Intermoney | The 5 Star Movement and La Liga finally reached an agreement to govern Italy on Thursday after more than two months of political deadlock. But it is still not known who will be prime minister.
Rob May via Fair Observer | In a world where the radical right is most certainly on the rise, Poland has become a key stomping ground for its adherents.
Paula Sampedro (Link Securities) |There are various fronts open on the political front during this week. Specifically, the Italian political parties La Liga (extreme rightwing) and the Movimiento Cinco Estrellas (anti-establishment) are expected to present their programme for government to the country’s president Sergio Mattarella, after reaching an agreement to form a new government in Italy.
CaixaBank Research | The European Commission is looking at how the banks can have a more diversified portfolio of public debt securities. It is studying how to obtain a safe European asset without having to establish a tax union to back the issue of said asset.
The IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde recently mentioned that a more unified euro area could be a “compass to prosperity for the region and a beacon of hope to the world.” In this spirit, the Elcano Royal Institute has recently published a paper by Spanish economists on the reform of the EMU.
Francisco Vidal | The demand for credit from households continues to rise in the EMU and, in particular, consumer credit. Entries for lending of M3, once the figures have been seasonally-adjusted and the effect of certain changes in the perimeter have been factored in, showed that loans to households are growing at a rate of 3.0% annually, led by those earmarked for consumption (+ 7% annually)
J.L.M. Campuzano | Financial integration is a relevant factor for financial stability and facilitates the transmission of monetary policy. A few days ago, the ECB published an update on financial integration.
Two months after the general elections, Italy continues to be in a political deadlock. In fact,president Mattarella considers new elections in July a possibility if a “truce government” has no majority in Parliament. As negotiations continue, possibly preceded by a transition government, Italian authorities are tasked with passing the budget in the fall and approving a new electoral law that would deliver a clearer winner at the next election.
Miguel Navascués | When the signs of an incipient slowdown in the European economy begin to multiply – the matching indicators suggest that industrial production slowed in 2018 – the case for reaching an agreement on Brexit and refocusing attention on unifying the capital markets becomes increasingly more powerful and urgent.
Eurozone GDP growth in Q1 arrived in line with a GDP tracker at +0.4% on a quarterly basis estimated by AXA IM strategists (versus a consensus of 0.6%) and reflected “the weakness in industrial production in several member states during January and February.”