Keyword: eurobanking
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The European Unions executive has unveiled a vast plan to boost coordination between the EUs 28 national energy markets to wean Europe off unstable Russian gas supplies and provide cheaper energy for consumers. European Commission Vice President Maro efčovič on Wednesday called it undoubtedly the most ambitious energy project since the inception of the EU over half a century ago. He believes that improving links across borders in Europes energy grid could save businesses and consumers up to 40 billion ($45.4 billion) a year. A more energy-independent Europe will also increase the EUs political options in eastern Europe. [
] Our...
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One in five Germans believe that a revolution would be the only way to truly reform society, a study released by the Free University of Berlin on Monday shows. Anti-capitalism, anti-fascism and anti-racism were all are prominent positions according to the study entitled Against state and capitalfor the revolution, which has revealed a public much further to the left than previously thought. In the report, 20% of the people surveyed agreed with the statement that Living conditions wont be improved by reformswe need a revolution. A similar percentage of people said they saw the rise of a new fascism in...
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Poverty levels in Germany have reached an all-time high, with 15.5 percent of the populationor 12.5 million peopleaffected. Single parents and unemployed people were the hardest hit, according to a report from a welfare association. Over 40 percent of single parents and almost 60 percent of the unemployed are poor, according to the Parittische Gesamtverband, an umbrella organization for associations focusing on social services. Older people and retirees, around 15 percent of whom are considered poor, are the fastest growing demographic group in terms of poverty, according to the report released on Thursday. One of the report authors, Christian Woltering,...
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To many on the outside, Germany looks like a big, rich country enjoying the benefits of being Europe's largest economy. Inside, Germans know that looks can be deceiving. As in any nation, parts of Germany suffer from poverty, and Germans have always assumed they knew which parts: the west is rich and the east is poor. But a new report reveals the truth isn't that simple. The wealth imbalance in Germany isn't just between east and west; there are also large regional differences between the country's north and south. And across the country there are pockets of poverty more crushing...
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Greeces finance minister Yanis Varoufakis has spelled out the negotiating strategy of the Syriza government with crystal clarity. Exit from the euro does not even enter into our plans, quite simply because the euro is fragile. It is like a house of cards. If you pull away the Greek card, they all come down, he said. Do we really want Europe to break apart? Anybody who is tempted to think it possible to amputate Greece strategically from Europe should be careful. It is very dangerous. Who would be hit after us? Portugal? What would happen to Italy when it discovers...
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The European Commission is hoping that a new global reporting standard will eradicate tax evasion and tax fraud in the wake of the latest revelations in Switzerland. We are hoping that the coming into force of this new agreement at the very latest by 2018 will put an end to tax evasion and fraud by the use of secret bank accounts, European Commission spokesperson Vanessa Mock told reporters in Brussels on Monday (9 February). The EU and Switzerland negotiated an agreement on the taxation of savings back in 2014. The plan is to unravel the Swiss tradition of banking secrecy...
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The national airline of Cyprus has ceased operations after the European Commission ordered that it must repay 65 million in illegal state aid. The Commission ruled that the airline, which has been losing money for some time and is 94% government-owned, must pay back 65 million of the 103 million that it received in state aid in 2012 and 2013. The airline has been receiving money from the government since 2007.
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The eurozone experienced negative inflation for the second month in a row, according to a flash estimate published today (30 January) by Eurostat, the European Unions statistical office. Inflation is expected to be at −0.6%, with consumer prices falling further than economists had forecast. The fall represents the biggest decline in prices in the history of the euro. [
] The drop was driven by the fall in energy prices (−8.9%, compared with −6.3% in December). [
] The deflationary spiral comes as Mario Draghi, the president of the European Central Bank (ECB), is trying to tackle deflation with a policy of...
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Last year Austria's largest bank, Erste Bank, sent shudders of Credit Anstalt through the European Banking System. This year it is Austria's 3rd largest bank that is scaring investors senseless. On the heels of the Swiss National Bank's decision to un-peg from the Euro, Raiffeisen Bank's Swiss-Franc-Denominated mortgage worries have resurfaced (along with Russian/Ukraine writedowns) and nowhere is that more evident than the total collapse of the bank's bonds (from over 95c to 65c today). Even after the ECB Q (and some apparent intervention to weaken the Swissy) bonds kept free-falling. Perhaps, The Freedom Party's demands for a bailout will...
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The long-anticipated collapse of the euro is here. When European Central Bank president Mario Draghi unveiled an open-ended quantitative easing program worth at least 60 billion euros a month on Thursday, stocks soared but the euro plummeted like a rock. It hit an 11 year low of $1.13, and many analysts believe that it is going much, much lower than this. The speed at which the euro has been falling in recent months has been absolutely stunning. Less than a year ago it was hovering near $1.40. But since that time the crippling economic problems in southern Europe have gone...
