LONDON | By The Corner Team | It will be the U.K.’s largest public offering in decades. London plans to sell a majority of its stake in the Royal Mail, the biggest icon of British public companies that not even Margaret Thatcher dared to privatize. The sell-off to begin “in the coming weeks”, as the government announced on Thursday. But so will strikes.
MADRID / FRANKFURT | By Tania Suárez and Lidia Conde | Practically all eyes are on the German elections of September 22 since apparently the future of all Europe lies on those results. However, German political parties have dodged the issue of the economic crisis in order to sell an image of an almighty Germany. Chancellor Angela Merkel represents the perfect German: an ordinary, accessible, hardworking woman concerned about her country. The perfect candidate for Germany… or not.
BERLIN | Via Presseurop | A deal on transparency regulations for the new supervisory watchdog, which will oversee operations at 150 of the Eurozone’s largest banks, reports EUobserver is submitted to vote at the Parliament today.
MADRID |By Francisco López | Markets are hectic over the nascent economic recovery in Europe. Despite the ECB’s caution, the profitability of the so-called ‘core’ debt has continued climbing positions. In the first semester, U.S. pension funds and other big groups have invested more than 65 bn dollars in shares of European companies. Does this euphoria make sense?
By Tim Parks via Presseurop | ‘Vote me out of jail, or I will bring the country down with me’. This is the message Il Cavaliere has just sent to the Italian government, ahead of a Senate decision on whether he will lose his seat after being convicted of tax fraud. Such blackmail speaks volumes about the state of Italy in 2013, says British writer Tim Parks.
PARIS | By Thibaut Madelin at Les Echos via Presseurop | Among the – rare – unknowns of the September 22 elections is the eventual tally for the Alternative für Deutschland. The Eurosceptic party targets older and more conservative voters, one of the traditional bases of the electorate of the outgoing Chancellor.
MADRID | By Francisco López | The euro zone’s growth has been better than expected and the last data had unleashed speculation before a possible change of message of the ECB’s President. Far from reality. To the disappointment of the Bank’s Board hawks, with Germany at the forefront, Mr. Draghi has guaranteed that the price of money will follow “at the current level (0.50%) or even lower for an extended period of time”.
MADRID | By JP Marin Arrese | The Spanish government claims its structural reforms are paying off. For several months in a row unemployment performance has markedly improved, rising hopes to curb the current staggering level: more than one in four workers queuing in the dole. It also helps that exports are growing at 8% rate, allowing to save jobs and keep the economy running.
MILAN | By Sergio Fabbrini at Il Sole-24 Ore via Presseurop | The intergovernmental method established by the Maastricht Treaty may well be insufficient to overcome divisions between member states, however, the much vaunted solution of radical federalism is even less viable. If a balance is to be restored, a compromise must be found.
MADRID | By Tania Suárez | It is an acknowledged fact that the economy in the euro zone is getting better. Barclays analysts believe “the euro zone scenario is now more optimistic.” Clear evidence of this are PMIs and IFO data, which both improved last August. On the one hand, the PMI manufacturing index for the euro zone rose from 50.3 to 51.4 –the best level since July 2011. The IFO exceeded the market consensus expectations and went up from 110.1 to 112.