In Europe

boris vujcic

De Guindos ends term as ECB Vice-President, replaced by Croatian Boris Vujčić

Reported by Consejeros Editorial Team The Croatian economist Boris Vujčić, a central banker who advocates keeping inflation under control through higher interest rates, takes up the post of Vice-President of the European Central Bank (ECB), replacing Spain’s Luis de Guindos, for a non-renewable eight-year term. Almost three and a half years after the introduction of the euro in Croatia, Vujčić joins the ECB’s Executive Board at a time when the…


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Europe’s defence sector

On the final day of the Medcap Forum 2026, several defence experts addressed the challenges facing the sector, agreeing that, despite this being a historic moment for defence spending, we are hampered by the fragmentation of European management. By Consejeros Editorial Team Is Europe ready to compete in defence? Yes, but not by much. That is the conclusion that can be drawn from the reflections of the specialists who opened…


ECB bonds

ECB already discussing need to raise interest rates at next meeting, regardless of whether US and Iran reach peace deal

Report by Link Securities Isabel Schnabel, a German member of the European Central Bank (ECB) Executive Board, stated that the ECB should raise interest rates in June, even if peace negotiations with Iran result in an agreement. It should be noted that the ECB has kept its key interest rates unchanged for a year, but that inflation in the Eurozone stood at 3% in April, above the ECB’s 2% target….


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Sharp fall in eurozone trade surplus – €26 billion since March last year – reflects rise in oil prices

Analysis by Karsten Junius Higher oil prices are taking their toll on the eurozone’s trade balance. In March, the surplus fell by €3 billion compared with February and by €26 billion compared with March last year. Relatively weak exports in the eurozone’s main export sectors—machinery and vehicles, as well as chemicals and related products—also contributed to the decline in the trade surplus. The persistence of high commodity prices suggests that…


European fiscal stimuli

Brussels revises 2026 growth forecast from 1.2% down to 0.9%: region’s three largest economies to bear heaviest burden

Report by Link Securities The European Commission (EC), in its Spring Economic Report 2026, has revised downwards its forecast for Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth for the European Union (EU) and the Eurozone, citing inflationary pressures arising from the conflict in the Middle East. Thus, the EC has cut its growth forecast for the EU economy for 2026 from 1.4% to 1.1%, and for the Eurozone economy to 0.9% from…


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Eurozone trade surplus plummets to €7.8 billion in March

Reported by the Consejeros Editorial Team The Eurozone’s goods trade balance recorded a surplus of €7.8 billion in March, compared with €34.1 billion in the same month last year, according to data published on Tuesday by Eurostat. Eurozone exports of goods to the rest of the world reached €265.3 billion in March, representing a 5.5% fall compared with the same month in 2025. Meanwhile, imports rose by 4.4% to €257.4…


Europa Mercados

Record share buybacks in Europe, totalling $80 billion so far this year

So far this year, European companies have bought back shares worth $80 billion, the highest figure to date, with half of this concentrated in just 20 companies. In March alone, a monthly record of €30 billion was reached, and it is expected that over the next three months, 3% of the free float will be bought back. Analysis by Morgan Stanley The volume of share buybacks so far this year…


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Eurozone economy contracts for first time in over a year: composite PMI drops to 48.8

The Eurozone is in decline. Business activity suffers its sharpest contraction in 17 months. Rising prices and disruptions to travel and supplies are causing concern, as they threaten to worsen the slowdown. Consejeros Editorial Team The Eurozone economy has contracted for the first time in nearly a year and a half. Final data for the April PMI “confirm the early signs of an economy heading toward decline, as the war…


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Eurozone manufacturing PMI rebounds in April as firms build up stocks in anticipation of war-related disruptions

CdM | Growth in the Eurozone manufacturing sector rebounded in April. However, “although the PMI index has reached its highest level in almost four years, the survey is causing more concern than joy”. Input price inflation rose sharply again, approaching its four-year high. Furthermore, production and the order book were driven by the build-up of safety stocks, “as a result of widespread concerns over supply shortages and rising prices stemming…


bce lagarde dic 2024

ECB keeps rates at 2% and acknowledges risks “have intensified”

CdM | The European Central Bank (ECB) has kept interest rates at 2% and acknowledges that “upside risks to inflation and downside risks to growth have intensified”. However, it states that “the Governing Council remains well positioned to deal with the current uncertainty”. As stated in the press release following the April meeting, the eurozone entered this period of sharp rises in energy prices with inflation close to the 2%…