MADRID | J.P. Marín Arrese | Heavy turnout in the Scottish referendum ensured a clear victory for those rejecting independence. Yet, a huge share of citizens showed their readiness to switch-on the atomic bomb, regardless of the awesome consequences.
ATHENS | By Nick Malkoutzis via MacroPolis | As the Greek general elections of May (and then June) 2012 approached, every poor unfortunate European politician attempted to grab a moment in the spotlight by pontificating on whether Greece should or should not be in the single currency. While the euro vultures picked at Greece’s carcass, thousands of fear-stricken Greeks withdrew their money from local banks. Who knows, maybe in our strange world of acute fiscal adjustment and extreme political polarisation it is a sign of progress that Greece no longer needs foreigners to encourage a bank run. Local politicians can do the jobs themselves.
madrid | By Álex García
MADRID | By Sean Duffy | The OECD´s announcement this week that it was initiating a plan to combat tax avoidance schemes from multinationals has been met with almost universal approval across Europe. Ireland in particular has been the subject of criticism from its EU partners. Until recently, the country had determinedly defended its tax policy, famously refusing to negotiate on the issue when the country was in need of an EU bailout back in 2009.
MADRID | By J.P. Marín Arrese | Bets heavily lean on the No campaign snatching victory tomorrow from the jaws of defeat in the Scottish referendum. Trust professional gamblers for picking out the winning horse. The prospects of a yes vote on independence have suddenly started to look dim.
ATHENS | By MacroPolis | The impact of austerity measures on Greek citizens has been devastating, according to the last official data. The average monthly expenditure of households dropped 7.8 percent year on year (YoY) to 1,509.39 euros in 2013, according to the 2013 Household Budget Survey published by the Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT).
BRUSSELS | By Alexandre Mato | The financial sector has been expecting a boost to support capital markets from the incoming EC President Jean-Claude Juncker. There has been widespread speculation as to what shape such a boost might take within the monetary union. However Britain´s opposition to Juncker´s appointment means expectations have been somewhat tempered.
ATHENS | Via Macropolis | In a much-anticipated speech, SYRIZA leader Alexis Tsipras unveiled the main pillars of his party’s economic policy platform on Saturday, focusing on debt relief from the eurozone, the use of European Union funds to boost employment, a reduction in taxes and an increase of wages and pensions.
LONDON | By UBS Global Research | While there has been considerable attention paid to the impact of an independent Scotland on British government debt ratios, the debate about independence has paid very little attention to Scotland’s starting debt. If an independent Scotland were to take a per capita share of gross debt, it would have a debt burden of around 88% of GDP (after the migration of part of Scotland’s financial sector). Scotland’s initial deficit and the set-up costs for the new state would need to be added to this number.
LONDON | By JP Morgan analysts | The French Finance Minister, Michel Sapin, announced this week that the deficit objective of 3.8% of GDP for 2014 would not be reached. This news was not surprising as the Ministry of Finance hinted this summer that the general government deficit would likely to be above 4% this year. But in his last speech, Sapin suggested that the magnitude of the revision would be large, as the government now expects a deficit of 4.4% for 2014. This represents a 0.1% worsening of the deficit with respect to 2013.