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The European Central Bank will plough 1.1 trillion into the eurozone economy in a last-ditch attempt to breathe life into the European economy. At its monthly governing council on Thursday (January 22), the banks governing council agreed to start buying up to 60 billion of government bonds from March in an unprecedented quantitative easing program. The program is open-ended, and will run until September 2016 at the earliest. Speaking at a press conference following the governing council meeting, ECB president Mario Draghi said that the bond-buying program would remain in place until we see a sustained adjustment in the path...
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The German central bank, or Bundesbank, said Monday that it stepped up the repatriation of its gold reserves from overseas storage last year. The Bundesbank successfully continued and further stepped up its transfers of gold, the central bank said in a statement. In 2014, 120 tonnes of gold were transferred to Frankfurt from storage locations abroad: 35 tonnes from Paris and 85 tonnes from New York. Germanys gold reserves are the second-biggest in the world after those of the United States and totaled 3,384.2 tonnes this month, according to the latest data compiled by the World Gold Council.
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It sounds at first like a crazy thought experiment: One morning, every resident of the eurozone comes home to find a check in their mailbox worth over 500 ($597) and possibly as much as 3,000. A gift, just like that, sent by the European Central Bank (ECB) in Frankfurt. The scenario is less absurd than it may sound. Indeed, many serious academics and financial experts are demanding exactly that. They want ECB chief Mario Draghi to fire up the printing presses and hand out money directly to the people. The logic behind the idea is that recipients of the money...
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Inflation in Germany, Europes biggest economy, slowed to just 0.2 percent in December, its lowest level in more than five years, and averaged 0.9 percent for the whole of 2014, according to new figures released on Monday. [] Using the Harmonized Index of Consumer Prices (HICP)the yardstick used by the European Central Bankinflation in Germany was even lower at 0.1 percent in December, way under the ECBs annual inflation target of just below 2.0 percent. The chronically low level of inflation across the single currency bloc has fueled concern the region could slip into deflationa sustained and widespread drop in...
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The European Unions executive Commission said Monday that membership in the euro bloc is irrevocable but left it open to what extent Greece could renegotiate the terms after elections on Jan. 25. Greeces left-wing Syriza party leads the polls ahead of the elections and is in favor of changing the conditions of the countrys international bailout deal. That would likely anger the rest of the eurozone, which has given Athens the bulk of the rescue loans. [] EU spokeswoman Annika Breidthardt said Monday that if the Greek elections call for a need to reconsider the conditions of Athens membership within...
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German Chancellor Angela Merkel is prepared to let Greece leave the eurozone if Greeks elect a government that jettisons the countrys current austerity course, according to German media reports. The report in the Der Spiegel daily, which cited sources close to the German government, comes as polls show a radical leftist party leading the field three weeks ahead of a snap election in Greece. The Syriza party of Alexis Tsipras has pledged to reverse reforms imposed by Greeces international creditors and renegotiate its bailout deal.
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EU development ministers met today (12 December) in Brussels and adopted a perspective to boost the role of the private sector in the field of development cooperation. But leading NGOs warned that placing the private sector at the center of EU development policy shows ministers have failed to acknowledge its limitations. EU ministers adopted Council Conclusions, which contain strong language in favor of engaging more with the private sector. Ministers state that the private sector is emerging as an increasingly active player in the development field, and describe its role as key for implementing the future sustainable development goals. Ministers...
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European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker has indicated he will try and get around member states veto powers over fiscal issues when he proposes new laws to clamp down on tax avoidance. In an interview with the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, he said he may use a majority vote to get a forthcoming law on the automatic exchange of tax rulings (letters that give companies favorable tax conditions) passed. I have not excluded that we change the rules using a qualified majority (of member states). I will leave the technical and legal aspects aside now, but it would affect aspects of administrative...
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A top level economic report on Thursday urged European heavyweights France and Germany to implement urgent economic reforms, warning that Europe risked falling into a stagnation trap. In France, we fear lack of boldness for decisive reforms. In Germany, we fear complacency, said the report, drawn up by two leading economists for the French and German governments. In a hotly-awaited set of proposals to jumpstart the traditional Franco-German motor that drives the European economy, Henrik Enderlein and Jean Pisani-Ferry concluded: France and Germany spend a lot of time on joint declarations and initiatives. We miss action. [] We think the...
