BRUSSELS | By commissioner Olli Rehn | ‘Yes, this slightly more positive data is welcome – but there is no room for any complacency whatsoever. I hope there will be no premature, self-congratulatory statements suggesting “the crisis is over”.’
LONDON | By Victor Jimenez | In a cautious tone common to other voices heard today in the City, analysts reminded investors that most governments in Europe continue amassing public spending bills worryingly higher than their income.
MADRID | Since the start of the financial crisis in 2008, the Spanish banks have reduced their presence in 7,925 branches or -17.2%, the equivalent of a 53.6% of the whole Eurozone’s banking sector.
MADRID | By Luis Arroyo | The economic cycle goes up and down. But after a terrible crash as the one we have suffered, following a crazy boom, amid staggering losses of capital and jobs, you would be deluded to believe that the economy will fix itself.
MADRID | By Luis Arroyo | To really tackle the state of our economies, Brussels should admit that most countries cannot repay their debts with the current German anti-crisis plans.
BARCELONA | By CaixaBank research team | Some EU countries have a current account surplus that is larger than the one allowed by the European Commission and, if not corrected, they might finally be asked to take measures to boost domestic demand.
BARCELONA | By Oriol Aspachs and Joan Daniel Pina, at CaixaBank research department | To date it is the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, who has set the pace of Europe’s construction. Without purporting to be a great leader, Germany is fulfilling this role.
LONDON | By Victor Jimenez | “The improvement in the PMIs suggest the Eurozone economy should exit recession in the third quarter of this year. But the recovery is likely to remain uneven.”
MADRID | By José Hervás, via capitalmadrid.com | If the ECB doubts about some countries’ institutions, the central bank must say so. But analysts and market players aren’t the right judges of European monetary policies.
LONDON | By Victor Jimenez | A less credible Troika will spark even more investor distrust and bomb the one piece in the euro jigsaw that brings market confidence.