The IFO business index fell to 106.9 from 109.9 in April, only slightly above its recent low in October 2011 of 106.5. This was worse than the consensus expectations, which fell to 100.9 from 102.7, while the assessment of the current situation dropped to 113.3 from 117.5 in April. The IFO index is a monthly economic report, it surveys over 7,000 companies in Germany to obtain their opinion of the…
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 see if the fourth euro crisis (yes, I said fourth) has somehow cooled the US economy down. It’s possible, you know. In the US, the authorities are beginning to see signs of how the economic activity is loosing steam, such as in weekly claims for unemployment…
MADRID | According to a report by the market and opinion research firm TNS Sofres about the image of France in the world, for 72% of the French “Spain is the country they like the most.” The study, released by the French Embassy in Spain, also reveals that 66% of Spaniards are drawn to the Gallic country, 76% rate the bilateral relations as ‘excellent’ and 61% believe that these have improved…
By Consenso del Mercado | After the difficulties Germany experienced in placing its bonds last week, it seems to have somehow relaxed its official position and be willing to let the ECB buy the required massive amounts of sovereign debt, even though under certain conditions. In this regard, Spanish Bankinter analysts argue that Germany is the country that would be the least interested in a euro breaking down. Here´s why….
Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi will have to postpone again the release of his next love songs record, titled True Love, after the third European economy has been forced to accept a surveillance action by the IMF and the EU during the introduction of the country’s reform plan. Italy has committed itself to perform a work reform, relax the restrictions on the corporate sector, change the age retirement from 65…
By Luis Arroyo, in Madrid | In case you needed tangible proof of the harmful role the ECB played in the crisis, in the FT, Martin Wolf writes an open letter to Trichet’s imminent successor to the presidency of the ECB, Mario Draghi. The letter is an excellent article that convincingly explains why the ECB should stabilize the debt markets of solvent countries such as Italy and Spain, which are the…
By Luis Arroyo, in Madrid | In case you needed tangible proof of the harmful role the ECB played in the crisis, in the FT, Martin Wolf writes an open letter to Trichet’s imminent successor to the presidency of the ECB, Mario Draghi. The letter is an excellent article that convincingly explains why the ECB should stabilize the debt markets of solvent countries such as Italy and Spain, which are the…