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In Europe 26th June 2012

Italian unemployment trend takes nasty turn: Tuesday’s charts

bank loans with bad credit LONDON | Italian prime minister may have to introduce in his country the labour market reform á la Spanish he much praised not long ago. Among the statistics that are increasingly flagging a red light in the Italian economy, unemployment is gaining some attention. Although Italy’s labour market underwent substantial adjustments over the past two decades, with the 1997 Treu measures and the 2003 Biagi reform,…

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In Europe 26th June 2012

Fiscal compact is the key

MADRID | Germany will not move unless it firmly secures the fiscal compact goal. The growth strategy, the financial transactions tax and even banking union will only thrive so long discipline in public accounts is agreed. You can sulk at the stubborn obstinacy shown by Ms Merkel on this issue but trying to ignore it would not help Europe to overcome current problems. Brussels is proposing an enhanced budgetary control that…

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In Europe 25th June 2012

Rome mini-Summit delivers mini-results

MADRID | No one expected the Rome gathering to produce a comprehensive answer to the euro’s acute problems. Divergences still run high between Germany and France on the right approach to take. Avoiding the impression other partners might be faced with a ready cooked solution in the forthcoming Summit, also invited to adopt a self-restrained attitude. So leaders from the four leading economies in the euro area choose to come…

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In Europe 22nd June 2012

What a kerfuffle over that €100-billion Spanish banks’ bailout

By Luis Arroyo, in Madrid | The results of those independent audits over the Spanish banking sector have come to be summarised in one line, that banks would need up to €62 billion if the economy took a turn for the worst. Now, the published opinion in the country is terribly divided, as it was expected between the optimists and pessimists. To some extent, we cannot exactly be hopeful. There…

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In Europe 22nd June 2012

The recession gets deeper in Italy

By CaixaBank research team, in Barcelona | As was expected, Italy saw a considerable drop in its GDP in the first quarter, namely 0.8%, higher than the one recorded in the last two quarters. This suggests that the recession is biting deeper and shows just how deep. The year-on-year rate of change in GDP therefore fell to -1.3%. This contraction in the level of the activity can be explained by…

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In Europe 21st June 2012

Los Cabos pledges will prove hard to deliver

MADRID | The relaxed atmosphere in a seaside resort has undoubtedly helped coming to terms with a number of common sense goals. But delivery might prove more gruelling than expected. You don’t need to cross the Atlantic and be lectured by President Obama to concede that unwinding the feedback between financial and sovereign risks stands as a key requirement. Or to accept that current Spanish and Italian risk premium should be…

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In Europe 21st June 2012

Pessimist about the economy? Stop moaning and follow London

LONDON | Unlike the rest of planet? London businesses are more optimistic than six months ago about the prospects for the economy and for their own companies. The CBI/KPMG London Business Survey is conducted twice a year to monitor the views of business on London as a place to do business. Encouragingly in the latest survey of 264 companies, 41% of respondents say they feel more optimistic about the economy during the…

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In Europe 20th June 2012

The Spanish dream: let’s break the vicious circle of sovereigns and banks

By Julia Pastor, in Madrid | On Tuesday, financial analysts at Link Securities commented that “Spain would be in the spotlight of present week political contacts”, of course, in a clear reference to the G-20 meeting at Mexico. “Discussions held there will largely focus on the country’s situation.” And that is exactly what has happened. Spanish president Mariano Rajoy arrived in Mexico with the aim of putting on the table…

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In Europe 20th June 2012

E pericoloso sporgersi

MADRID | Any train traveller knows by heart the stern warning on the danger that lies in leaning out. Italians seem to pay due attention to this caution, living permanently in a risky environment. Downplaying their own problems has led them to slip to second line positions leaving Spaniards as forerunners of the raging euro battle. Spain has behaved in a most divergent way. Confronted with a looming banking crisis,…

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In Europe 20th June 2012

Chronology for the euro salvation

how to get your ex girlfriend back By www.consensodelmercado.com, in Madrid | Europe has been immersed in a long and complex change process for the last three years. The global currency department at JP Morgan has published a report marking out the path that Europe should be following in the medium and long term. It expects a main scenario in which no country member leaves the euro, but in which…