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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.
Bankia-BMN merger

Ibex, Markets, Spanish economy 16th September 2020

Bankia To Reach Highest CET1 In Spain After Changes To Assess Its Retail Mortgage Line Regulatory Capital

Bankia has been authorized by the ECB to change the parameters used for its calculation of credit risk linked to its retail mortgage business, according to a statement it published on market regulator CNMV’s website on Tuesday. This will allow Bankia to lift its CET1 capital ratio to 160 bp from 13.27% to 14.87%, the highest among Spanish banks as well as could favor the bank in the merger process with CaixaBank.

inditex all

Ibex, Markets, Spanish economy 16th September 2020

Inditex Returns To Profitability And Generates €734 M Net Cash In The Second Quarter

Inditex has seen a “rapid recovery” in the second half of its fiscal year 2020-2021, after returning to profits of 214 million euros in this period (between 1 May and 31 July), and leaving behind the loss of 409 million euros in the first three months. Sales recovered from -44% in the first quarter to -31% in the second quarter, despite as many as 87% of the Group’s stores still being closed in May. Today, 98% of Inditex’s stores are open, with restrictions still in place in some specific markets.

tiktok

World economy 16th September 2020

TikTok And Oracle Reach A “Technical Agreement”; Control And Ownership Remain With China

Intermoney | TikTok rejected Microsoft’s offer and chose Oracle as its partner in the US. Finally, an agreement was reached via a preliminary “technical partnership,” which did not include a complete sale of the short video applications. In turn, Oracle committed to addressing the national security concerns the Trump administration had raised about TikTok. It will also allow existing ByteDance investors to participate in the final agreement.

china industry

In the World, World economy 15th September 2020

China: Growth Gained Momentum In August

China’s economic activity in August exceeded expectations, with industrial production accelerating at the strongest pace in eight months and retail sales growing for the first time this year. The activity data shows that the recovery is becoming more balanced and broad-based as private sector demand is gaining momentum.

Jerome Powell

In the World, World economy 15th September 2020

FED: Subtle To The Point Of Evanescence

The new strategy plays on the asymmetry of monetary policy: it is easier to let inflation accelerate in good times – which only entails not acting (keeping rates unchanged) – than propping it up in bad times, because at some point the latter would require ever more action which would collide with the zero bound limit to policy rates.

companies general

Spanish economy 15th September 2020

The Creation Of Companies In Spain Grows To Pre-Covid19 Rates In August

In August up to 5,407 new companies joined the Spanish business network compared to 5,407 in the same month last year, leaving behind five consecutive months of declines due to the Covid-19 crisis, reported the Association of Registrars. Specifically, the incorporation of companies grew by 8.4% year-on-year in August, compared to the 72.1% drop recorded in April, the 56.4% fall in May, the drop of 10 pct in June and the more moderate decline of 3.4% in July.

UBS CreditSuisse

European economy 15th September 2020

Another Banking Merger On The Horizon: UBS Considers A Possible Merger With Credit Suisse

The presidents of UBS Group and Credit Suisse Group would be exploring a potential merger to create one of Europe’s largest banks. Both banks are undergoing changes at the top management level and are under pressure to reduce costs. Meanwhile, the coronavirus pandemic is sparking renewed interest in consolidation in Europe. The news comes in the wake of just over a week of the announcement about the potential consolidation of two Spanish entities operating in the same market – CaixaBank and Bankia.

Brexit through the eyes of two British companies with direct exposure: Getlink and LSE

European economy 15th September 2020

London Stock Exchange vs EU: Refinitiv Battle Reveals Unease Over Power Of Modern Stock Markets

Johannes Petry via The Conversation | Relations between London and Brussels have been better. While Brexit dominates the headlines, another cross-channel development has recently captured the attention of financial institutions. It concerns the the London Stock Exchange’s proposed US$27 billion (£21 billion) acquisition of US financial company Refinitiv, into which the European Commission is carrying out an in-depth anti-trust investigation.

BoE

European economy 14th September 2020

BoE Preview: No Change Expected

BoE will announce its next policy decision on Thursday (noon). We expect no change in policy parameters. Current policy: Bank rate at +0.1%. OngoingQE, total YTD envelope of +£300bn (+£232bn of which bought so far), with latest +100bn announced in June.At the last meeting in June, BoE also added a weak form of forward guidance (“The Committee does not intend to tighten monetary policy until there is clear evidence that significant progress is being made in eliminating spare capacity and achieving the 2% inflation target sustainably.”) Expectation:…

And China arrived and defeated the Fed

World economy 14th September 2020

This Week’s Fed Meeting May See A Third Major Change To Its Dollar Strategy

Monex Europe | Recent meeting minutes and speeches have made it clear the FOMC is considering a range of possible calendar and outcome-based forward guidance. The likeliest outcome is further formalisation of the Fed’s shift away from viewing maximum employment as a constraint that will lead to rate hikes. Powell’s speech may provide a template for what outcome based guidance could look like.