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Articles by The Corner

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The Corner
The Corner has a team of on-the-ground reporters in capital cities ranging from New York to Beijing. Their stories are edited by the teams at the Spanish magazine Consejeros (for members of companies’ boards of directors) and at the stock market news site Consenso Del Mercado (market consensus). They have worked in economics and communication for over 25 years.
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Markets 3rd April 2014

Market chatter: ECB’s talking yet non acting

MADRID | By Jaime Santisteban | “The IMF nor politicians will have influence on the ECB as long as Mr. Draghi is running it” Link’s chief analyst J.J. Figares points out. As expected, the monetary authority announced on Thursday that it will stand still in spite of deflation tensions, maintaining interest rates at an all-time-minimum 0.25 % and choosing not to use the little ammunition it has left. However, Mr. Draghi left the door open for stimulus if needed.

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Markets 3rd April 2014

China: shadow finance for the masses

Iris Mir | Tight control of capital accounts has pushed China to a financial deadlock.  Chinese savers are looking to new online investment platforms amid a  lack of substantial wealth management options. Last year China’s Internet payment platform launched the online investment platform Yu’e Bao to offer its users the possibility of investing the idle money on their Alipay accounts and getting much higher benefits than any traditional bank. More than 43.03 million people already enjoy its advantageous financial products. The opportunities of this business model are huge  and many other Chinese internet giants are following suit.

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In Europe 3rd April 2014

ECB likely to bet on inaction again

MADRID | By The Corner | Bundesbank’s Jens Weidmann shift, more inclined to consider bonds purchases, basically reponds to pure economic policy. Although it could anticipate those are closer than ever, it does not mean that ECB is to take action in today’s meeting. Most of analysts at Madrid’s financial place agree that Draghi would be more explicit regarding eventual tools to fight deflation- or low inflation as European authorities prefer to call it now-. He could announce some kind of corporate financing support such as securitization’ buyings at most. 

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Markets 2nd April 2014

Today’s market chatter in Spain

MADRID | By Jaime Santisteban | Market makers woke up with a torrent of data explaining how first quarter played out: Spanish public deficit, Eurozone’s activity indicators, and many more.

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Markets 1st April 2014

FCC’s refinancing deal captures Spain’s market chatter today

MADRID | By Jaime Santisteban | Spanish builder and services firm FCC wrapped up a debt refinancing agreement worth €4.5bn with 99 % of creditor banks, which could turn debt into corporate capital. Market makers like ACF find the move possitive but warn that this move would increase debt average cost.

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Markets 31st March 2014

Market chatter: goodbye to a quite unsettling quarter

MADRID | By Jaime Santisteban | Today we close a rather complicated quarter. Beyond 10-year Spanish bonds, this term turned out a little unnerving with Ukraine’s crisis, fears of deleveraging in China and Fed’s “hawkish” messages. J.P. MORGAN downgraded 1Q14 global growth prediction from 3 % to 2.3 % and now reduces US’s  from 2 % to 1.5 %. Harsh weather may have affected the GDP by up to 1 %.

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Markets 31st March 2014

A return to capital markets for Greek banks but no return to domestic lending

ATHENS | By Jens Bastian via Macropolis | In the future we may look back on the past two weeks as a watershed moment for Greek banks following the onset of the twin financial and sovereign debt crisis in 2009. After extensive and well prepared international road shows, financial institutions in Athens attracted unprecedented levels of foreign investors’ interest for bond placements and capital-raising initiatives.

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Markets 28th March 2014

Market chatter: Repsol, Gas Natural and much more

MADRID | By Jaime Santisteban | Repsol could sell its 30% participation in Gas Natural before the summer. 20 % of it would go for sovereign wealth funds (yet unidentified) and 10 % through quick placement of shares. RENTA 4 believes the company will monetize the operation if other worthy investment opportunities are identified. SABADELL finds the move logical within negotiations with La Caixa (which controlls 1/3 of Repsol’s capital). ACF highlights that Gas Natural shares are turning out very profitable in dividend for Repsol (4.5%), making this sale not that attractive for that firm.

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In Europe 28th March 2014

Investors bet on Europe despite the deflation risk

MADRID | By Francisco López | Investors keep betting on European actives, even though the eurozone economies are facing some serious problems: deflation risk, unemployment records and even a possible war in Ukraine. Why does the European stock exchanges dominate analysts’ recommendations?