Yiannis Mouzakis via Macropolis | Last Friday’s release of the second quarter Greek GDP figures by ELSTAT confirmed that the economy has recorded two consecutive quarters of growth. The last time Greece started a year with two quarters of growth was in 2006.
Nick Ottens via Atlantic Sentinel | Germans are more centrist and optimistic than most Europeans. The French and the Spanish have yet to feel the economic recovery and are more inclined to vote for parties on the far left and the far right. The Italians are even more pessimistic, yet they remain wary of extremes.
The ECB governing board will meet today amidst a climate that doesn’t invite a move of any kind. It goes without saying that the only open option is whether or not to launch a discussion on how to undertake the tapering of its asset buying programme.
Ever since December last year, when it reached its low point, almost at parity with the dollar, the euro has not stopped rising. And the European economy is doing much better than that of the US.
Unlike next German elections, investors are getting nervous ahead of Italy’s elections, but t the truth is that risks look much lower than a year ago these days. In fact, analysts at Citi Research don’t expect a ‘perfect storm’.
The latest survey carried out by the Bundesbank and BaFin (Germany’s Federal Authority for Financial Supervisión) highlighted a matter which is causing great concern for the “European growth driver”: the “ultra low” official interest rates continue to “strongly weigh” on the smaller German banks.
French President Emmanuel Macron’s government has announced reforms to loosen labour market regulations, fuel a fast improvement in employment numbers and boost the economy.
Nick Ottens via Atlantic Sentinel |A transition deal might be good for Britain, but there are many reasons to doubt the EU would agree to it.
