The limits in payment systems are as huge as this industry’s rapidly changing profile. The sector’s technology and frontiers are collapsing, but France appears to have some degree of local experience, as shown by the recent confrontation between Atos/Gemelto/Thales.
Nick Malkoutzis via Macropolis | Sadly, politicians and technocrats in the European Union are providing the far-right with a golden opportunity to release this populist poison because they cannot unite behind a common approach to the refugee question.
The European company in the news today is the French defence and aerospace technology firm Thales. It has made a €4.760 billion bid for Gemalto, a Dutch company specialising in cybersecurity and digital payments.
Fitch has been the last agency to raise its rating on Portugal to investment grade last Friday. The previous increase from S&P in September already showed signs of the sick person being in very good health. Neighbouring Spain should also see an improvement in its credit quality and be included in the A tranche, at least by S&P and Fitch.
The ECB could first check how the market reacts to the actual halving of its purchases in January, and how the run-up to the Italian elections shape up, before changing its message.
Fair Observer | Leaving the European Union is not that simple. Having pulled off a last-minute agreement with the European Commission to move forward, Brexit Britain is feeling the burn this winter. The next stage is the big one: future trade relations. If all goes well, the talks should be coming to a close by fall 2018.
Europe has been seriously hit by the outcome of the German elections. And it’s difficult for it not to suffer the consequences of being led by Germany. What is in doubt is whether in the next crisis, which could be fuelled by any of the underlying threats (Russia, immigrants, separatism etc) there will be sufficient common resources to deal with them.
| So, what’s in a border? Conventional wisdom suggests that borders divide people, societies, states, economies and legal systems. In the case of Brexit, however, the Irish border might just become the pulling factor that could keep (at least a part of) the UK in a close relationship with the EU.
Last Friday, the UK and the European Union finally presented a 15-page exit deal, ending six months of tedious negotiations. According to Julius Baer’s analysts “it was the breakthrough UK Prime Minister May needed so badly”, but looking at the details, “the deal contains some serious political stumbling blocks.”
Financing is no longer a priority for European SMEs. In fact, it has not been for a long time now. In this way, with cheap and extensive bank financing as a base, the SMEs can focus on their business.