NEW YORK | By Ana Fuentes | The US president visited his key ally in Europe amid tensions caused by the American surveillance program, their use of German military bases for drone strikes and Obama’s disagreement with chancellor Angela Merkel on how to handle the euro crisis.
SAO PAULO | By Marcus Nunes | This “resumption of growth” view has spread like ‘bush fire’. But why?
WASHINGTON | By Pablo Pardo. In July the American GDP will go up, although the economy won’t even feel it. Nor the so-called sequester or the Fed massive debt purchases have anything to do with it. Oil prices and the dollar are also out of the equation. The key: R&D will be considered as an investment.
BERKELEY | By Carola Binder | The author compares the fiscal crisis in the 1840 in the US with what happened in the euro zone. Back in the XIX century state governments in America saw infrastructure projects fail and land values and tax revenue fell further, eroding their fiscal positions, making it harder for them to issue bonds and forcing them to pay higher interest rates. Something similar to what Greece is suffering.
While the US enjoy an economic confidence recovery, euro zone members have to put up with a failed mix of austerity measures and monetary expansion. The strategy must be changed since there are few signs of improvement in the real economy, none in the case of Spain.
MADRID | By Julia Pastor | Repsol’s sites in the United States will receive 30% of almost €3 billion total investment, followed by Brazil, which will be assigned 21%.
A new dispute among EU members has arisen. This time is not an austerian versus keynesian brawl but a shall-we-punish-Chinese-dumping one. Next week the Commission will decide whether to impose big tariffs to the $27 billion worth of solar panels that China sells to Europe each year. In this battle over how to respond to Beijing trade practices, will domestic interests prevail?
NEW YORK | By Ana Fuentes | The last huge tornado in Oklahoma could cost as much as 2 billion dollars. The center of the state has been devastated, 24 people dead, around 13,000 homes destroyed, cars and schools totally ruined. The final bill for the State, the regional government and private insurers is going to be one of the highest in US history.
NEW YORK | Several of the top Spanish companies put on a big show this Friday at New York’s Nasdaq. Telefonica, Indra, Dragados, Santander, Iberia, Repsol and many more shared their perspectives at the Spanish Economic Forum in order to boost their image among American investors and break some stereotypes. But how much do these iniciatives help to build real muscle? On the to do’s list: showing more optimism and sharing the cake with the start-ups.
NEW YORK |The Federal Reserve is perhaps one of the most important political factors behind the slow but steady US economic recovery -the country is growing at a 2.5% pace a year despite Europe’s recession and China’s slowdown-. But also, and here comes a problem, America’s central bank could be behind the crazy Wall Street rally.