A crack on the Troika’s surface
LONDON | By Victor Jimenez | A less credible Troika will spark even more investor distrust and bomb the one piece in the euro jigsaw that brings market confidence.
In Europe
The economics of corruption
MADRID | By JP Marín Arrese | Serving the public is a life-long profession that should never get stranded in the pitfall traps of money.
The ECB’s U-turn
MADRID | By Carlos Díaz Guell | Mario Draghi was accused of having become a trader, but the ECB governor is just giving the European Monetary Union enough time to implement reforms.
EU ready to improve broadband investment
BRUSSELS | By Neelie Kroes, vice-president of the European Commission | “It’s just one example of how the right measures can be good for everyone: providing the certainty needed for the sector to invest and grow; and benefiting citizens.”
The trouble with German banks
By Beate Reszat | German financial institutions and their regulators have developed a high level of bad-bank sophistication. But there’s still room for unpleasant surprises.
Guide to support the Spanish domestic demand
BARCELONA | By CaixaBank research team | Factors to revive private consumption and corporate investment in a Spanish economy gearing towards recovery.
Portugal-Lithuania: two sides of the same crisis
PARIS | By Philippe Ricard via Presseurop | In Lisbon, shock therapy has failed to bring down the government. In Vilnius, it has made for a fast-tracked entry into Europe. What lessons can we learn from these criss-crossing paths?
The Spanish tax lease case may cause shock waves
MADRID | BY JP Marín Arrese | The piecemeal strategy in addressing unwarranted aids likely to grossly distort the allocation of resources might end up fuelling uncertainty and a massive stampede from investors.
UK SMEs missing billions under digital austerity
LONDON | By Victor Jimenez | That the CBI has aired a word in favour of their smaller colleagues reveals the extent to which the real economy strives to free itself from the anti-pro austerity meaningless conflict.
How the Troika alienates its friends
ATHENS | The eurozone and the IMF decided on 8 July to hand Athens a new tranche of aid in exchange for the sacking of 15,000 civil servants. If they want to lose the support of the population for the necessary reform of public services, that’s the best way to go about it, says Panos Panagiotopoulos.