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EU’s low growth hits financials

MADRID | By JP Marín ArreseCentral banks all over Europe bombastically hailed the stress tests results as solid evidence the banking system enjoyed enviable health. Their diagnosis utterly failed to impress the markets. Ten days later,  financials are plunging to fresh lows as low growth rates signify dire prospects ahead. Investors feel increasingly uneasy faced with dwarfish interest rates and dwindling intermediary receipts, leading to chronic underperformance and under-sized profits. Many fear that an inability to raise their own funds to plug gaps in their balance sheets might weigh on mounting impairment, sending shivers down the spine. Banks may face rough times ahead should deflationary bouts keep the European economy close to stagnation. 


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New EU Commission: Spain gets Energy, Climate, but less power

MADRID | By Julia Pastor/The Corner | Spain is at minimums in terms of EU representation. No seat at the ECB. No relevant post in the new Commission either. Centre-right politician from the ruling Popular Party (PP) Miguel Arias Cañete was appointed Europe’s climate action and energy policy commissioner (those portfolios are merged for the first time). But he will be reporting to vice president Alenka Bratushek. Bottom line, an interesting job without sufficient weight to compensate the loss of Competence. UK’s Jonathan Hill will shape the EU’s Financial policy, a move that aims to tend a bridge between Brussels and the City of London.