In last years, central banks have managed to give markets any sign about the direction of their policies, neither too dramatic nor excessively inaccurate. Today it is the turn for the ECB to take a further step towards the monetary policy easing in Europe. Experts are divided over the tone of Draghi’s words at the central bank meeting. Some expect he will not change it against the relative surprising hawkish speech in Sintra two weeks ago.
Ecofin agreed last week on a set of actions to be undertaken between now and end-2018 to reduce EU banks’ amounting €921 billion in September 2016 (almost 9% of the euro area’s GDP. At last the EU finance ministers acknowledged that possible “negative cross-border spillovers” from high NPL ratios in some member states require a common EU strategy to address the problem.
After the military welcome that Macron offered Trump last week on the Champs Elysees, it seems appropiate to examine closely French new government resolutions in terms of military spending, and more specifically their plans for one of France defense crown jewel Thales.
Wolfango Piccoli via Macropolis | The collapse on 7 July of the latest UN-sponsored talks to resolve the Cyprus issue has increased the risk of a naval confrontation between Turkey and the Republic of Cyprus when Total of France and Eni of Italy begin exploratory drilling in Block 11 of the Cypriot exclusive economic zone (EEZ) this week.
Five years after saying no to participating in the EU Banking Union, it seems Sweden is now studying the possibility of joining, motivated precisely by the possible benefits the UK’s departure from the EU could bring.
Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe signed on Thursday a political agreement on the EU-Japan trade deal, which would be likely completed within months,expectedly by January. Officials said it was not clear at this stage how the EU-Japan deal would be ratified in Europe. Full national ratification gives every national parliament and some regional ones a veto.
Nick Malkoutzis via Macropolis | A stale parliamentary debate that rarely stayed on topic seemed a good way to wrap up another disappointing political season in Greece. The country has been stuck in a deep, dark hole for almost a decade and now it has a chance for a change in fortune. But its decision makers will have to display much more vision, determination and mastery than was on display in Parliament on Monday.
José Luis M. Campuzano (Spanish Banking Association) | It’s been balance sheet adjustments and the worsening of the deliquency rate which have been mainly responsible for the deterioration in banking margins over the last few years. It’s important for the ECB to establish a clear strategy for monetary normalisation for the future.
Nick Ottens | Emmanuel Macron has come under criticism for creating an “imperial” or “Jupiterian” presidency in France. Don’t mistake the president’s theater for putting style over substance. The goal is economic reform.
We need to analyse what the “inflation triggers” are at the moment, beginning with those related to the domestic environment. In this case, key factors are salaries and what’s happening with prices.