LISBON | By Helena Matos via Presseurop | The International Monetary Fund, European Commission and European Central Bank are back in Lisbon to evaluate the results of the 2011 bailout plan. This is good because otherwise Portugal would make the same mistakes that led to the crisis in the first place.
MADRID | By Carlos Díaz Güell | The European Union troika paid a visit to Spain and concluded that the country’s banking sector “progresses satisfactorily”. Although the final report will not be unveiled until November, first impressions are promising and represent the gateway of the 2014 stress tests.
ITALY | Via Presseurop | Italy is in the midst of a political upheaval after the September 28 resignations of five ministers from the coalition government led by the Democratic Party’s Enrico Letta. Silvio Berlusconi’s decision to ask his ministers to resign is criticised by nearly all the country’s press.
THE CORNER TEAM | Austria’s two biggest political parties made their worst showings in decades in the national election on Sunday, losing votes to an array of smaller parties.
MADRID | By JP Marin Arrese | The Spanish government is about to reform the pension system so as to improve the budgetary balance. However, the current policies will not yield results in the short or medium-term and they won’t prevent deficits from emerging.
WASHINGTON | By Pablo Pardo | In 10 months, the T. Rowe Price European Stock has invested 15% of its $944 million (700 million euros) in Spanish assets. Possibly because, as its manager, Dean Penerelli, explained in Barron’s last week’s issue, he knows Spain. Penerelli is not an idealist, neither a gambler. He speaks Spanish, received an MBA at Barcelona’s ESADE, and worked at Spanish bank Banesto (now part of Banco Santander) in the early Nineties. Another important factor may be that, according to Barron’s, Penerelli “likes to buy on the cheap”.
LONDON | Barclays Reasearch | The market’s confidence has increased, but we still see important challenges that weigh on Italy’s outlook. Political instability is the main risk that could hamper Italy’s ability to tackle these issues.
THE CORNER TEAM | Remember when we told you the euro-zone was on the road to recovery after a particularly encouraging PMI was released? Now a bunch of analysts are focusing on the end of recession. The ECB keeping on with its low interest rate policy, as well as the U.S. Fed non-tapering-yet mood should help too, they say. However, a minority of market watchers point out this relative financial stability may not last long.
The Corner Team | ECB’s President Mario Draghi opened the door to providing more money to eurozone banks in order to keep market interest rates low and ensure the recovery, which finally seems to be picking up. His comments have been like fresh air to Europe’s banks, which face another stress test in the coming months.
MADRID | By Tania Suárez | Ana Botín will now be part of a first level team in David Cameron’s government, which will stand up for Brand London as international financial centre. The Prime Minister has chosen the Spanish businesswoman after her harsh speech on “the culture of pessimism” in Britain.