to be ready in 2018. But will it be enough? And what until then? 

 

 


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Greek government has little to lose

MADRID | By JP Marín ArreseBy taking pre-emptive action against Greece, Draghi is behaving like the Nottingham Sheriff ruthlessly enforcing law and order according to Berlin rules. He was forced to act only by the end of this month. Taking on his own the task of imposing a 7-day ultimatum to Tsipras, he has shattered his neutral stance as a monetary policymaker. Yet, his move might backfire should Greece refuse caving in to pressure. After all, it has little to lose. 



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Gibraltar’s Dep PM: “No contraband or money laundering, only tourism”

BRUSSELS | By Jacobo de RegoyosReports several months ago claimed that smuggling and money laundering were on the rise in Gibraltar. In an exclusive interview with The Corner, Gibraltar´s Deputy Chief Minister, Joseph Garcia, makes an impassioned defence of the territory´s record, claiming that the measures in place to combat such problems are among the strongest in Europe. He also laments the deterioration of relations with the Spanish Government and calls for a reopening of diplomatic channels. 


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Mixed news for Spanish economy

MADRID | The Corner | Spanish Industrial Production figures proved disappointing on Friday, with results revealing that the sector had fallen 0.3% month-on- month and 0.9% year-on- year. The figures will be of some concern to the Finance Ministry given that the economy has recorded seven consecutive months of negative inflation. 



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Draghi corners Tsipras

MADRID | By JP Marín ArreseTsipras rebellion was ruthlessly quelled by the ECB governing board last night. Neither Greek sovereigns, nor publicly-guaranteed bond issues, will stand as eligible collateral for funding facilities, thus plunging the financial system into a crippling credit-crunch. The emergency liquidity arrangement managed by the local central bank severely caps new public financing to a meagre €3.5 billion amount. The new government faces the unpalatable choice between surrender or bankruptcy.


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Pressure on Greek debt: A nudge or a punch in Athens’ face?

MADRID | The Corner | Despite the markets’  first negative reaction to the ECB’s restricting Greece access to its direct liquidity lines, Morgan Stanley analysts reminded on Thursday that nobody should be that surprised: in 2012, one third of the Greek balance sheets were financed by the ECB, and most via ELA. Plus, Greek banks can still get ECB liquidity if they use ECB eligible collateral.


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All smiles and handshakes for Tsipras’ EC visit (before ECB tightened the rope)

BRUSSELS | By Alexandre Mato | The leader of the European Commission, Jean Claude Juncker, offered a friendly welcome to the Greek Prime Minister at the Commission entrance on Wednesday. There were no speeches, nor questions from journalists. After posing in front of the cameras, Juncker took Tsipras’ hand, the two leaving the photo-call as ‘lovers’. And some hours later, in a not that surprising move, Draghi banned the use of the Greek debt as collateral for the European Central Bank’s. The euro continued falling versus the U.S. dollar after the news: it hit $1.1304 — close to its 11-year low — before stabilizing at $1.1354 around 0540 GMT.


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Less is more: The Greek government needs a chisel, not a sledgehammer

By Jens Bastian via MacroPolisThe parliamentary majority achieved by the SYRIZA-led coalition government following the 25 January elections constitutes a strong political mandate in mathematical terms. Among one of the many immediate challenges facing the new administration is trying to translate its numerical advantage into a majority of support among Greek citizens, including those who did not vote for the senior coalition party.