European economy

UK Parliament 777x400 1

IMF forecasts UK will avoid recession in 2023, but inflation slows less than forecast in April

Banca March | The IMF forecasts that the UK economy will avoid recession in 2023. Specifically, the body now expects growth for the current year of 0.4%, compared with the slight decline previously expected (-0.3%). The managing director of the Fund, Kristalina Georgieva, thus announced yesterday that the British economy values the evolution of the country’s economic situation particularly favourably compared with other G7 countries. The revision is mainly due…


The EU should dismantle Facebook

Irish Data Protection Commissioner imposes highest ever fine – €1.2bn – on Meta

Bankinter: The Irish Data Protection Commission imposes a €1.2 billion fine on the technology company for transferring European citizens’ data to the US in breach of EU legislation. Analysis team’s opinion: Bad news, but already expected. It is a significant amount. The largest fine imposed so far. It compares with the €746m the EU fined Amazon in 2021 and is about 4% of Meta’s estimated PBT for the whole of…


spain construction sector

Eurozone construction output, in seasonally adjusted data, declines by 2.4% in March

Link Securities| According to Eurostat on Monday, in March and compared to February, construction output in the Eurozone, in seasonally adjusted data, fell by 2.4%. In February, construction output had risen by 1.7% in the Eurozone, whereas in March, building construction fell by 2.4% and civil engineering construction by 2.3%. On a year-on-year basis, construction output decreased by 1.5% in the Eurozone, which compares negatively with the 2.1% increase recorded…


E.On

E.ON could sell npower, one of UK’s largest electricity retailers for industrial users

Santander | E.ON is reportedly considering the sale of npower, one of the largest electricity traders serving industrial users in the United Kingdom. According to the article that reports this, Centrica and ScottishPower have announced in recent months their intention to exit from marketing to large corporate customers due to high price volatility and low margins. Assessment: E.ON acquired npower from innogy in 2019 and subsequently transferred npower’s residential and…


Alemania IPC

German industrial production prices decelerate sharply to 4.1% (vs 6.7%)

Bankinter : German industrial producer prices decelerated sharply in April to +4.1% year-on-year vs +4.3% expected and +6.7% previously (revised from +7.5%). In the month, +0.3% vs -0.5% expected and -1.4% previously (revised from -2.6%). Assessment: Industrial production prices have come out better than expected. After peaking in August 2022 (+45.8% year-on-year) and maintaining this pace in September, the level of prices has now accumulated seven consecutive months of slowdown…


Shell oil

Shell to sell low-return businesses, including floating wind power firm Eolfi

Singular Bank| The Dutch energy company wants to sell its French floating wind business, Eolfi, acquired in 2019 to increase its weight in renewable energy in line with its strategy. However, it now wants to offer a higher return to shareholders. This is part of the strategy of the new CEO, Wael Sawan, to be announced in June, where he intends to eliminate activities that do not produce adequate returns….


repsolrenovables

Repsol to develop 1.7 GW of renewables in Italy with an estimated investment of €500 million

Renta 4 | Repsol to develop 1.7 GW of renewable energy projects in Italy. The project will have 943 MW of generation using wind technology and 825 MW of solar. The total cost is estimated at €500 million. Assessment: Positive impact. Repsol will develop 1.7 Gw of renewable energy in Italy with an estimated investment of €500 million. The portfolio is expected to be operational in 2025. Repsol is thus…


Europa byn

Eurozone inflation rises one tenth of a percentage point to 7% in April

The year-on-year inflation rate in the Euro area accelerated by one tenth of a percentage point in April compared with the previous month, reaching 7%, compared with 6.9% in March, while in the European Union (EU) as a whole, prices eased to 8.1% from 8.3% in March, accumulating five months of moderation, according to data published by Eurostat. Among EU countries, the lowest year-on-year inflation rates were recorded in Luxembourg…


Garanti BBVA

BBVA falls more than 4% on stock market after uncertain elections in Turkey

Capital Madrid | The Turkish bet of the former BBVA president, Francisco González (currently indicted in court for the conspiracy to spy on politicians, businessmen, and private individuals), has not stopped growing, even after several recent incidents of corruption. Political instability, terrorism, and excessive volatility are reducing its profitability to a minimum. On the semi-holiday stock market day yesterday, Monday 15 May (Madrid was celebrating the day of its patron…


Eurocrisis

EU backtracks on veto on fund sales commissions

Banca March : According to press reports, a provisional draft is circulating that suggests Brussels is backtracking on plans to ban asset managers and insurers from paying financial advisers for recommending their investment products. The aim of the ban was, according to Brussels, to eliminate any conflict of interest and to improve the outcome for the end-investor but it now appears that the measure will not be implemented, limiting the…