The Corner | June 1, 2015 | Italian risk premium (136.5 bp) should probably come down and be lower than the Spanish one (135 bp) this week despite PM Matteo Renzi’s set back in the country’s regional elections on Sunday, experts at Bankinter commented. (Chart above: Italy Generic Govt 10Y Yield by Bloomberg.)
LONDON | May 29, 2015 | By Fabio Fois (Barclays) | Given the large number of voters involved (slightly less than half those involved in last year’s European elections) and local governments contested, we believe the Italian elections represent an important test for the government and the structural reform agenda implemented so far.
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.
The Corner | March 5, 2015 | Markets are again looking to the ECB for a gauge as to where the continent is headed, with Mario Draghi expected to announce more detailed descriptions of the bank’s QE plan. Elsewhere, data from Germany, Italy and Greece are likely to highlight the divergent fortunes of countries within the single currency area.
MADRID | The Corner | EU posts marginal growth stats, but the figures are indicative of slow pace of recovery.
Madrid | By Sean Duffy | Yanis Varoufakis has been causing quite a stir on his trip around Europe. The Greek Finance Minister will meet with his Italian counterpart on Tuesday, and both will be watching market reaction to proposals leaked by the Greek Government last night.
The European Union (EU) is a group of sovereign states, who are sovereign in that they are entirely free to leave the EU. This freedom to leave means the EU is not a “super state.” There is no coercive force — and no EU army — to make Britain or any other country remain in the union. Britain enjoys a freedom, within the EU, that colonies did not enjoy within the British or other European empires. Britain is, therefore, entirely within its rights in considering the option of leaving the EU, although that does not mean such a course would be wise.
MADRID | The Corner | Markets were sad on Monday until Mario Draghi emerged and spoke his magic words. It seems markets feel more secure every time the president of the ECB takes the lead and assures everything will be alright. Investors felt more confident after his intervention at the European Parliament’s Economic and Financial Committee. However, despite his speech regarding new potential actions in monetary policy, he also highlighted the need of deep structural reforms by the Members States. According to market watchers at Link Securities, sooner or later, “such reforms will have to be faced by Italy or France’s government, because it is necessary to make them competitive and able to grow again.”
MADRID | The Corner | The European Commission said on Tuesday it had found no serious fault with eurozone member states’ 2015 budget plans, clearing France and Italy after they made last-minute changes to meet EU demands. The budget review covered all 18 eurozone countries, with the focus on struggling France and Italy after Brussels told them that their original plans fell well short of what was required to meet European Union norms.
MADRID | The Corner | Italian PM Matteo Renzi won the Parliament’s confidence vote on Italy’s labour reforms on Thursday, the most importan in his 8 months in the job. As the country’s economy has been stagnated for two decades, many wonder how far the center-left government’s plans will go. The current jobless rate of the eurozone’s third biggest economy is above 12% (44% youth unemployment). “Italy must reduce the proportion of workers on temporary contracts in the overall work force, but the details yet to be unveiled remain critical to assess whether it represents a true game-changer or not.” analysts at Barclays commented on Friday.