April 22, 2015 | BNP Paribas | There is further upside risks on global consumption, especially in lower-income EM countries and the Eurozone. However, we do not believe that global deleveraging has come to an end: wage growth and inflation will likely continue to trend low over the coming years.
LONDON | April 21, 2015 | Barclays | The ECB remains committed to deliver its QE target of a more than €1.1trn balance sheet expansion through asset purchases and sought to dispel fears over asset scarcity.
The Corner | April 21, 2015 | Markets remain divided about the Greek debt negociations –or rather the lack of them. Time is running out and Athens’ legislative act asking public sector entities to transfer idle cash reserves to Greece’s central bank, in order to deal with a cash squeeze, proves it. That plan could raise about 2 billion euros ($2.15 billion), according to sources quoted by Bloomberg.
As Cuba and the US bury the hatchet, friends, both old and new, are doing business with each other.
PARIS | April 20, 2015 | By Francesco Saraceno | Recently I commented on the intriguing box in which the IMF staff challenges one of the tenets of the Washington consensus, the link between labour market reform and economic performance. But the IMF is not new to these reassessments. In fact over the past three years research coming from the fund has increasingly challenged the orthodoxy that still shapes European policy making.
The Corner | April 18, 2015 | The IMF raised growth expectations for all the major economies in the Eurozone – especially Spain to 2.5% in 2015 and 2% in 2016- and for Japan. The new figures, the sixth improved forecast in a row– are more aligned with Madrid expectations (2%, although the Minister of Economy even forecasts a 3% growth). Low oil prices, the euro depreciation and the ECB’s monthly liquidity shots are the three aces of the Spanish government, who is hoping to retain the power in the next general election despite the popularity of new parties.
BEIJING | April 17, 2015 | By Huang Yiping via Caixin | The recent establishment of private Internet banks has ushered the banking industry into an era where banks need no brick-and-mortar offices. Technologies like big data make this possible, yet there is disagreement over how much potential Internet finance has.
The Corner | April 17, 2015 | ECB’s Vice President Vitor Constancio put things into perspective by pointing out that Greek banks’ exposure to Greek sovereign bonds is much smaller than other banking sectors’.
Known as the BRICS bank, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) wants to become an alternative to the IMF and the World Bank. The initiative led by China adds to Beijing’s ambitious project of recovering the ancient Silk Road. So far, more than 40 countries from the five continents showed their support, proving China’s growing –and controversial– global influence.
The Corner | April 16, 2015 | For the first time since the beginning of the financial crisis, Japan overtook China as first holder of U.S. treasuries. Low rates and other monetary policy instruments carried out by Japan have prompted local investors to move their money to the US.