SANTANDER | By Ana Fuentes | European Commission President José Manuel Durao Barroso chose his last days in the job to dot the i’s and cross the t’s. Surprising many by his candor, he directly accused the Bank of Spain of making “important mistakes” supervising the financial sector. “It was not the EU nor Ms Merkel who originated the crisis,” he said.
BARCELONA | By Vinçent Navarro | Germany is not only about minijobs. Although Southern European economies are debating about this measure that Berlin took under Schröder’s government in order to tackle unemployment, much less is said about the German model or ‘Rhineland capitalism’, essentially based on works councils and co-management.
MADRID | By The Corner Team | Greek billionaire, investor, philanthropist and speculator Geoge Soros is well known for his pessimissm towards the euro and his enthusiasm for getting headlines. During a visit to London for his book tour, he made a case against the excess of austerity in the eurozone and critizised the recipes imposed by the German Parliament on its neighbours like Spain.
OP-ED By Ana Fuentes | Italy’s Corte dei Conti has opened an investigation against rating agencies for unjustified downgrading of the country in 2011 and 2012. S&P, Fitch and Moody’s face a potentially huge claim of €234bn for not considering Italy’s contribution to the world’s cultural patrimony. Will other countries follow Rome? Should the Parthenon or the Alhambra be taken into account when deciding Greece or Spain sovereign debt value?
WASHINGTON | By Pablo Pardo | Dean Tenerelli started investing in Spain one year ago. At the time, many of his colleagues thought that he was going too far. Certainly, he went further than anyone else. But, so far, his bet is rendering excellent yields. Tenerelli manages the T. Rowe Price European Stock, a SICAV with more than $900 million (approximately 700 million euros) in assets, of which around $150 million are in Spanish companies shares. Now, others, such as Bill Gates, Warren Buffett and Carlos Slim, have followed this manager’s example and have started to pour money into Spain. Tenerelli has talked with The Corner over the phone about his experience.
LONDON | By The Economist via Presseurop | It’s not just sovereign borrowing; there are too many zombie firms and overindebted households.
TURIN | By Marcello Sorgi at La Stampa via Presseurop | Silvio Berlusconi, repudiated by some of his associates, who forced him to back the vote of confidence in the Enrico Letta government, and in the process of being ousted from the Senate – a committee is to decide on October 4 whether he should be stripped of his seat – Il Cavaliere is moving towards an inevitable exit from the political stage.
NEW YORK | By Ana Fuentes | The Spanish Government has launched a charming offensive in the U.S. The United Nations General Assembly was the perfect excuse. PM Mariano Rajoy came to the Big Apple on a 36-hour-trip in order to push for a seat at the Security Council. Indeed. But the most important thing for him was to seduce American business media and send them a clear message: Spain’s economy is far better than it was one year ago.
NEW YORK | By Ana Fuentes | With the Syrian crisis dominating the G20 summit agenda, investors are expectant about the coming events and looking for the best plan. For many analysts oil is a better bet than sovereign bonds, since crude oil prices could jump more than 20 percent if a U.S. military strike drags other countries into the Syrian conflict.
MILAN| By Fabrizio Goria via Presseurop | Although German Chancellor Angela Merkel seems assured of victory, the German elections will be revelatory. The results should bring answers to a number of open questions concerning the future of the economy and of European institutions.