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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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World economy 13th May 2014

EU rules against Google in ‘right to be forgotten’ case

MADRID | By Ana Fuentes | The EU highest court backing the right to be forgotten has taken Google by surprise. The Internet giant cannot longer refuse to erase personal information of citizens who request it. The sentence, which is setting a crucial precedent in the history of the Web, has raised an intense debate about censorship and the boundaries of tech giants. From now on, no matter how powerful online providers are, in EU soil they will need to comply with European law unless they have “legitimate” reason to do otherwise.

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Markets 28th April 2014

Former ECB executive: Draghi’s inaction weighing on credit lending

MADRID | By The Corner | For the first time a Spanish bank top executive has openly criticized the impact of the European Central Bank’s inaction on EZ credit lending. Spanish 2nd bank BBVA’s Jose Manuel Gonzalez-Paramo, also a former ECB board member, explained how banks are waiting to see which unconventional measures will Mr Draghi undertake, which is “fundamental for credit,” he said to Reuters on Monday. Some entities are also holding back on new credit plans and selling sovereign debt before the health checks due around October. 

 

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Markets 24th April 2014

Waiting for QE (hope it’s not like Godot)

MADRID | By Ana Fuentes | ECB policy makers are increasingly open about an eventual QE. Executive Board Member Benoît Coeuré was recently interviewed by French newspaper Le Monde. He weighed in austerity measures taken, and how could the ECB influence the level of the euro. As the central bank seems to be actually leaning towards unconventional measures, bonds and equity markets have already anticipated any announcements by Mario Draghi. But some fear what would happen if it was only lip service. What happened with the “whatever it takes” to preserve the eurozone’s integrity? 

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In Europe 23rd April 2014

BoE raises expectations (and ECB misses them)

MADRID | By Ana Fuentes | As ECB officials spend their time debating what form of QE the euro zone needs to fight deflation risk (note that although its inflation target is 2%, the central bank keeps on sitting on its hands while its balance sheet is shrinking), more data point to the positive effects of unconventional measures on growth. Check this one recently published by the Bank of England: the mere announcement of a QE shot corresponding to 1% of GDP caused a 0.36% real GDP increase and a 0.38% CPI rise in the U.S. ­–a little less in the U.K. Indeed, hope can move mountains… and money.

 

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Markets 22nd April 2014

Market chatter: well-rested European stocks are back to work

MADRID | By Jaime Santisteban | European markets are happily back from Easter as Wall Street enjoys its highest gains in 6 months. Spanish Ibex 35 keeps last week’s positive mood. Risk premium drops to 155 basis points. Spanish Treasury will sell up to 3 billion euros in 3-month and 9-month bills today.

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Markets 10th April 2014

Market chatter: T-bills auction time!

MADRID | By Jaime Santisteban | Time for EU peripherals’ sovereign debt auctions: Spain, Italy, Ireland and most importantly, Greece, which is back on the market after 4 years. Note that the successful Greek sale pushed down the yields of its neighbors. Besides, Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund has become shareholder of Colonial, following the steps of big finance firms like Fidelity that recently renewed their bet for Spanish listed companies and volatile real estate. Colonial rose by 14.3 % at the closing bell.

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World economy 10th April 2014

Inflation: the “target” has become a “barrier”

SAO PAULO | By Marcus Nunes via Historinhas | The Fed’s (and central banks in general) preferred tactic is “wait-and-see”, usually expressed in the form of “we will monitor closely”! Instead of becoming a focal point for the coordination of expectations, inflation has become a barrier to getting the economy’s recovery back on track.

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Markets 9th April 2014

Greece comes down the Olympus

MADRID | By The Corner | After years of painful restructuring and international bashing, Greek bond yields at 4-year low ahead of auction.

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In Europe 4th April 2014

Popular to purchase Citibank’s retail banking business in Spain

MADRID | By Ana Fuentes | After months of conversations and rumours, Citi is closing a deal with Spanish Banco Popular to sell its retail banking business in Spain, including 45 branches and 300 employees, sources close to the operation confirmed to The Corner’s Spanish stock markets site Consenso del Mercado on Thursday.