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Stock Market / Finance in Europe

  • Italy's Current Account Surplus Increases In May

    ITALY, 2017/07/21 Italy's current account surplus increased in May from the previous year, the Bank of Italy reported Thursday. The current account surplus totaled EUR 3.26 billion compared to EUR 2.98 billion in the same period of last year. The surplus on trade in goods fell to EUR 5.49 billion from EUR 5.73 billion. At the same time, services showed a shortfall of EUR 3 million next logging EUR 165 million surplus.
  • ECB Keeps Markets Guessing On Tapering

    EUROPEAN UNION, 2017/07/21 There was no surprises from the European Central Bank on Thursday as it left its key interest rates and massive stimulus unchanged for an eleventh straight session, and as well kept the forward guidance intact, thus retaining the downward bias on investment purchases. The Governing Council, led by ECB President Mario Draghi, kept all its three interest rates unchanged during the policy session in Frankfurt.
  • Draghi Urges Patience And Persistence On Inflation

    EUROPEAN UNION, 2017/07/21 Though the robust economic expansion provides confidence that euro area inflation will hit the target in next, it is from presently on to show any convincing trend of a pick up, prompting policymakers to delay a review of the massive stimulus until the fall, European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said Thursday. "Headline inflation is dampened by the weakness in energy prices," Draghi said in his introductory statement to the post-decision press conference. "Moreover, measures of underlying inflation remain in general at subdued levels."
  • European Markets Struggle At The End Of The Trading Week

    EUROPEAN UNION, 2017/07/15 The European markets ended Friday's session with mixed results. However, the markets ended the in general trading week with a strong gain, thanks in large part to Wednesday's strong rally. Markets jumped mid-week next Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen's comments about gradual policy tightening. The markets were stuck in a sideways pattern throughout Friday's session and ended the day little changed in general. Markets on Wall Street as well traded nearly flat following the release of a large batch of U.S. economic data and earnings from a trio of major banks.
  • The Swiss Stock Market Climbed Despite Weakness Among Financial Stocks

    SWITZERLAND, 2017/07/15 The Swiss stock market ended Friday's session with a modest gain. Next a brief dip into negative territory in the morning, the market remained stuck in a range throughout the day. The index heavyweights provided support to the in general market Friday. However, financial stocks were under pressure next a trio of major U.S. banks reported results.
  • Greece’s Sovereign Debt And Economic Realism

    GREECE, 2017/07/08 Next an extra six months of discussions, Greek deficit negotiations succeeded in once again kicking the can down the road. This column analyses how sophisticated and experienced negotiators like the IMF, the Eurozone leadership, and by presently even the Greeks, could have let negotiations drag out for so a lot of years, and goes on to propose a plan which may be just radical enough to meet the needs of all parties. Next an extra six months of discussions, Greek deficit negotiations succeeded in once again kicking the can down the road. Europe agreed to ‘lend’ Greece enough to cover the all it will ‘repay’ to private creditors, the ECB, and IMF next month, plus a bit additional to cover interest and the domestic arrears the Greeks have built up in manufacturing their current reported primary surplus. Further resolution is left until next the September German elections, and maybe until as late as April 2019 at the same time as some private deficit is due. The IMF, which rightfully claims the deficit is not sustainable, managed to neither approve nor disapprove of the new transaction.
  • The Death Of The European Banking Union

    EUROPEAN UNION, 2017/07/08 In early June, the failure of the Spanish bank Banco Popular seemed to work smoothly under the new European resolution rules. The relatively new Banking Union seemed to work in achieving its goal to limit moral hazard. Losses were imposed upon junior bondholders and shareholders whereas Spanish taxpayers did not pay a dime. Although there are many defects with the new resolution framework, it seemed to be a step in the right direction. This impression was short lived and died when the Italian government agreed to use €17 billion of taxpayer’s money for two failed banks, Veneto Banca and Banca Popolare di Vicenza, in late June. Thus, Italian senior bondholders will be protected despite the philosophy of the new bail-in framework according which bondholders shoulder losses if a bank fails. Consequently, the two banks’ senior bond prices rose by more than 15% on Monday.
  • The Netherlands: Europe’s Under-The-Radar Tax Haven

    NETHERLAND, 2017/07/08 Dutch NGO Somo has been blowing the whistle on the Netherlands’ tax practices since 1973. So far, to little result. The founding member of the European Union was still the world’s third-ranked tax haven in 2016. “The evidence is piling up,” said Katrin McGauran, clearing a mountain of documents from her desk in an old home just outside the city centre in The Hague. Top of the pile is a document entitled “Fool’s gold”, the case of a gold mine in Greece, run by Canadian mining company Eldorado Gold. “An example to show you the Dutch sandwich,” a lesson in tax optimisation.
  • Eurozone posts lower inflation of 1.4% in May

    EUROPEAN UNION, 2017/06/20 EUROZONE inflation slowed to a lower than expected 1.4 % in May, as volatile energy prices sapped the intended effects of the European Central Bank’s massive stimulus plan, EU data showed yesterday. Eurozone unemployment in April kept an encouraging trend, inching lower to 9.3 %, at its lowest rate since March 2009, Eurostat said. The fall in inflation will provide backing to ECB chief Mario Draghi, who on Monday said the central bank remained “firmly convinced” it must maintain its massive interventions in the eurozone economy to avoid undermining a gathering recovery.
  • Spain’s Basque Country is taking steps to cement links with the UK, the fourth biggest market for its services

    EUROPEAN UNION, 2017/05/11 Spain’s Basque Country is taking steps to cement links with the UK, the fourth biggest market for its services While the UK and Brussels wrangle over hard versus soft Brexits and the nature of next trade deals, Spain’s Basque business development agency, SPRI, has quietly opened an office in London, confident that it will be business as usual. Regardless of whether the UK is in or out of the EU, the Basque Country cannot afford to turn its back on the country that accounted for €1.29bn of its exports in 2016, ranking fourth behind France, Germany and the US.