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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.
Return of investors yields

World economy 31st December 2016

A New Humble World and the Return of Yields for Investors

AXA IM | The past year has witnessed something of a turn-around in investors’ perceptions of the economic and financial outlook, chiefly on the back of hopes that the cloud of secular stagnation may be starting to dissipate. In our 2017 outlook, we take a step back from current market jitters and examine the fundamentals behind the present backdrop of ultra-low interest rates and poor economic growth. Simply we challenge the dominant idea that this is the fate of our future as investors.

iberdrolaTC

Ibex 30th December 2016

Iberdrola: addressing latest questions from investors

UBS | Based on our latest conversations with investors, the following three questions emerged on Iberdrola: Could we see EPS growth upgrades following the strategic update on Feb-2017? Could renewables growth plans in the US be at risk? And, Is the company likely to pursue inorganic growth as suggested by recent press articles?

European economic growth

In Europe 30th December 2016

Europe: Out Of The Laboratory, Back To The Labyrinth

BoAML | The ECB has closed many doors in December. The 2015-16 strategy of monetary policy covering for fiscal loosening to facilitate structural reform has changed.We are back to national governments having to navigate through strained fiscal trajectories, leaving very little room for mistakes. Potential growth prospects are not great, not only in the periphery.

REE-grids

Markets, Spanish Small & Mid Caps 29th December 2016

Refreshing Our Thoughts on REE: More Domestic Energy Policy Risk

UBS | REE delivered an impressive annual total return of over 20% in the past 5 years. This was driven by EPS growth, supportive regulation and above all, falling sovereign bond yields. The trend however was halted this year as bond yields recovered and yield expansion impacted the stock – a risk which continues to keep us cautious on REE, and on regulated names in general.

spain's energy poverty

Spanish economy 27th December 2016

Spain Agrees To Tackle Energy Poverty With Hardly Any Impact For Utilities

Spain’s main political parties PP, PSOE and Cuidadanos, with the exception of Podemos, have agreed to reform the electricity tariff discount rate, as well prohibit electricity cuts for those consumers considered “very vulnerable.” Analysts at ACF believe it will be important to confirm the final conditions and the net impact for the electricity companies, but a priori they don’t expect this will be significant.

world growth

World economy 26th December 2016

Global Economics: Regime Shift

BoAML | We look for another year of muddling through, with a slight pick-up in global economics growth and a normal risk of recession.Aggregate demand is starting to outstrip feeble aggregate supply: look for a modest pick-up in global core inflation. The main risk to global growth comes from US: a big fiscal push could cause the economy to overheat.

US infrastructures

Markets, World economy 24th December 2016

How Could A New Wave Of Infrastructure Spending Impact The Construction Sector?

UBS | As attention turns towards fiscal stimulus as a means to drive global growth, infrastructure investment is considered a politically feasible way to justify government spending. Despite increased focus, however, deploying additional meaningful funds for infrastructure spending is never easy. The US infrastructure, for instance, has received intermittent attention over the last several years.

Bonds and pricing

Markets 23rd December 2016

Mature bond markets: the mirror image of 2016

The bond market started this year with euphoria and ended with losses, for 2017 we see the mirror image. Bond investors should keep the powder dry and only buy duration when yields are clearly overshooting.

Spanish floor clauses

Spanish economy 21st December 2016

Spanish Banks Have To Reimburse Clients For Floor Clauses

The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has ruled that Spanish banks have to return all the extra money they charged clients affected by the ‘floor clauses’ included in their mortgage contracts. The court has rejected the idea of a time-limited retroactive effect because it is “incomplete and insufficient”.