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Articles by Ana Fuentes

About the Author

Ana Fuentes
Columnist for El País and a contributor to SER (Sociedad Española de Radiodifusión), was the first editor-in-chief of The Corner. Currently based in Madrid, she has been a correspondent in New York, Beijing and Paris for several international media outlets such as Prisa Radio, Radio Netherlands or CNN en español. Ana holds a degree in Journalism from the Complutense University in Madrid and the Sorbonne University in Paris, and a Master's in Journalism from Spanish newspaper El País.
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In Europe 3rd September 2014

ECB: We need a QE shot (not 17 of them, JPMorgan)

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.

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In Europe 3rd September 2014

Spain may press criminal charges against Pujol tax fraud

MADRID | By Ana Fuentes | According to the US-based organisation One, corruption takes around $1tn a year out of poor countries and kills millions. Yet this evil is not strange to developed nations. In Spain, 127 politicians are facing corruption charges although they have not lost their jobs. The last big scandal affects former Catalan leader Jordi Pujol, who in July admitted hiding an inheritance abroad for more than 30 years. A storm embarrassing the current ruling regional government who has called a referendum in November on whether the region should break from the rest of Spain. Madrid may seek criminal charges, Spanish Budget Minister Cristobal Montoro (see picture above) said on Tuesday. For some analysts, this could be a strategy to dent nationalism support.

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Markets 31st July 2014

Do Aussie central bankers have a “good enough” solution?

Benjamin Cole via Historinhas | The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) shoots for an “inflation band” of between 2 percent and 3 percent, and the Aussie economy (as recently illustrated here by Marcus Nunes) has been among the best-performing following the 2008 Great Recession. Could it be that simple? Should central banks merely shoot for a somewhat flexible and slightly higher inflation target? Worth noting is the People’s Bank of China has overseen much prosperity with a 4 percent inflation target.

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World economy 31st July 2014

China: optimism on the rise again

MADRID | The Corner | Once again markets have embraced optimism about China, leaving fears of a hard landing and a credit crisis that dominated in 1Q behind. As Barclays analysts pointed out on Thursday, the onshore equity market has risen 6% in the past two weeks, with the low-valuation bank and property sectors advancing more than 10%. 

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World economy 31st July 2014

Argentina: Griesa’s ruling sets dangerous precedent in debt restructuring processes

MADRID | The Corner | Many got it all wrong: the problem with Argentina is not the so-called “second default in 12 years,” but U.S. District Judge Thomas Griesa’s ruling. The country will need to pay holdouts $1.33 billion plus interest. And that sets an extremely dangerous precedent for future restructuring processes of sovereign debt. No bond-holder will accept a haircut knowing that, at the end of the day, he could ask for the full amount. (Fig left: Argentina’s national reserves; right: sovereign CDS).

 

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Markets 30th July 2014

ECB: credit standards on EZ loans eased for the first time since 2007

MADRID | The Corner | A further sign of a recovery in credit: standards on loans within the eurozone have been eased for the first time in the 2Q in seven years, just before the financial crisis bursted, the ECB said in its regular Banking Lending Survey released on Wednesday. Net demand continues to recover for both household and enterprise borrowing. However, as we reported, the open bar announced by Mr Draghi won’t have an impact on loans until 2015 and, meanwhile, credit fall continues to accelerate in some peripheral countries, especially in Spain and Italy.

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In Europe 23rd July 2014

Credit in Europe – is it finally set to turn?

LONDON | The Corner | The winners in the “race for recovery” are those who get credit flowing again. In their Wednesday comment, UBS Global Macro Team points out that “the key to recovery coming out of a credit crunch is to get credit flowing again: the US and, to a lesser degree, the UK managed this in the early years following the financial crisis, but the Eurozone is still grappling with the issue. We think this one factor is the best explanation for the outperformance of US equities over Europe post-crisis. The S&P 500 is up 190% from the March 2009 lows, whilst Europe is up 120%.”

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Markets 18th July 2014

ECB: AQR results will be included in stress tests

MADRID | The Corner | ECB’s upcoming stress tests will have have the AQR findings incorporated (the so-called “join-up”), an element that was previously missing. And banks will be informed of the full and final results only shortly before they are communicated to the markets, as the central bank published on Thursday.