MADRID | The Corner | “The ECB’s quantitative easing in Europe came late compared to the US Fed’s but before we expected,” Barclays’ Alberto Vigil commented on Monday, who believes that a second round of QE stimulus in the eurozone is about to take place soon. “Little bears may become a little like bulls,” he ironizes. The combination of the QE with the strength of the American data has already brought a significant correction of the euro of 7%.
MADRID | The Corner | Mario Draghi finally unveiled the European Central Bank’s betting on further stimulating the eurozone: benchmark main refinancing rate will be cut from 0.15 per cent to 0.05 per cent and marginal deposit facility risen 0.1 per cent to 0.2 per cent. Also a programme to purchase a “broad portfolio of transparent asset-backed securities” will be in place from October this year. Thus, the ECB becomes the first central bank to announce large-scale asset purchases and negative deposit rates. Reactions were quick: the euro fell below the key threshold of $1.3 to hit a low of $1.2995.
MADRID | By J.P. Marín Arrese | Mario Draghi’s anxious call to governments, urging them to put the house in order by implementing a combined economic and monetary policy, seems the right course of action. Deflationary risks run high as prices fall well behind the medium-term target. Once again, the Eurozone seems stuck as the growth prospects dwindle. Nothing new, as its appalling record during the crisis shows. Filling gaps through moral lessons, instead of money, hardly solves deeply entrenched problems.
MADRID | The Corner | It’s speculation day before the European Central Bank’s tomorrow meeting. Will a QE plan finally be announced? Experts at Santander bank think that, if announced too early, it could damage TLTROs. JP Morgan economists believe there is a 30% chance we’ll get a QE shot in 2014, 50% next year. And they’ve come with a proposal we find erratic: 17 different bond buying plans, one for each state member. That is exactly the opposite direction the EU needs to be heading to.
MADRID | The Corner | The expectation that the ECB will finally announce a QE program after Draghi’s words at Jackson Hole and the confirmation that the ECB would have hired Blackrock for advice on launching a ABS program continue to nurture the Eurozone bond rally and thereby the credit one. Yesterday many bond markets in Europe returned to record lows with improvements in 10 years of 3bp (Germany), 2.5bp (Spain) and 2bp (Italy).
MADRID | By Francisco López | Are there reasons for such optimism after Draghi’s words in Jackson Hole? Yes, but only if Draghi dares to execute a program of sovereign debt purchases immediately. It happens that not all experts are clear that it will be the case. Especially, because the package of measures adopted by the ECB in June has still not been implemented: two TLTROs auctions and the Asset-Backed Securities (ABS) program. Would it not be better to wait to check the effects of these measures?
MADRID | The Corner | The idea that quantitative easing has been helping equities of the EM has been widely discussed: many believe the liquidity generated by QE is used to play the “carry”, and that’s why the end of QE and the rates rises may lead to the withdrawal of those positions. But that’s not so clear.
WASHINGTON | By Pablo Pardo | Mark Zandi is chief economist at Moody’s Analytics, the department in charge of consulting, advising and providing services for businesses and financial institutions. Among its many activities, the firm advices several European banks with regard to the EBA’s and ECB’s stress tests. Moody’s created this department in 2007, after buying Economy.com –Zandi’s analysis company.
MADRID | By J.P. Marín Arrese | Mario Draghi unveiled the requirements to be met for drawing cheap money from the targeted long-term facility on Thursday. Those look extremely loose and scarcely demanding. Banks may cash up to 7% of their net lending to businesses and households in the auctions scheduled later on this year. A move that could lead to a massive €400 billion funding injection, should bidders make full use of their potential rights. Borrowing four-year tranches at interest rates so low as 0.25%, seems indeed an unbeatable incentive.
ZURICH | By The Corner | As expected, the ECB did not unveil any new policy measures on Thursday. Although the Bank maintains an easing bias, it signalled that it wants to wait and see how the monetary stimulus delivered last month unfolds. UBS’ base case scenario remains that ECB rates will stay on hold for the foreseeable future and that QE will not be deployed. The key news from ECB’s meeting was more of a technical nature.