sovereign debt

Markets 2nd December 2014

German macroeconomics will determine ECB bond purchases

MADRID | The Corner | Markets are already discounting the ECB’s QE of sovereign debt. That is why the risk premiums of the European periphery are now at historical low levels –take the Spanish one, for instance, which has dropped to 108 points. The yield of the 10-year bond has fallen to 1.85%. In this context, a sovereign bond purchase program still makes sense. “The latest inflation data of the Eurozone, which are at 0.3%, are a clear indicator of that,” Felipe López-Gálvez, expert at Self Bank, explains. However, the program would not acquire a full meaning until the German economy showed signs of weakness. “If Germany holds on,” then the ECB will not come to that extreme.

In Europe 23rd April 2014

The juicy business of speculating with Spanish sovereign debt

MADRID | By Julia Pastor | Speculators who dared to buy Spanish debt in 2012 when it yielded 7.5% and priced a record low of 88.6% made a good deal with gains of 38%, now that Spain’s 10-years bonds’ interests near 3% and price stands at 122.6%. Moody’s thinks the country’s sovereign debt is going upwards, alongside Ireland, thanks to its economic, institutional and fiscal strengh. However, Italy’s rating is suffering from the opposite trend.

Spanish economy 31st March 2014

Spain sees sovereign debt interests go down by 50%

MADRID | By Julia Pastor | Spanish public Treasury will have its weekly appointment with investors on Thursday. This time the country will issue bonds with maturities of 5, 10 and 12 years, respectively. There would be nothing unusual about it if international investors’ appetite for the Spanish sovereign debt were usual. However, interests in national treasuries currently reach levels of the 90’s when, before euro’s introduction, those bought Spain’s debt during seven quarters without a break. The institution even considers the possibility of creating 50 years bonds. At this moment, the Spanish 10 years bonds yield under 3.25%. As the summer comes the benchmark debt could stand at around 3%.

Markets 22nd May 2013

Investment in Europe’s periphery becoming sexier

Sure, the eurodrama is a fact. But there is a growing interest about investing in the peripheral Europe. Morgan Stanley has conducted a survey among investment managers and 38% of them expect the CDS of the Spanish sovereign bond to be between 150-200bp over the next 12 months.

World economy 7th May 2013

Cyprus bailout effects: Eurozone integration remains vulnerable

With the great amount of debate, chatter, and serious analysis about the EU’s financial rescue of Cyprus from insolvency and potential departure from the eurozone, many wonder if the EU policy emerging from the Cypriot “bail out” will have a lasting impact on the political and economic integration of the Europe. In John Sydney Hopkins view, the EU rescue of Cyprus will be seen as a milestone event with a lasting impact on the EU’s ability to manage the process of integration.

Markets 14th September 2012

“Weidmann threatened us and lost,” says Santander’s Guillermo de la Dehesa

Crystal-clear answers for the foggiest question: why is the euro zone in such dire state? Banco Santander’s board member Guillermo de la Dehesa speaks of a self-inflicted crisis, the resignation cycle at the Bundesbank and how to reform the European Central Bank.

Markets 11th September 2012

CDS relax over Ireland, Portugal and Spain

Where there is the European Central Bank’s full capacity of purchasing short-term State debt, there is hope. Even the primary market has opened, although by understandably timid measures, for southern euro zone debt issuers at a sub-sovereign level like State agencies and autonomous regions. The financial City of Madrid expects this window of opportunity to expand and demand of government bonds to improve as it is already happening to banks…

Markets, Spanish economy 10th September 2012

What an unfortunately insufficient difference an ECB word makes

LONDON/MADRID | President Mariano Rajoy should manage to take this week a breath, although it will probably feel too weak. A simple look at the curve of Spain’s government debt now shows a steep upward gap between the internal rate of return of two-year bonds and the cost of the medium and long-term credit for the country. Indeed, 24-month debt paper’s IRR has tightened by more than 450 basic points…

In Europe 6th September 2012

European banks flee Greece

José Luis Marco, CAPITAL MADRID | Although Spanish banks have little direct exposure in Greece, the country over which hangs the euro zone exclusion threat, something different happens with several European banks: they have a direct interest in the Hellenic country both with their branches in the country and with the assumption of Greek sovereign debt. Some of the biggest banks are partners or shareholders of several Spanish banks. Banco…

In Europe 10th August 2012

The Italian elephant in the euro room

MADRID | Unmistakably, the reflection that the Italian economic indicators are mirroring should look very familiar to Spanish analysts. The slowdown wave is reaching core Europe too, by the way, as the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development reported this week: the European economies, whether using the ill-established common currency or one on their own, have been found to relate to each other in a more interconnected manner than previously…

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