Top Stories

In Europe

Afghan women

European politics 22nd August 2021

EU “Deeply Worried” About Afghan Women and Girls

Antoinette Tyrrell (European Views) | The European Union has issued a joint statement expressing its deep concern for the plight of Afghan women and girls, following the withdrawal of US forces from the country and the return to power of the Taliban. The statement was issued in conjunction with Albania, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala, North Macedonia, New Zealand, Norway, Paraguay, Senegal,…

eu human rights

European politics 31st July 2021

Could Nuance Make the European Parliament a More Effective Human Rights Champion?

European Views | In hosting the first-ever Global State of Human Rights conference a couple of weeks ago, the European Parliament clearly signalled that it sees itself at the vanguard of promoting the rule of law, both inside and outside the bloc. Indeed, at the last plenary session alone, the Parliament adopted resolutions on the democratic crisis in Nicaragua, the repression of the opposition in Turkey, Saudi Arabia’s use of the death penalty, press freedom in Hong Kong, political prisoners in Iran, and the rights of Hungary’s LGBT citizens.

TheRock

European politics 27th July 2021

Britain Walks Back Commitment to Gibraltar

Nick Ottens (Atlantic Sentinel) | It agreed to put Gibraltar in the Schengen Area to avoid the need for border controls… Did the British not read the fine print when they signed their Brexit deals? Not only do they regret agreeing to a lay a customs border down the Irish Sea to avoid the need for passport checks and inspections of goods on the Ireland-Northern Ireland border; they also have…

European banks

European economy 25th July 2021

Ban On Bank Dividends: A Strange Remedy With Severe Side Effects

Scander Bentchikou (Lazard Frères Gestion) | The restrictions on bank dividends, which have been in force since March 2020, ended on Friday. For banks and their shareholders, this is a relief. The measure, supposed to protect banks from the crisis, has done more harm than good. Technically, the banking sector’s dividends made a big comeback in spring 2021. However, the amounts paid remained well below their 2019 levels, given the still numerous restrictions. The return to normal will have to wait for the results of the banking stress tests, published on 31 July by the European Banking Authority.

ECB night

European economy 22nd July 2021

ECB Meeting: Policy Normalisation Is Likely To Be Slow And Gradual To Enable Ongoing Policy Support

Peter Allen Goves (MFS Investment) | The need to avoid premature tightening by the ECB and the strengthened guidance is supportive for core rates in our view. The strong association of guidance with the inflation outlook will also probably raises the prominence of the projections. Overall, the new guidance reinforces the ECB’s commitment to maintain accommodation to reach its price stability aim. Given that projections remain below target, this means…

Carbon emissions

European economy 13th July 2021

“The Reform Of The Climate Change Act Was Too Hasty”

The German government should make further improvements to the German Climate Change Act in the coming legislative period. This is what Karen Pittel, Director of the ifo Center for Energy, Climate, and Resources, writes in an article for ifo Schnelldienst. “Tomorrow, the EU publishes its Fit for 55 package. As a consequence, it might become necessary to revise the Climate Change Act,” Pittel says. It was only recently, in June…

England Euro2020

European economy 11th July 2021

55 Years Of Hurt: The Connection Between Investing And Football

Duncan Lamont | (Schroders) | The England men’s football team are in their first major final since 1966. 30 years of hurt has become 55 years of hurt. Just one of many unwelcome statistics that have dogged the national team over the years, and which they hope to soon put an end to. The earlier England-Germany match provided a field day for statistical punditry. Every newspaper article and TV presenter trotted out the line that England hadn’t beaten Germany in a knock-out match since 1966. England went on to beat Germany, thereby demonstrating what we are frequently told is true in the investment world – that past performance is not a guide to the future and may not be repeated.

EU regions

European economy 10th July 2021

EU Funding For Cross-Border Regions Needs Better Focus

The European Territorial Cooperation programme (Interreg) is a long-standing instrument of EU cohesion policy aimed at encouraging economic growth in border areas. According to a report from the European Court of Auditors (ECA), the cooperation programmes financed through Interreg had clear strategies for tackling existing cross-border challenges. However, several weaknesses in the implementation of the Interreg programmes and in their monitoring limited the potential to unlock the capacity of the adjacent regions they covered.Interreg’s total budget for the 2014-2020 programme period was €10.1 billion. Over €6 billion was used to finance projects associated with internal borders.

ECB bonds

European economy 8th July 2021

ECB Raises The Bar For Normalisation In The Short-Run, Flexibility Is The Key For Policy

Monex Europe | Today’s announcement by the European Central Bank can be perceived as net dovish in the short-term by markets, as the shift from an asymmetric target to a new symmetric 2% inflation target gives the central bank ample room to run accommodative monetary policy for longer without having to fight markets. Previously, the ECB’s inflation target was set at “below, but close to 2%”, which contributed to the eurozone’s structural issues with low inflation for years. By changing this target to a symmetric target, which means any undershoots and overshoots would be equally undesirable, the central bank moves the bar slightly upwards for inflation before policy is required to tighten.