Eurozone QE: Why and how Draghi may pull the trigger April 14, 2014 The ECB will opt for a massive sum to force the euro down DESPITE the strongest signs yet that the European Central Bank (ECB) will act to tackle disinflation, markets remain unconvinced. ECB president Mario Draghi, speaking on Saturday, said that a continued strengthening of the euro (which the ECB believes has knocked up to [...]
The Eurozone’s most powerful finance ministers are tiptoeing around their big division April 7, 2014 This morning veteran German finance minister and new French finance minister Michel Sapin met in Berlin, giving an amicable press conference that did little more than hint at perhaps their biggest split on policy Sapin is not as outwardly radical as incoming economy minister Arnaud Montebourg, but is nonetheless tasked with pushing for less stringent [...]
Eurozone services wobble but still show firmer growth April 3, 2014 Despite sliding back from the 32-month high seen in February, business activity in the Eurozone’s service sector is still expanding, with Markit's purchasing managers' index coming in at of 52.2 in March. This is slightly below analysts expectations, which were for a reading of 52.4, from February's 52.6, but remains consistent with a 0.5 per [...]
Eurozone producer prices fall more than expected April 2, 2014 Industrial producer prices fell 0.2 per cent in both the euro area and in the EU28 in February, according to figures from Eurostat. Analysts had expected a 0.1 per cent drop. A month earlier, prices saw a 0.3 per cent fall. Compared to a year earlier, prices fell 1.7 per cent in the euro area [...]
Greece bailout gets seal of approval from Eurozone finance ministers April 1, 2014 Long-delayed bailout aid for Greece has today been agreed on by Eurozone finance ministers, reports the FT. The deal, which will see €8.3bn divided into three payments, ends a six-month standoff between Athens and its international leaders, says the paper. It comes in the nick of time; the country needs to pay a €9bn bond [...]
Draghi’s sleeping at the wheel as Eurozone inflation hits 0.5pc March 31, 2014 Inflation in the Eurozone has fallen by more than expected in March, to 0.5 per cent year-on-year – that’s the lowest it’s been since November 2009. Although the number probably captured, in part, temporary factors relating to the timing of Easter this year, it's still weaker than was hoped for. Analysts had expected a reading [...]
Why investors are right to fear Eurozone deflation March 18, 2014 While soaring inflation tends to grab headlines, the dangers of deflation often get less coverage. Perhaps because the different kinds of deflation – good and bad – are so poorly understood. The good kind, says the Adam Smith Institute's Ben Southwood, comes from productivity improvements. There you see the falls in prices mirrored by increases [...]
Eurozone annual inflation falls to 0.7pc in February March 17, 2014 Latest Eurozone inflation figures show a fall in the annual rate to 0.7 per cent in February – hitting its lowest ever level again. More than a quarter of the euro area's in deflation, with half the bloc's economies with rates of 0.5 per cent or less. Howard Archer has described the numbers as "uncomfortable and [...]
George Soros says Eurozone is now like a debtors’ prison March 13, 2014 George Soros has been holding court at the London School of Economics today on the state of Europe, how the Ukraine crisis could bring the continent closer together, and why the UK should stay a part of it. Here are some of the billionaire investor’s most interesting comments. On the state of the Eurozone You [...]
Eurozone investor confidence reaches near-3-year high March 10, 2014 Investor confidence in the Eurozone has gathered more strength in March – reaching a high last seen in April 2011. The Sentix Investor Confidence index, which surveys 1,600 financial analysts and institutional investors, rose to 13.9 this month from 13.3 in February. Estimates had been for a bigger pick up, to 14.0, though. Sentix called [...]