The Spanish government has this week officially announced the candidacy of Economy Minister Luis de Guindos for the Vice-Presidency of the ECB, substituting the Portuguese Vitor Constancio. De Guindos already tried to move to Brussels as a substitute for Dijsselbloem at the head of the Eurogroup. But the bet didn’t turn out well.
The European Investment Bank (EIB) has approved a 1.5 billion euros loan – the biggest in its history – for the construction of the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), an around 878 kilometres project which will link Turkey with Italy, and in which Spanish firm Enagás is involved.
Spain ended 2017 with a loss of price-competitiveness at an accumulated level in comparison with the EU (0.8%), as well as with the OECD (1.5%) and the BRIC countries – Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa – (0.5%), according to the Index for the Trend in Competitiveness (ITC).
Brent crude recently topped USD 70 a barrel for the first time since June 2015 as OPEC announced it would restrain oil output until the end of 2018. Nevertheless, there is still some scepticism over just how high prices will go, in spite of the cartel’s apparently strong commitment to reduce excess supply. According to CaixaBank’s strategists, such doubts are partly due to the uncertainty hovering over the shale production’s industry.
Intermoney | Four months after the elections, Angela Merkel and Martin Schulz sealed a deal on Wednesday to remould the “grand coalition”; the end of the political uncertainty in Germany will translate into greater stability for the Eurozone economy.
The liking for dividends is to a great extent a reflection of the change in the liking for risk, but one can’t defy their quality as a safe cushion. The banking sector is the one with an amazing potential for dividends.
Amidst the market turbulence of the last few days, Metrovacesa returned to the stock exchange through the back door. Between the fact that its share offer was already somewhat jinked (after it was forced to reduce the price due to a lack of investor appetite) and that yesterday’s session was dominated by fear, the property firm’s shares fell 3% on their debut.
What are the reasons for the apparent abrupt change in mood on the stock markets? Does this unexpected sell-off mean the end of the bull market? What seems clear is that the environment has changed, volatility is back, and 2018 is looking more complex for investors given central banks that are reducing stimulus.