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Markets 28th December 2011

Forex: “there will be no outright collapse of the euro zone in 2012”

LONDON | Analysts at Forex, the retail division of Gain Capital, a global provider of online trading services, expect worldwide economic growth to stall, increasing the possibility of a global recession.  As a result, they foresee the USD becoming a global safe haven, taking strength from repeated waves of risk aversion triggered by potential events such as EU sovereign ratings downgrades, weak economic data, and ongoing credit market stresses in Europe. The 1Q…

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Markets 26th December 2011

Stark: “Spain proves risk premiums fall with austerity”

As published by the German newspaper Die Welt, chief economist of the European Central Bank Jürgen Stark believes that Spain is a good example of how a country can reduce its risk premium by implementing the right adjustment measures. The Spanish daily Expansión refers to his declarations in Monday’s edition. “In an interview given to the German paper, Die Welt, the member of the ECB points out that ‘Spain and other countries…

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Markets 23rd December 2011

Portugal sells EDP’s stake to China to reduce debt

The government of Portugal has sold to the Chinese company Three Gorges Corporation a package of shares representing 21.35% of the social capital that the state held in the Portuguese electrical company Energias de Portugal (EDP), in exchange of a payment of €2.693 billion, according to information provided by the government investment company Parpública to the Portuguese market supervisor, CMVM. The Portuguese executive explains that its choice was based of…

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Markets 19th December 2011

Santander UK would now have a word about those Vickers reforms

LONDON | Chancellor of the British Treasury George Osborne confirmed Monday afternoon what Vince Cable, the Business Secretary, had announce the day before on BBC’s Andrew Marr Show: that the Vickers report will be forced on to all banking institutions in the United Kingdom. “Our big banks were at the very centre of the financial crisis, what the Europeans call Anglo-Saxon financial capitalism. It needs reform.” The next weeks will be…

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Markets 15th December 2011

“ECB refinancing auctions means help for Spanish, Italian smaller banks”

The Governing Council of the European Central Bank (ECB) decided last week on additional enhanced credit support measures to support bank lending and liquidity in the euro area. In particular, the Governing Council proposed to conduct two longer-term refinancing operations (LTROs) with a maturity of 36 months and the option of early repayment after one year. Among other measures, the central bank also accorded to reduce the reserve ratio, which is…

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Markets 15th December 2011

What is David Cameron so scared of? It might be the UK banks

By Carlos Díaz Güell, in Madrid | The deadline is January 20 for EU financial entities to submit to the European regulator their specific plans to comply with the capital demands determined by the European Banking Authority (EBA). For the Spanish entities, this demand amounts to €26bn, an amount that does not take into account certain peculiarities of the Spanish financial system such as the convertible bonds which amount to almost €10bn. The European…

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Markets 14th December 2011

Santander Consumer Finance signs joint venture with Chinese JAC

Santander Consumer Finance has signed in Hefei, Anhui Province, an agreement with Chinese car manufacturer Anhui Jianghuai Automobile Co., Ltd (JAC) to create an independent company to provide auto financing in the Chinese market. Under the accord, Santander Consumer Finance and JAC will each have a 50% stake in the new company and will each name three members to the board of directors. The consumer finance unit of Banco Santander…

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Markets 14th December 2011

BBVA’s president González: “The UK will accept the new EU measures”

MADRID | The president of BBVA, Francisco González, commented at a press conference in Seul during the inauguration of a new branch in the Korean capital, that the worst part of European debt crisis is already over. González’s statement did not go unnoticed in any of the Spanish economic newspapers. “Francisco González pointed out that there would be no problems in the implementation of measures agreed during the meeting of European leaders…