Crazy: ‘Business Insider’ raises the alarm on “rumors of a coup d’état” in Spain
WASHINGTON | This is one more crazy misrepresentation of the Spanish situation by international media.
Markets
French banks warn about higher costs, opacity if interchange fees abolished
LONDON | In 2011, 60 million new interbank cards were issued and 7.9 billion transactions recorded: one in every two payments happened in France and the UK, where banks would be the most affected by new interchange fees regulations.
Do the markets smell German blood?
LONDON | Egan-Jones also blamed Chancellor Angela Merkel for her resistance against “European Union bonds and money printing” while “pushing for fiscal controls and the seniority of bailout funding.”
Financial markets: a shrinking pie
MADRID | By J. M. Campuzano, analyst at Citigroup | During the crisis that began in 2007, capital markets’ weight has been cut to 350% from 450% of the world’s economic output. The past, in terms of depth and worldwide markets liquidity before the crisis, is long gone and will not come back.
Taking the Shine off Gold
BEIJING | By Wang Yuqian and Yang Lu (Caixin Magazine) | What caused the precipitous decline in the price of the precious metal? And how do analysts in China see it? Three experts come up with different explanations, from investor panic triggered by the European debt crisis to, more bizarrely, a conspiracy theory that the U.S. government orchestrated the collapse.
Reform of securitized Spanish mortgage market crucial to foreign investors
MADRID | By Santiago Carbó and Francisco Rodríguez (Funcas) | Spanish mortgage market being so highly securitized, any changes affecting its evolution is of vital importance for international investors.
German banks were behind Spain’s housing bubble
Spain has been hit hard by the Eurozone crisis, with unemployment levels pushing towards 27 per cent. Vicente Navarro writes on the role that Germany, the most powerful EU state, has played in the Spanish crisis. He argues that German banks must also share some of the responsibility for perpetuating Spain’s housing bubble.
Spanish banks advise Rajoy to deal with Cajas’ toxic legacy now
The Spanish Banking Association wants nationalised entities dismantled or sold, as the toxic legacy of the savings banks has become too poisonous for too long (with information from Ángel Laso, valenciaplaza.com correspondent in Madrid).
Cyprus: Of course it’s a template!
LONDON | City-based fund manager Pawel Morski (pseudonym) believes the EU is recognising it is moving towards a new regime of bailing in banks. For a non-template, he points out, the Cyprus solution drops some cracking clues as to Brussels’ priorities.
Spanish financial boutiques lead global sector’s comeback
MADRID | As a consequence of the current crisis, small players cannot be available everywhere and many distributors prefer well-known names because it is easier to pick up a strong brand recognised by investors.