By Julia Pastor, in Madrid | The hangover following the second LTRO round has brought no headaches, so far. Analysts at the Spanish bank Sabadell have described as ‘very positive’ the €530 billion demanded to the ECB last Wednesday, as well as the increase of the participating European financial entities to 800. “It can be said that attending these auctions is not a stigma anymore,” say the experts. Furthermore, they…
LONDON | The discussion on whether to invest in European mega-caps or small-caps at this moment is alive and well. It might be a signal that the markets feel tired of the daily mess it is served by the euro group and prefer a the-show-must-go-on attitude. But funds and investment banks voice their trust in uncovering opportunities amid volatility. The euro zone’s surface seems little appealing, in principle. At Royal…
LONDON | On the day the European Central Bank lent 800 euro zone banks €529.532 billion via its second 3-year long-term refinancing operation, hopes that credit to the private sector will increase were high. The central bank’s aim Wednesday was to restore capital flows in the region and clear the way for confidence to make a comeback to the wider economy. The UK Sustainable Investment and Finance Association UKSIF chose…
By Tania Suárez.- The new unlimited liquidity action, a.k.a. Long-Term Refinancing Operation (LTRO), has placed €529.532 billions today, with the goal of enabling again the flow of credit to the private sector. Gradually, there are prospects of an improvement in European financial markets. On one hand, the interest rates banks charge one another to lend money have dropped significantly: the 3-month Euribor has fallen to just under 1% from about…
MADRID | Original post on republica.com | The European government, which some now call ‘governance’, has not been doing well for quite a few years. The expansion of the club during the last two decades has caused chronic indigestion, and a loss of perspective and project steam. The Single European Act (last decade of the XX century) meant a decisive step forward for a united Europe at peace, free, and…
By Tania Suárez, in Madrid | Today is the day: petitioners will submit their requests in the second Long-Term Refinancing Operation (LTRO) by the European Central Bank. On Wednesday the auction will be carried out, and the money will be distributed. Most experts estimate an amount slightly lower than the one expected by Mario Draghi (over €500 billion), and many see the LTRO with a positive feeling. However, the fact…
LONDON | This year may prove an inflection point, with growth in equity markets in Europe and European smaller companies on attractive valuations leading the way. Fund Manager of TR European Growth Trust PLC Ollie Beckett believes expectations for positive returns from EU equity markets in 2012 have solid ground, notwithstanding the depressive tunnel the euro zone’s economy is currently passing through. But then again, Ollie Beckett is an associate director…
By Tania Suárez, in Madrid | Next Wednesday takes place the second Long-Term Refinancing Operation (LTRO) by the European Central Bank. The hot spot is the participation of some British banks, such as Lloyds and RBS (according to FT), which didn’t take part in the last liquidity auction thanks to the central bank of the United Kingdom. The end of its QE programme has forced RBS and Lloyd to forecast…
By Juan Pedro Marín Arrese, in Madrid | Sector regulators in Spain will melt into a single one, following the government announcement last Friday. Efficiency and savings are portrayed as the main reasons to make the move. While the first one rises a fundamental issue, reducing running costs of existing entities amounts to a trivial one. After all, cutting off expenditure by €4 million per year will not bring much…
The Spanish minister of Economy Luis de Guindos’ visits to London earlier this month and to Washington on Friday have borne fruit. Yield of 10-year Spanish sovereign bonds have softly fallen back to the 5pc region (it was 5.6pc), while the CDS spread in comparison to German bonds has tighten and is now 316bp from 380pb last week. The Italian 10-year bond has also behaved in a positive way, with…