March 20, 2015 | By Wolfango Piccoli via MacroPolis | The Greek government faces a dire financial situation in the coming weeks, especially as lenders are unlikely to relent on the conditions of last month’s loan extension.
The Corner | March 20, 2015 | There may be some volatility on European markets in the day ahead, as late night talks between the Greeek government and members of creditor nations, the European Commission and the European Central Bank failed to unlock funds for Athens’ faltering economy.
BEIJING| March 19, 2015 | By Joseph S. Nye Jr. via Caixin | The country offers a large and attractive market, but reforms are needed to better develop trade and financial markets and spur innovation.
The Corner | March 18, 2015 | What does negative bond yields mean psychologically for investors?
The Corner | March 18, 2015 | Attention will focus on Janet Yellen’s remarks later today, as markets await indication about the Fed’s plans on the issue of a rise in interest rates. Yellen will be speaking after the FOMC meeting, with speculation mounting that US economic projections may be strong enough to warrant a change in monetary policy. Analysts are speculating that a rates hike could happen as early as June, although the current strength of the dollar may delay any rise.
The Corner | March 17, 2015 | EU wide inflation figures are expected to be in negative territory for the fourth consecutive month. Elsewhere in Europe, data on employment and economic sentiment are expected to show slight improvement for the month of February.
Exane BNP Paribas | Following the appointment of Tidjane Thiam as group CEO, there is more scope for a shift in strategy away from the investment bank and towards the wealth management business. Many investors compare this to when UBS announced their restructuring in 2012. In theory this should free up capital, and reduce the volatility of the earnings, enhancing the valuation. This sounds good so far, but we have to look at some numbers.
The Corner | March 16, 2015 | The week ahead is likely to be dominated by the FOMC meeting in the US. Market watchers are expecting some movement on the semantics of pronouncements by the US Fed. In essence, any change in language will signal that a rates hike from the central bank is drawing closer.
LONDON | March 14, 2015 | Barclays | German 10y yield bounced back to 0.248% after touching 0.186% on Thursday, while Italian and Spanish 10y spreads are 10bp above their trough. High yield credit spreads tightened while equities remained close to their cyclical highs. EURUSD is now trading at 1.06 after dropping below 1.05 on Thursday (its weakest level since January 2003). Europe’s IP edged down 0.1% in January, slightly weaker than expectations.
BEIJING | March 13, 2015 | By Fan Bi via Caixin | The country has the second-most think tanks in the world, but their weak research reports are not much use to policymakers.