Top Stories

euro

lask

Markets 18th May 2012

The City wants Germany to give peripheral economies more time

LONDON | The financial City of London would pose as an unlikely critic of Germany’s tactics throughout the long euro rope pulling between the peripheral rotten economies and the apparently unstoppable Teutonic motor. Report after report has come out from City analysts supporting how urgent austerity packages were and pointing at every bad decision made by Greek, Irish, Portuguese, Italian and Spanish politicians, who should have known better. Truth be told,…

mnxz

In Europe 17th May 2012

Greeks are already voting with their wallets

MADRID | Markets have been plunged into utter chaos by the Greek political deadlock and the prospect parties staunchly opposed to the EU bail out plan may have the upper hand in the incoming elections. Panic has also been driven by light comments picturing Greece’s eviction from the euro as an anodyne and somehow inevitable event. Such a bullish appraisal does not emerge from Anglo Saxon analysts so much inclined to…

No Picture

In Europe 16th May 2012

Wednesday’s chart: the euro zone holds its GDP, Germany willing

It was Germany, with a 0.5 percent growth of GDP in the first quarter of this year, that helped the euro zone avoid enter technical recession territory. GDP remained stable in both the euro are and the EU during January to March of 2012 compared with the previous quarter, according to flash estimates published by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union. Compared with the same quarter of the previous…

No Picture

In Europe 15th May 2012

Euro area’s industrial production fell 0.3pc in March after February’s 0.8pc rise

In March 2012 compared with February 2012, seasonally adjusted industrial production fell by 0.3% in the euro area and by 0.4% in the EU. In February production rose by 0.8% and 0.4% respectively. In March 2012 compared with March 2011, industrial production dropped by 2.2% in the euro area and by 1.9% in the EU. These estimates were released this week by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union. In March 2012 compared with…

spain

Spanish economy 14th May 2012

How could you say Spain is insolvent?

MADRID | The injection of public money and nationalisation of Bankia ends a compelling need with a solution, earlier discarded, that in the US or the UK has been long ago adopted but neither the Germans or the French want to face, in spite of many of their banks being as weak as some the Spanish entities may be. François Hollande’s arrival to the presidency of France is also good news:…

No Picture

Markets 14th May 2012

JP Morgan says European equities’ in recovery mode

LONDON | US equities’ outperformance is becoming exhausted and investors should look through the euro smoke for opportunities, JP Morgan advised clients in its latest weekly strategy report. In spite of agreeing in line with consensus, analysts’ recommendation was to open ears to what the arguments might be in support of European equities. Is it time to go overweight Europe?, the investment entity asked in its paper. Although every investor’s favourite regional equity bet…

kjda

Markets 14th May 2012

Large amounts of corporate bonds issued in the first quarter of 2012

By La Caixa research team, in Barcelona | In the last months, activity in the corporate bond markets continued to speed up. During the first few sessions, the combination of the ECB’s extensive liquidity and doubts regarding Greece limited volumes in the primary and secondary markets. But the gradual improvement in the climate regarding sovereign and financial risks at a global level and the flow of good economic data boosted corporate…

No Picture

aggregation line 12th May 2012

Weekend link fest

A curated selection of links we hope can enlighten us all; some come from our corner, some do from other corners of the net. And as always, our comment widgets are anxious to get your suggestions. Isn’t it a shame when academia behaves like a military school? Beware the Greek left Time to end banking oligopolies Austerity has its timing, too What one needs for one’s success: it’s not intelligence..! Obama’s…

No Picture

Interviews 11th May 2012

SVB’s Mantellán: “Cutting waste in the Spanish public sector will help growth”

By Tania Suárez, in Madrid | The director of strategy and macroeconomics at Inverseguros SVB, Alberto Matellán, believes that austerity and growth are not only compatible but should be applied together. Mantellán thinks the European Central Bank could put again in use its monetary policy tools, such as the Securities Market Programme (SMP) or the Long-Term Refinancing Operation (LTRO). Should the ECB lower again interest rates for the euro zone? The…

No Picture

Markets 10th May 2012

French, Italian banks’ stocks lead price loss since 2007 with 70pc drop

The aggregate of the main European banking institutions has lost almost half a billion of euros in market value, from €670 billion to just over €200 billion during the last five years. The average drop has been 65 percent. But Italian and French banks have led the fall with a 70 percent of their stock price wiped out in the aftermath of the credit crunch. As readers are well aware,…