The mere announcement of an intervention by the ECB has already had a clear effect on the evolution of the yields on Spanish and Italian bonds in the shortest time. The Spanish two years bond that skyrocketed in July to 7.1%, has fallen to 3.072%. A very different story is however the 10 years bond, currently at 6.57%, far from the peak of 7.7% in July but still very high….
José Luis Marco, CAPITAL MADRID | Spanish government’ two first RDL condemned more than one financial institution to the red throughout this exercise. The sentence has not been limited to the four entities under the FROB umbrella but has also reached some entities that are in the process of integration with other groups, such as CEISS Bank, Caja Duero Spain, in full merger with Unicaja, to take losses of 125…
Governments and markets are anxiously waiting for Draghi’s words to know what the ECB plans to do. They might be deceived by the lukewarm message he is likely to deliver. Central bankers have a keen expertise in saying as little as possible. Greenspan was an outstanding master in playing that game. Draghi while following his path, still needs some training to develop a fully persuasive oratory laden with a string…
Spanish SMEs pay the higher interest rates of the past four years at the time of borrowing, while the cost for German companies is at historic lows, according to financing costs for families and businesses in the euro zone published on Monday by the ECB. This trend puts markedly divergent increasingly southern European companies at a competitive disadvantage to rivals in Northern Europe. “We all know that financing costs are…
By Tania Suárez, Madrid | It seems that September will be a busy month, the beginning of a year full of interesting appointments for investors. As noted from JPMorgan, markets have already priced in aggressive Spanish debt buying by the European Central Bank, “but the risks shall remain high.” Many sources agree that the ECB is not expected to provide many details of the SMP. “There’s not a clear indication…
By Tania Suárez, Madrid | Three resignations are likely to take place soon in the Bundesbank: Weber, Stark and now Weidmann. Barclays experts say “the death rate in this institution seems unusually high.” The Bundesbank is impressive in its power and majesty, but analysists consider “their lack of ability to adapt to the circumstances” is going to lead to its disappearance. Barclays team suggests that “the ECB’s adaptation contrasts with…
China is willing to help, but everyone has limits. Premier Wen Jiabao told visiting German Chancellor Angela Merkel at a state visit in Beijing on Thursday that Beijing plans to continue buying European sovereign debt, the strongest sign of support for its biggest trading partner in months, although it urged further measures to be taken. “The European debt crisis has continued to worsen, giving rise to serious concerns in the…
By Tania Suárez, Madrid | European markets suffered form a slight contraction on Wednesday whereas the U.S. stood firm, not influenced by the European weakness nor the consumer confidence data and the Richmond. Barclays team suggest that money supply data meant both good news and bad news. Good ones first: “The trend in Europe is to raise liquidity, and usually (not always), that is associated with an economic recovery.” According…
Andrew Pollen is an MBA student at Esade Business School in Barcelona currently based in San Francisco. He writes for The Fair observer and has granted us permission to reproduce this article on why Europe can copy the business models, but not the essence, of Silicon Valley.
The Catalonian regional government has filed a request for help warning Madrid it will not accept any condition linked to such rescue. For a Cabinet in desperate need of cash to keep running its services, the flat refusal to take on board any tip seems a bit reckless. But it has a trump card in its bid to soften Madrid resistance. It is threatening to trigger a full fledged confrontation…