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europe gas

World economy 23rd July 2014

Can’t live without Russian gas (yet)

MADRID | The Corner | The EU released on Wednesday a target to improve energy efficiency by 30% as part of a package of climate and energy policy for 2030, and a measure that some considered “a gift to Mr Putin.” The truth is Europe says it is on the verge to impose sanctions to Russia for the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17, although it has been reluctant to use US-stule sanctions in the past due to its high dependence on Russian gas -see this chart by Statista which shows the deep interconnection-. But there seems to be a way for the Old Continent to wear off any gas cuts if things gets really nasty: liquefied natural gas (LNG). For countries like Spain, it would be a golden opportunity. 

china credit

World economy 21st July 2014

China embraces credit expansion

MADRID | The Corner | The world’s second economy is entering an enthusiastic summer period, with credit lending indicators rising in June. New loans denominated in yuan grew up by 1.08 bn CNY in China, aggregate financing went up by 1.97 bn CNY and the M2 monetary offer, in 14.7% year on year in June. All these data exceeded market expectations and show that the authorities are favoring the expansion of credit to boost growth.

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World economy 21st July 2014

Japan would be better off depressed!

SAO PAULO | By Marcus Nunes via Historinhas | This can be inferred from a speech by Rintaro Tamaki, Deputy Secretary-General and acting Chief Economist of the OECD, who for 35 years worked for Japan´s Ministry of Finance: “The chief economist of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, Rintaro Tamaki, recently gave a talk that should be heard by all Japanese economists and policy makers. He observed that the aim of Japanese economic policy is still mainly about strengthening growth.”

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World economy 17th July 2014

The Global Investment Issue

By Jean Pisani Ferry via Caixin | Investment in many advanced and emerging economies is down – except in China – but governments around the world can take steps to improve the situation.

China's economy slows

World economy 16th July 2014

China: “Growth has stabilized, but strong recovery unlikely”

SHANGHAI | Op-ed by Hong Hao at Caixin |  Relaxing restrictions on property purchases, reintroducing discount mortgages or even further monetary easing are likely, given the importance of the property sector in the economy and its multiplier effects. No one is willing to be held responsible for an ugly crash in China. This is one certainty among the many uncertainties that the market is facing. But nor is anyone willing to inflate the property bubble further.

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World economy 15th July 2014

Why you should care about income inequality- No matter how irreverent or serious you are

MADRID | The Corner | New York-based British comedian John Oliver, well known for his hilarious parodies of economic issues (if you haven’t seen his Dodd Frank Act impersonation, you definitely should- sorry for the poor quality of this video), has digged in US growing wealth gap and why it may be a problem in the future. Indeed, income flows are becoming increasingly unequal and that’s undermining growth.  

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World economy 15th July 2014

Q2 Earnings preview – easier FX, sequentially a bit better growth and hurdle rate has come down

MADRID | By The Corner | Yet again this year equities have moved higher despite negative EPS revisions. While JPMorgan started the year with a constructive outlook on equity markets, they believed that for the 4th year in a row IBES projections would need to be downgraded. The investor concern now is that negative revisions could continue into H2, similar to the trend observed in Europe in each of the last three years.

Mexico_capex

World economy 13th July 2014

Mexico: ten-year, €18bn investment opportunity for EU Utilities

LONDON| By UBS analysts | Mexico is the eleventh largest country in the world by population. Yet, when it comes to energy infrastructure and consumption per capita, it ranks poorly especially compared to developed, western regions. The energy policy recently introduced provides a major capex opportunity: about €100bn over the coming ten years. Estimates for EU utilities reach investments of €18bn, which would allow for a potential net income increase of €1.1bn. In this context, most of the companies eyeing the region are from Southern Europe, with Enel and Iberdrola remaining as the sector top picks.