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European economy

Euro area growth: neither very fast nor particularly slow

European economy 11th September 2020

European Cross-Border Bank Mergers: Less Compelling After The Pandemic Than Before

EU agreement on a pandemic fund boosted market and regulators’ wishes to move towards cross-border consolidation among European banks- the ECB’s vice-president, Luis de Guindos, has already warned of the need for the sector to continue with the merger process. Scenarios have started to be built again about who should be merging with whom. But unity around the EU pandemic fund is not about banks, say analysts at Scope Ratings.

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European economy 10th September 2020

“The ECB Is Monitoring Current Developments”

The ECB has left its policy stance unchanged after today’s GC meeting. The tone of the press conference was a touch less dovish than expected and President Lagarde has not signaled any large swing in policy in the near term. The overall message was clear: the ECB is monitoring current developments (including the EUR) and assessing the efficiency of the current policy measures before acting with more accommodation

ecb luminale

European economy 9th September 2020

Can The ECB Strike Back?

We do not expect ECB policy action this week, but guidance is that the ECB has its finger on the trigger for more PEPP (Pandemic Emergency Purchase Programme). Communication will not be easy, but EUR appreciation, record low core inflation and Fed policy should make for very dovish tones. We expect €500bn more PEPP in December, but inflation expectations urgently need attention too. Front-end rates will likely be supported by FX concerns, but credit risks are increasingly underpriced in by the market. Beyond verbal intervention, we think the ECB has limited options to weaken EUR for now.

hybrid car

European economy 9th September 2020

For The First Time Since 2015, More Electric Vehicles Were Sold In Europe In July Than In China

Santander Corporate & Investment | Global sales of electric cars and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles increased 72% annually and 5% monthly to 253,000 units in July (the 4th best monthly figure in history). Europe recorded remarkable growth (199% in yearly terms and 22% monthly), due to incentives and requirements to cut average emissions in the EU. Meanwhile there was a slight recovery in China (+44% on a yoy basis, but -5% monthly). Germany, France and the UK made the largest contributions to sales growth.

Chris Lagarde

European economy 8th September 2020

ECB Jawboning The Euro

Last week in financial markets saw the euro rise above the $1.20 threshold. ECB chief economist Philip Lane intervened recalling market participants that the exchange rate “mattered”. The single currency traded down to $1.18 shortly after the comments. Currency appreciation amid near-zero inflation in the euro area is unwelcome for future price developments. Christine Lagarde’s message next Thursday after the governing council will likely echo Lane’s comments.

ECB Eurosystem

European economy 7th September 2020

After Jackson Hole, Comes The Week Of The ECB

On Thursday September 10, the ECB will meet and present its updated macroeconomic table, which will give us a better idea of its expectations regarding the pace of economic recovery (the August PMIs showed signs of weakness after the strong rebound from the April lows). The central bank will also update its view on current and future inflation levels with data once again showing very contained prices and in a context where the Fed is willing to tolerate inflation above 2% to obtain this figure as an average.

european banks2

European economy 4th September 2020

The ECB Points The Way Towards Banking Mergers: Profitability To Fall Below 2% This Year vs 12% Demanded By Investors

The European banking sector continues to lose importance as reflected by the fact that both Societe Generale and BBVA will no longer form part of the Euro Stoxx50. Whatsmore, the ECB’s vice-president, Luis de Guindos, has warned of the need for the sector to continue with the merger process. According to de Guindos, this crisis has aggravated problems that already existed before Covid-19. These include high structural costs (commercial networks and staff), high leverage and low profitability. 

Erdogan's referendum victory

European economy 31st August 2020

Turkey: GDP Slumped But Beat Market Expectations

Ali Batuhan Barlas / Adem Ileri / Berk Orkun Isa / Seda Guler Mert / Alvaro Ortiz (BBVA Research) | Turkish economy contracted by -9.9% in yearly terms in 2Q20 (-10.7% Bloomberg, -12.7% Reuters). The quarter-on-quarter contraction was higher at 11%. The growth rates in services and industry, sensitive to the Covid-19 shock, were the key factors behind.

ipc

European economy 22nd August 2020

Euro Area Economic Watch Inflation update: it’s bad already, but it will probably get worse

Rubén Segura-Cayuela (BoAML) | We still expect a top-up of the Pandemic Emergency Purchase Programme (PEPP) by another EUR500bn to stretch until end-2021- probably announced in December. That will be necessary to accommodate the economy. But it will not suffice to tackle long-term inflation dynamics and faltering expectations. More and longer policy support is needed, urgently. 

Mind The European VAT Gap

European economy 19th August 2020

The Four Major Euro Area Countries Account For 80% Of The GDP Decline In 2Q

Philippe Waechter (Natixis IM) | Germany and France account for 23-24% of the deterioration in GDP in the euro area, while Italy and Spain are each responsible for around 15%. The remainder of the euro area accounts for 21%. We note that the weighting of Germany’s contribution is lower than the weighting of its contribution to GDP for the euro area. The opposite is true for France and Spain, and this shows the extent of the turmoil in these two countries, particularly Spain.