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European economy

eurozone labour market

European economy 7th May 2021

The Eurozone’s Labour Market: Large Inequalities Between Sectors

At first glance, the “scar” on total employment looks set to be less deep than after the 2008 financial crisis. However, at the sectorial level, the shock may turn out to be deeper or longer lasting. One example is tourism, one of the sectors most affected by the pandemic and one of the most labour-intensive. These sectorial divergences may have consequences for the pace of recovery in European countries depending on their degree of exposure to tourism.

Eurozone housing prices

European economy 2nd May 2021

European House Prices: Time For Regulators To Hit The Brakes?

Scope Ratings | European house prices increased on average by 6.2% in 2020. That was twice the annual rate of the last decade and even higher than growth in the economically very favourable last five years. Few banks have so far amended their underwriting criteria and, in most countries, previous macroprudential measures have been reduced and/or halted. As such, this may be the right time for regulators to become proactive.

dollar rally

European economy 23rd April 2021

While Europe Is Expecting An Inflation Peak Of 2.5%, The US Is Talking About 4.1%!

Mutuactivos | How would you react to an inflation figure of 4.1%, albeit temporary? In short, we believe that it could push the T-note above 2% temporarily, even a scare in the markets, but in that case it is likely that the Fed would try to influence it to moderate it: either by changing its “active passive” discourse to one of greater involvement, closer to that of the ECB, or directly by buying debt to control the yield curve.

ECB Bundesbank

European economy 20th April 2021

Central Bank Independence: From The Theory To The Practice

Javier García Arenas and Adrià Morron Salmeron (CaixaBank ) | The independence of central banks seems indisputable, even more so in these times of pandemic, in which they have increased their use of unconventional policies and provided coverage for the high funding needs of states. In this article we will explore the theory and empirical evidence supporting the importance for central banks to maintain their independence.

veolia suez

European economy 16th April 2021

After Months Of Confrontation, Veolia Will Launch A Takeover Bid For Suez, Creating A Group With Revenues Of €37 Bn

Alphavalue | The boards of Veolia Environment and Suez have reached an agreement on the companies’ merger. After months of confrontation, Veolia will launch a takeover bid for Suez. In a statement, the two firms said the price of the bid will be 20.5 €/share, valuing Suez at 12.9 billion euros. This is an improvement of 13.9% on the 18 €/share that Veolia had proposed up until now and which was one of the main blocking points for the deal. Suez had set a price of €22/share as a condition.

Eurogrupo Europa chuli

European economy 14th April 2021

N.G.E.U. | Private Investment As The Engine Of Economic Growth And Social Welfare

Rafael Domenech & Jorge Sicilia (BBVA Research) | The empírical evidence for a large sample of countries at different stages of development since 1960 to the present shows that an increase of 10 percentage points in the ratio of private investment to GDP corresponds to an increase of 3.1 points in the long-term growth rate of per capita income, higher than the elasticity of 2.7 obtained between total investment and growth. The empirical evidence points to private investment being typically allocated more efficiently than public investment, indicating that the best strategy is for public investment to be complementary and incentivize higher private investment.We see this as evidence that the focus of policies oriented to providing fiscal stimulus to incentivize private investment, such as the European Fund NGEU as an adequate strategy to increase per capita income growth in the long term in European economies.

Lack of political will for renewables energy

European economy 9th April 2021

EU: The Share Of Renewables In The Mix Rose To 39%, Beating Fossil Fuels (36%) For The First Time

The share of electricity generated from renewables in the EU energy mix (39%) exceeded the share of fossil fuels (36%) in 2020 for the first time ever and EU consumption of both electricity (-4%) and gas (-3%) fell from 2019 levels, but most of the drivers for this change (notably the COVID-19 pandemic) were exceptional, according to the latest Commission quarterly reports on gas and electricity markets published today.

Eurozone with masks

European economy 31st March 2021

Cancellation Of Public Debt In The Eurozone? It Can Be Done, But It’s Not Wanted

Gemma Cairó i Céspedes (University of Barcelona) | A few weeks ago, a group of prestigious economists addressed a proposal to the ECB. In it, they called for the restructuring of the Eurozone countries’ public debt and proposed the need for the ECB to write off their public debt (or swap it for perpetual debt). Although it is true the Treaty of the European Union explicitly forbids the ECB from financing governments, it does not express explicitly that debt restructuring is not possible.

mercosur

European economy 28th March 2021

30 Years of Mercosur – Europe Becoming Less Important for South America

Andreas Baur, Lisandra Flach and Feodora Teti (Ifo Institute ) | Mercosur, one of Latin America’s most ambitious economic and political integration projects, celebrates its thirtieth anniversary on March 26, 2021. The fact that the member countries Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay have little reason to celebrate is not only due to the Corona pandemic. The disappointment about the slow progress with respect to integration is widespread among members, and the future of Mercosur seems more unclear than ever.