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In Europe 5th September 2014

Dijsselbloem hangs onto the Eurogroup Presidency: “I have a job”

BRUSSELS | By Alexandre Mato | After displaying a substantial diplomacy effort during the summer, Spain may be losing the battle. Jeroem Dijsselbloem wants to keep himself as Eurogroup President with the goodwill of his goverment. At the boxing ring’s opposite corner is Spain’s candidate, Economy Minister Luis de Guindos. In front of the Europarliament Economic Committe on Thursday, Dijsselbloem insisted that his term will end in July next year and he is “determined to fulfill it”. 

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In Europe 5th September 2014

Draghi does the dirty job while Germany attacks

FRANKFURT | By Lidia Conde | What a relief! France is reinventing itself as it is Angela Merkel’s hope. However much Mr Draghi warns that the ECB will do whatever it takes to save the euro, all the fresh money in the bank will be useless unless “some members of the Eurozone” change their economic policy. This is Germany’s analysis of the Eurozone state.

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In Europe 5th September 2014

The ECB failing to convince needs to act

MADRID | By JP Marin Arrese | Ever since Alan Greenspan moved at will financial markets behaviour, simply by talking up or down either expectations or exchange rates, central bankers have tried to follow suit. For all his merits, Mario Draghi lacks Greenspan’s skills. Even if he commands enough fluency in English, his messages sometimes are utterly ill placed. Yesterday’s underperformance in his press conference showed it vividly.

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In Europe 4th September 2014

Europe’s PMIs mixed data confirms the need of new, strong action from ECB

MADRID | The Corner | August PMI figures confirm what investors already know: Europe’s economy continues to expand at a very low rate. Indeed, the final data have been revised downwards in those cases where no changes were expected, and they are worse than July’s. Final services PMI: 53.1 vs. 53.5 preliminary and 54.2 in July (highest level of the last 3 years). Specifically, PMI services index in Spain rose to 58.1 points in August from 56.2 in July, representing the biggest increase since December 2006. The consensus of analysts expected a slightly lower number of 55.5 points.

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In Europe 3rd September 2014

ECB: We need a QE shot (not 17 of them, JPMorgan)

MADRID | The Corner | It’s speculation day before the European Central Bank’s tomorrow meeting. Will a QE plan finally be announced? Experts at Santander bank think that, if announced too early, it could damage TLTROs. JP Morgan economists believe there is a 30% chance we’ll get a QE shot in 2014, 50% next year. And they’ve come with a proposal we find erratic: 17 different bond buying plans, one for each state member. That is exactly the opposite direction the EU needs to be heading to.

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In Europe 3rd September 2014

Air pollution: Time for clean air lobbying

MADRID | The Corner | Around 400,000 people die prematurely in the EU due to air pollution-related problems, costing health systems around €330 billion and €940 billion. Brussels-based non profit EBB (European Biodiesel Board), lobbying for this type of fuel, measured air pollution levels in different areas of the city: they were between 60 and 120 times above considered clean standards. Schadenfreude fans: last year Beijing residents suffered 40 times the recommended maximum exposure limit set by the World Health Organization.

 

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In Europe 3rd September 2014

Spain may press criminal charges against Pujol tax fraud

MADRID | By Ana Fuentes | According to the US-based organisation One, corruption takes around $1tn a year out of poor countries and kills millions. Yet this evil is not strange to developed nations. In Spain, 127 politicians are facing corruption charges although they have not lost their jobs. The last big scandal affects former Catalan leader Jordi Pujol, who in July admitted hiding an inheritance abroad for more than 30 years. A storm embarrassing the current ruling regional government who has called a referendum in November on whether the region should break from the rest of Spain. Madrid may seek criminal charges, Spanish Budget Minister Cristobal Montoro (see picture above) said on Tuesday. For some analysts, this could be a strategy to dent nationalism support.

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In Europe 2nd September 2014

Paris talks mark start of Greece’s most crucial troika review

ATHENS | via MacroPolis | The first round of the new review of Greece’s Economic Adjustment Program (EAP) is kicking off in Paris today and will last until September 4. The IMF spokesman has recently clarified that the aim of these meetings is to “discuss the way forward on the forthcoming review and is expected to be followed by the full mission to Athens in late September” for the full review. 

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In Europe 30th August 2014

GLAC, a term you’ll need to become familiar with after the summer

MADRID | By Raimundo Poveda | Those who are interested in banking policy are doomed to learn some new term day in, day out. GLAC (i.e. “gone-concern loss-absorbing capacity”) is the capacity to absorb the losses of an unfeasible bank. Let us recall that the banking regulation declares a bank “unfeasible” not when it collapses but when it fails to comply with the minimum capital requirements –even if its financial assets are positive.