JLM Campuzano, Citi strategist, in Madrid | I read half surprised, half indignant, that a competitor released today an investor note in which the pending exit of Greece from the European Monetary Union is given a week as a deadline. The arguments are all too well known: the Hellenic authorities have already breached the adjustment plans, the country’s political parties will not come together in any of the urgent agreements…
LONDON | How much money did the UK government borrow in April? Less than you might have assumed. In fact, the public sector borrowing report for the last month brought strong surpluses: net figures excluding financial interventions gave a surplus of £16.5 billion compared to a deficit of £9.1 billion in April last year, and the total net volume saw a surplus of £18.8 billion from a deficit of £6.2 billion in…
By Luis Arroyo, in Madrid | We either reinforce the political union in the European Monetary Union or let the monster simply die away. These are the actual choices we have, and one must admit that a euro termination does not sound as the craziest option, not after four years of unstoppable recession and walking at the brink of the abyss. It is a possibility no one wants to study,…
BARCELONA | The Spanish financial markets regulator CNMV admitted Copenhagen-based Greentech’s voluntary cash tender offer on all ordinary shares of Fersa. Greentech had submitted last Friday its prospectus to the CNMV for its voluntary public offer of acquisition of 100% of Fersa, offering €0.40 in cash for each Fersa share. By submitting the prospectus and legal documentation required, Greentech requested that the regulator approved its offer for the Catalan renewable energy…
Luis Arroyo, in Madrid | It’s the talk of the town. The euro zone desperately needs to become a fiscal union and, voilà, everything will be sorted. But I wonder: how do we get there? Have a look at the chart below, which reflects fiscal pressure levels in core Europe economies and in some of the peripherals’. What do we see? We clearly spot the huge differences among them (which are…
By Tania Suárez, in Madrid | Pablo Diez, from the asset management department at Nordkapp, explained in a conversation with The Corner that Spain’s unemployment ratio distorts the image the market has about the country’s economy as a whole, and investors believe Spain is at higher risk of default than other euro peripheral countries. He also said that “Spain should be provided with an injection of money issued by the European Central…
MADRID | Markets have been plunged into utter chaos by the Greek political deadlock and the prospect parties staunchly opposed to the EU bail out plan may have the upper hand in the incoming elections. Panic has also been driven by light comments picturing Greece’s eviction from the euro as an anodyne and somehow inevitable event. Such a bullish appraisal does not emerge from Anglo Saxon analysts so much inclined to…
It was Germany, with a 0.5 percent growth of GDP in the first quarter of this year, that helped the euro zone avoid enter technical recession territory. GDP remained stable in both the euro are and the EU during January to March of 2012 compared with the previous quarter, according to flash estimates published by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union. Compared with the same quarter of the previous…
LONDON | Less than 5 percent of all small businesses play the biggest role in boosting the UK economy, a new report by Santander Corporate Banking has concluded. The study, released Tuesday, also indicated that this same small fraction of SMEs accounts for two-thirds of all private-sector employment. Santander analysts found that a very limited number of small businesses have a significantly higher economic impact than the rest of the UK small…
In March 2012 compared with February 2012, seasonally adjusted industrial production fell by 0.3% in the euro area and by 0.4% in the EU. In February production rose by 0.8% and 0.4% respectively. In March 2012 compared with March 2011, industrial production dropped by 2.2% in the euro area and by 1.9% in the EU. These estimates were released this week by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union. In March 2012 compared with…