j.P. Marín-Arrese | Headline inflation is markedly dropping in Europe, even if the core one trails behind. Plummeting energy costs have played a key role in reining in prices. Yet, the ongoing Middle East crisis could derail this process. Later this year, the unfolding of tax rebates to relieve consumers badly hit by the inflationary bout will feed fresh pressures. Thus, unless the ECB resolutely cuts rates in the October…
Link Securities | Banco Santander (SAN) has taken new steps to grow in the leasing business, which has become one of its strategic priorities and where it aims to stand out among the leaders in Europe, reports elEconomista. The subsidiary Santander Consumer Finance has acquired CLM Fleet Management in the UK, a specialist in the integrated management of leasing for fleets of passenger cars and commercial vehicles for corporate clients,…
Bankinter: Fitch maintained its rating at AA-, but downgraded its outlook to Negative. It justified its decision on the sharp rise in the Public Deficit: it is expected to close this year at 6.1%, far from the limit imposed by the EU, 3%, from Fitch’s previous estimate, 5.1%, and from the 2023 level, 5.5%. They do not expect it to reach the 3.0% target until 2029. Consistently, they estimate that…
Norbolsa | French Finance Minister Antoine Armand commented on Friday that an adjustment budget was aimed at regaining control over debt, adding that the government was closely monitoring how financial markets view the French debt situation. Presenting its 2025 budget with plans for spending cuts and tax hikes worth €60 billion for the rich and big business to tackle a spiralling fiscal deficit, with a target of putting the deficit…
Bankinter: ECB minutes of the meeting of 12 September. The focus in the markets has shifted towards economic growth to the detriment of inflation, which has moderated in recent months. Fears of a slowdown in the US economy have raised expectations that the Fed will cut rates more aggressively than the ECB. This approach has carried over to Europe in the face of a somewhat weaker macro picture than in…
Iberdrola plans to announce investments of £24 billion (over €28 billion) between the current fiscal year and 2028 in the UK, double what it was considering a few months ago. This will be communicated by the president of IBE, Ignacio Sánchez Galán, to the British Prime Minister Keir Starmer in the coming hours. The acquisition of the Electricity North West group for €5 billion has prompted this upward adjustment in…
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has fined TSB, the British subsidiary of Banco Sabadell, £10.91 million (around €13.04 million) for “unfair” treatment of customers struggling to meet their loans, primarily mortgages. According to the FCA, TSB Bank “failed to ensure that customers in arrears were treated fairly.” “It also lacked the proper controls and systems to ensure good outcomes,” it adds. The issues occurred between June 2014 and March 2020….
Link Securities | The European Commission (EC) has approved the acquisition of Irish engineering firm Dornan by Turner, a subsidiary of Spain’s ACS, concluding that the deal does not raise competition concerns, digital portal Bolsamania.com reported yesterday. The EC explained that the companies are not active in the same markets or in vertically related markets as it relates to the supply of mechanical and electrical engineering services. It should be…
Intermoney | A rise in Germany’s industrial production in August is likely to do little to counter growing evidence that Europe’s largest economy is stagnating. Industrial production has yet to show a sustained recovery, hit by weak global demand, high energy prices and financing conditions still in tight territory. This will be seen in the year-on-year reading where, despite the slight monthly rebound, we will still see a contraction of…
Link Securities | The Turkish government has chosen BBVA and JPMorgan to lead a refinancing operation of the country’s historic debt, Expansión reports today. Turkey has decided to take advantage of the increased appetite for Turkish debt shown by large international investors to shore up its finances with a buyback transaction and new bond issuance registered with the US SEC. BBVA has launched an offensive to strengthen its investment banking…