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In Europe 8th January 2015

ECB bound to act

MADRID | By JP Marín Arrese | Central bankers would be ill-advised to cave in to pressure from the markets. Yet, the ECB can hardly resist the urgent need to implement a fully-fledged QE programme involving sovereigns. Anything less could end-up sparking a period of vicious turmoil as Syriza seems poised to win the upcoming elections in Greece and the oil market continues to tumble into utter disarray. Such a grim outlook requires drastic action. Would it solve all the current problems? There are plenty of reasons to doubt it.

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In Europe 7th January 2015

Fanciful notions of Greek tragedy ignore practicalities of realpolitik

MADRID | By Sean Duffy | Last week´s Der Spiegel article envisioning an “inevitable” Greek withdrawal from the euro in the event of a Syriza win in the upcoming elections has yet to have the desired effect, with Alexis Tsipras´ left-wing party continuing to hold a small but significant lead over the ruling New Democracy party in the polls. The piece, attributed to unnamed government sources in Germany, sparked a flurry of speculation and doomsday analysis across international media.

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In Europe 6th January 2015

Where did all the money go in Greece?

ATHENS | By Yiannis Mouzakis via Macropolis | The total amount of loans the eurozone and the International Monetary Fund supplied to Greece between May 2010 and the most recent disbursements last summer stand at 226.7 billion euros. This is equivalent to almost 125 percent of Greece’s economic activity in 2014. There seems to be a general misconception that feeds a misleading narrative in which the loans were used to keep the Greek state afloat, maintain its basic operations and pay salaries of doctors, teachers and policemen.

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In Europe 4th January 2015

Germany: Topsy-turvy world (II)

FRANKFURT | By Lidia Conde | Is Germany living in a crazy world? That’s what many journalists hint at. “The tortoise cycle will continue,” says Johannes Müller, responsible for the management of Deutsche Bank’s large estates. “The interest rates will remain rock-bottom at least until 2016.” This represents an opportunity for the stock exchanges, because the fear of risk is decreasing. “The ECB wants to weaken the Euro with its low interest rates policy, which is also an opportunity to invest in Dollars and real estate.”

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In Europe 3rd January 2015

Germany: Topsy-turvy world (I)

FRANKFURT | By Lidia Conde | The headlines on the German media would suggest that we live in a crazy world or on the edge looking into the abyss. The fear of a potential catastrophe due to the anti-crisis policy by Mario Draghi and Janet Yellen has led to many different theories and proposals.

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In Europe 31st December 2014

EU: When taxation is tailor-made

BRUSSELS | By Jacobo de Regoyos | The previous five years of Jean-Claude Juncker’s reign were suddenly thrown into flux following the publication of hundreds of secret documents regarding agreements between the Grand Duchy of Luxemburg-during his premiership- and over 340 multinationals. In essence, this amounted to the facilitation of tailor-made fiscal schemes that allow the payment of a corporate tax close to 1% instead of the stipulated 29%. 

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In Europe 30th December 2014

EU Banks: Surprises for 2015

MADRID | The Corner | The ECB’s non-conventional measures, the banking restructuration and the adaptation to the new regulation make 2015 a crucial year. According to experts at Morgan Stanley, the many stories about restructuration, dividends and regulatory changes will allow to differentiate the performance of the different assets.

A man walks past a pre-election poster of the Democratic Alliance party at a bus station in Athens

In Europe 29th December 2014

“If Syriza wants to obtain a better deal from Greece’s lenders, it will have to offer something in return”

MADRID | By Ana Fuentes | The possibility that leftist party SYRIZA wins next Greece’s elections on January 25th is hitting the European markets since this may involve a new kind of arrangement with Brussels about the country’s bailout and the precautionary line. According to Greek journalist at Macropolis, Nick Malkoutzis, “if the party offers structural reforms that would clean up Greek politics, improve tax collection and make the public administration more efficient, the Eurozone might be prepared to listen to what SYRIZA has to say”.

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In Europe 29th December 2014

Greece will call national elections with Syriza and as one of the favourites forces

MADRID | The Corner | Greece’s prime minister failed to get his presidential candidate confirmed, which will lead to an early parliamentary election that could end the nation’s international lifeline. It was important that the Greek government reached an agreement to appoint a  new PM. However, the third and decisive time only gave 168 votes to Antonis Samaras, the same as in the previous round. This means that there will be early elections and the possibility of Syriza reaching the government is even closer.