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eurozone industrial output

Markets 14th March 2015

European bond rally may have reached a turning point

LONDON | March 14, 2015 | Barclays | German 10y yield bounced back to 0.248% after touching 0.186% on Thursday, while Italian and Spanish 10y spreads are 10bp above their trough. High yield credit spreads tightened while equities remained close to their cyclical highs. EURUSD is now trading at 1.06 after dropping below 1.05 on Thursday (its weakest level since January 2003). Europe’s IP edged down 0.1% in January, slightly weaker than expectations.

Grexit no

In Europe 13th March 2015

ECB sovereign bond buying already at €9.8

The Corner | March 13, 2015 | The ECB’s sovereign bond purchase programme has helped to reduce yields on Spanish bonds to record lows. Data from Italy is likely to show price falls in excess of 2%, while it will be no surprise to see further squabbling between Greece and its creditors over the weekend, particularly with yesterday’s intervention by the OECD.

ECB's president Mario Draghi

Markets 10th March 2015

Bonds sexier than stocks

The Corner | March 10, 2015 | Markets will need to get used to the Greek conundrum, experts at Link Securities commented, that is why euro area bonds are going to look more attractive than stock in today’s session. (Picture by Álex García.) 

BCE reflejoTC1

In Europe 6th March 2015

ECB optimism a good omen for traders

The Corner | March 6, 2015 | Markets are likely to be buoyed by the positive assessment of Mario Draghi yesterday, which will probably be backed up by euro zone growth figures for Q4, released later this morning. In other news, Spanish 10-year bonds are up for auction too, while Spain’s industrial sector is expected to return to positive territory

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In Europe 2nd March 2015

Concerns voiced over ECB’s QE programme

The Corner | March 2, 2015 | Concerns about the impact that the ECB’s quantitative easing programme will have persist ahead of monthly purchase of €60 billion in sovereign bonds.

grek banks

In Europe 5th February 2015

Pressure on Greek debt: A nudge or a punch in Athens’ face?

MADRID | The Corner | Despite the markets’  first negative reaction to the ECB’s restricting Greece access to its direct liquidity lines, Morgan Stanley analysts reminded on Thursday that nobody should be that surprised: in 2012, one third of the Greek balance sheets were financed by the ECB, and most via ELA. Plus, Greek banks can still get ECB liquidity if they use ECB eligible collateral.

greek bonds

In Europe 5th February 2015

All smiles and handshakes for Tsipras’ EC visit (before ECB tightened the rope)

BRUSSELS | By Alexandre Mato | The leader of the European Commission, Jean Claude Juncker, offered a friendly welcome to the Greek Prime Minister at the Commission entrance on Wednesday. There were no speeches, nor questions from journalists. After posing in front of the cameras, Juncker took Tsipras’ hand, the two leaving the photo-call as ‘lovers’. And some hours later, in a not that surprising move, Draghi banned the use of the Greek debt as collateral for the European Central Bank’s. The euro continued falling versus the U.S. dollar after the news: it hit $1.1304 — close to its 11-year low — before stabilizing at $1.1354 around 0540 GMT.

No Picture

In Europe 4th February 2015

Draghi holds the winning cards

MADRID | By JP Marín Arrese | Attempts to convince Tsipras and his colleagues to call off their open mutiny against the discipline imposed under the Greek bailout seem to be doomed. The Greeks bet on a strategy that forces European partners to cave in, should the prospect of huge turmoil materialise. After all, they are fully aware that Greece will prove unable to repay its debt unless it grows at 7% rate for the coming 30 years. 

eurozone inflation

In Europe 22nd January 2015

ECB’s time for truth

MADRID | By Ana Fuentes | It’s been the talk of the town for months, driving up demand for government bonds in the eurozone, pushing yields to record lows and heating the debate among market makers. And yet nobody knows the scope of the European Central Bank’s next move. The much-awaited quantitative easing (QE) program is expected to be officially announced after 14.30CET today and include controversial sovereign bond purchases of €50-70billion euros per month until the end of 2016. Is the ECB late? Will the ECB manage to spur growth in the eurozone with that amount?