The Corner | March 13, 2015 | With its ambitious QE programme, the European Central Bank has become a new buyer in the debt market, absorbing almost 15% of total fixed-income debt in the eurozone. Who will benefit most in this new environment?
The Corner | March 13, 2015 | The ECB’s sovereign bond purchase programme has helped to reduce yields on Spanish bonds to record lows. Data from Italy is likely to show price falls in excess of 2%, while it will be no surprise to see further squabbling between Greece and its creditors over the weekend, particularly with yesterday’s intervention by the OECD.
The Corner | March 11, 2015 | The market still points to emerging markets as one of the most vulnerable areas in the global economy. The absence of a rebound in the price of commodities (despite oil’s recent revaluation) is hampering these countries’ economic recovery.
ATHENS | March 12, 2015 | By Nick Malkoutzis via MacroPolis | At first it seemed like a harmless joke. “And now for one member state, all the men need to take off their ties,” said European Commission first vice-president Frans Timmermans at the end of a recent photo shoot for the College of Commissioners in Brussels. After all, the Greek government’s penchant for not wearing ties has been the cause of lightheartedness from the moment SYRIZA came to power.
The Corner | March 12, 2015 | EU inflation figures have offered a more encouraging picture than was predicted. Month-on-month inflation in the Spanish economy edged up 0.1% in February to 117.82, reversing a trend of four consecutive monthly declines.
The Corner | March 12, 2015 | Santander Holding USA and Deutsche Bank Trust Corporation have been singled out by the US Fed over risk management and capital strategies. However, solvency of both entities is not questioned – their current solvency ratio exceeding the minimum asked by the Fed (5.0%).
BNP Paribas | March 11, 2015 | Fashion companies are showing their prudent confidence, pushing more sales through their stores, pricing, product innovation, digital and self-help. The sector is experiencing a rebound triggered by the ECB’s intervention and the euro weakness.
The Corner | March 11, 2015 | The euro sinked to 12-year lows on Wednesday due to the ECB’s money printing –which is pushing yields down (German 30-year government bonds are now lower than those on U.S. two-year paper), and increasing expectations of a rates hike on the other side of the Atlantic. ECB’s Governing Council member Ewald Nowotny insisted that negative bond yields in the euro area probably won’t remain for long.
The Corner | March 11, 2015 | A report by the Bank of Spain has laid bare the scale of losses in fiscal revenue during the financial crisis.
The Corner | March 11, 2015 | Varoufakis set to raid Greece’s social security fund with IMF loan loan repayment imminent.