Euro area’s hopeful graph: retail trade up
In March 2012 compared with February 2012, the volume of retail trade rose by 0.3% in the euro area and by 0.7% in the EU. In February, retail…
World economy
China’s PMI: reading between the lines
BEIJING | The question on whether China’s economy is expanding or contracting is like answering whether the glass is half full or half empty. The positive…
UK unemployment and government borrowing to exceed forecasts, CBI warns
LONDON | The Confederation of British Industry said Thursday that household spending will remain subdued, with weak wage growth and unemployment rising to a peak…
Thursday’s graphs: Spanish energy consumption shows recovery
Energy consumption in Spain during the past four weeks brought gas demand back to positive figures and stopped further falls in electricity. Red Eléctrica and…
Reagan? He loved his big deficit, too
By Luis Arroyo, in Madrid | Here’s one more example of how politics constantly enters the economics arena with the firm intention of interfering in…
Monday’s euro zone graphs: business investment and profit share slightly down
Bad news for those in Brussels and Berlin who expected higher competitiveness through austerity budgets. Eurostat said today that in the fourth quarter of 2011,…
Jeffrey Sachs defends European model
NEW YORK | The debate between austerity or growth to cure Europes illness is in full swing. Austerians are, though, losing support. A consensus is…
The British multi-million pound property market heats up: crisis, do you say?
LONDON | Although less than 0.5% of homes in Britain would be affected by the increase in the stamp duty rate for multi-million pound homes…
Can the euro mess up the US economy? Yes, it can!
By Luis Arroyo, in Madrid | What I would like to do here is bringing a magnifying glass on to a recent lapse of time and…
JP Morgan believes Wall Street is set to shrink with or without Obama
LONDON | The US 2012 election result can do little to change the fate of Wall Street under the extreme pressures of a global credit…