European economy

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Lagarde Presents Roadmap In Three Acts; Confirms July Rate Hike Plans

Peter Allen Goves (MFS Investment) | The June ECB meeting had several new and meaningful policy announcements compared with the last meeting. In general, policy decisions were in line with Lagarde’s previously announced roadmap, but there were various hawkish twists and adjustments. In our view, the policy statement further justified curve flattening and affirmed the bear market status for euro rates, not least given the inflationary backdrop. Much of this…


Ursula

Brussels Approves Gas Price Cap In The Iberian Peninsula: €40/MWh

The European Commission yesterday authorised as State aid the so-called Iberian derogation, which consists of setting a cap of 48.8 euros/MWh in Spain and Portugal on average for one year on gas offers in the wholesale electricity market. According to a European Commission communiqué, the measure involves state aid of 8.4 billion euros (6.3 billion for Spain and 2.1 billion for Portugal) “aimed at reducing wholesale electricity prices in the…


Air Europa

Air Europa will shortly receive the €100 loan from Iberia (IAG), convertible to 20% of its capital

Intermoney | The chairman of Iberia, Javier Sánchez-Prieto, has confirmed that Globalia already has the green light from SEPI, controlled by the Finance Ministry, and the banking syndicate led by Santander, for the 100 million euros loan convertible into shares with which to buy 20% of Air Europa. The deal was forged in March and is a first step towards the full acquisition of Air Europa. That said, it is…


Spain tourism

Spain Receives 6 Million Tourists In April, Nine Times More Than In 2021; Spending Soars To €6,901 Million

Spain was visited by 6.1 million international tourists in April, more than nine times the figure for the same month last year (+869.8%), when 629,000 foreign tourists arrived in the country, according to data published by the National Statistics Institute (INE). Total spending by international tourists visiting Spain in April reached 6,901 million euros, an increase of 932.4% compared to a year earlier. With this new upturn in April, the…


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Feijóo Assures Von der Leyen He Will Assume Sánchez’s EU Commitments

The new leader of the Partido Popular (PP), Alberto Núñez Feijóo, has promised the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, to fulfil “all the milestones negotiated by the Spanish Government” for the receipt of the Next Generation Funds, “even if Pedro Sánchez does not inform us of anything”. The meeting between the two focused “on Spain’s economic issues”, a serious concern for the PP and Brussels, since…


Cellnex

Cellnex negotiates joint bid with Brookfield for Deutsche Telekom towers

Bankinter | Cellnex is negotiating an agreement with Brookfield Asset Management to make a joint bid for Deutsche Telekom’s telecommunications towers affiliate. The deal consists of a group of 40.600 towers in Germany and Austria, worth close to 20 billion euros. The process for lodging bids has already started and will extend over the coming weeks. Bankinter analyst team’s opinion: We foresee the news having a neutral impact on the…


antonio costa Portugal PM

Portugal: In Q1 2022, GDP Exceeded Its Pre-COVID Level By 1.2%

Caixabank Research | Surprisingly, GDP grew by 2.6% quarter-on-quarter and by 11.9% year-on-year thanks to the strength of private consumption and the recovery in tourism. This result suggests that our current forecast for GDP growth for the year as a whole (4.2%) may prove to be too conservative. However, given the risk of a deterioration due to the impact of the conflict in Ukraine and the cooling of demand from…


Ursula

Brussels Proposes To Keep Fiscal Rules Suspended For Another Year Because Of The War

On Wednesday 18 May, European Commission commissioners finally agreed to submit a proposal to European countries on Monday 23 May to suspend public debt and deficit targets for 2023, for the fourth consecutive year. The measure, which will still have to be validated by the member states, gives countries such as Spain an additional grace period to get their public accounts back on track after the Covid bill. The European…


Inflation

Annual inflation stable at 7.4% in the euro area (Up to 8.1% in the EU)

Eurostat | The euro area annual inflation rate was 7.4% in April 2022, stable compared to March. A year earlier, the rate was 1.6%. European Union annual inflation was 8.1% in April 2022, up from 7.8% in March. A year earlier, the rate was 2.0%. These figures are published by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union. The lowest annual rates were registered in France, Malta (both 5.4%) and…


european union flag

The IMF Calls In Brussels For Fiscal Rules In Europe To Be Applied According To The Debt Of Each Country

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) believes that the debate on whether or not to return to fiscal rules in the European Union is more timely than ever. Now the continent is going through a “second economic crisis” due to the war in Ukraine, after a first one due to the pandemic from which we have not yet recovered. Gita Gopinath, deputy director general of the IMF, said the new fiscal…