Euro area: Don’t fight the ECB
LONDON | April 21, 2015 | Barclays | The ECB remains committed to deliver its QE target of a more than €1.1trn balance sheet expansion through asset purchases and sought to dispel fears over asset scarcity.
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Drop in Eurozone retail sales amid positive overall demand
The Corner | April 8, 2015 | Retail sales were fell by -0.2% in February after four months of growth, but observers will not be unduly worried following release of data from Markit which indicate that retail sales PMIs rose to their highest level since last November.
Greek government: The moment of truth is inexorably approaching
March 20, 2015 | By Wolfango Piccoli via MacroPolis | The Greek government faces a dire financial situation in the coming weeks, especially as lenders are unlikely to relent on the conditions of last month’s loan extension.
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.
Eurozone inflation gives a respite
The Corner | March 12, 2015 | EU inflation figures have offered a more encouraging picture than was predicted. Month-on-month inflation in the Spanish economy edged up 0.1% in February to 117.82, reversing a trend of four consecutive monthly declines.
Memento: How QE will work
The Corner | March 5, 2015 | Whatever it takes, don’t miss the mechanics of the European Central Bank’s next purchase programme starting on Monday.
Morning briefing: German and Spanish consumers showing confidence
The Corner | March 3, 2015 | Retail sales in Germany beat expectations in January: they rose by 5.3% instead of the forecast 3.0%, and up from the December’s upwardly revised 4.8% rise. Spanish and German consumers are seemingly much happier about the state of the economy.
Markets’ morning briefing
The Corner | February 24, 2015 | Figures published today will give an indication of the current state-of-play in the euro zone, with the release of inflation statistics and final GDP figures from the German economy for 2014.
“Austerity, not lack of liquidity, is what is causing the Eurozone depression”
MADRID | By Ana Fuentes | She believes that central banks should act coordinately, since competition between them can cause currency distortions. British economist and former banker Frances Coppola has been one of the main critics of the European Central Bank’s QE “because it supports asset prices, but that is all it does.” She spoke to The Corner about shadow banking and how financials should be accepting and managing risk on both sides of the Atlantic.
Eurozone prices continue to slump
MADRID | The Corner | January ends with bad news for the eurozone: consumer prices fell sharply (0.6% lower than in January 2014, having been down 0.2% on an annual basis in December). This is nothing strange given cheap oil prices, merely adding stress for policymakers. The European Central Bank hopes to stop this decline in prices -the largest since July 2009- with its new bond-buying program starting in March.