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Chinas central bank unexpectedly slashed interest rates on Friday to re-energize the worlds No. 2 economy, joining a growing list of major economies that are trying to encourage growth in the face of a global slowdown. On top of the rate cut, Chinese authorities promised to inject credit into the financial system if needed. Meanwhile, the president of the European Central Bank said Friday he was ready to step up stimulus for the 18-country eurozone economy, whose performance continues to disappoint. And Japans government this week delayed a tax increase after the country slipped back into recession. News of Chinas...
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Dutch Finance Minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem has acknowledged that the Dutch government drew up plans for what to do if the single European currency had collapsed during the summer of 2012. In an interview with RTL television on Tuesday, Dijsselbloem said there was a plan to return to the Dutch guilder in a worst-case scenario.
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The European Central Bank on Thursday (6 November) formally made public a letter showing that the eurozone bank threatened to pull emergency bank funding if Ireland did not enter a bailout and undertake austerity measures in 2010. The letter, signed by the then-ECB president Jean-Claude Trichet, speaks of great concern about the solvency of Irish lenderswhich had loaned heavily to the overheated construction sectorand the extent to which the whole eurosystem was exposed. It then says that the ECB would cut off emergency funding to Irish banks unless Ireland meets four conditions, including getting a bailout and undertaking fiscal consolidation,...
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ECB ready to pump 1 trillion into euro zone economy Central bank ramps up efforts to rescue single currency bloc from deflation risk The European Central Bank is ready to inject up to 1 trillion of new liquidity into the euro zone economy as it ramps up efforts to rescue the single currency bloc from the risk of Japanese-style deflation, Mario Draghi confirmed yesterday. The ECB president also said the central banks governing council was unanimous in its commitment to use further unconventional tools, including quantitative easing, should economic conditions deteriorate. He added that the central bank had stepped up...
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The European Union is accused of breathtaking hypocrisy for continuing to demand that David Cameron pays a 1.7 billion bill despite its own auditors failing to give a clean bill of health to more than 100 billion of spending by Brussels. According to the annual report of the European Court of Auditors, seen by The Telegraph, 5.5 billion of the EU budget last year was misspent because of controls on spending that were deemed to be only partially effective by experts. The audit, published this morning, found that 109 billion out of a total of 117 billion spent by the...
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The eurozone is struggling to revive itself, and may slip into recession in the next two years, slowing down the global economic recovery, according to the French Economic Observatory (OFCE). The director of the OFCEs analysis and forecast department, Xavier Timbeau, presented his economic predictions for 2014-2015 on 29 October, saying the eurozone is a problem for the global economy. The expert believes that the eurozone is acting as a brake on the world economy, and will enter into a phase of low inflation or even deflation in certain countries, leading to a eurozone recession within two years. The Observatorys...
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British Prime Minister David Cameron insisted Friday he would not pay a European Union bill for an additional 2.1 billion ($2.65 billion) contribution to the EU coffers at a time of increasing pressure at home for the country to leave the bloc. Thumping his fist in frustration, Cameron said people should be in no doubt: as an important contributor to this organization, we are not suddenly going to get out our checkbook and write a check for 2 billion. It is not happening. Cameron said asking Britain for a top-up of some 20 percent in its contributions on short notice...
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Germany will get an early Christmas present of around 779 million from the EU, thanks to weaker than expected GDP growth. It will receive the rebate on its contributions to the European Union on December 1st, while Britain will have to pay 2.1 billion on the same day. The British economy is growing much faster than the others, and the logic is the same as with tax: if someone earns more, they pay more tax, EC spokesman Patrizio Fiorilli told AFP.
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Europes biggest banks are facing a day of judgment as the European Central Bank prepares to unveil the results of a yearlong search through the dark corners of their finances. Its a step that comes none too soon for the struggling economy of the 18-country eurozone. The ECB review to be unveiled Sunday seeks to identify banks that are too weak to lend to businesses or make it through another recession and force them to strengthen their finances. It includes a detailed look at 130 banks loans, holdings and investments, as well as a so-called stress test that simulates how...
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Here we go again. Another sovereign debt crisis on the periphery of the EU is underway and many of the same factors that led to previous debt meltdowns are present. Germany is headed for a triple dip recession. Continent-wide deflation is nearly a reality. And many EU nations are smashing the debt limits demanded by treaty, thus threatening the Euro itself. All of this is impacting the percentage of debt in relation to GDP in several countries, making government bonds more expensive and debt servicing a nightmare. The Hill: Among Europe's most recent economic tremors has been the growing evidence...
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Eurozone in danger of repeating Japanese stagnation, IMF chief warns By Benjamin Fox BRUSSELS - International Monetary Fund boss Christine Lagarde has warned that the eurozone risks following Japan and falling into a prolonged cycle of recession and stagnation. Speaking on Thursday (9 October) ahead of the IMF's annual meeting in Washington DC, Lagarde said: We have also alerted to the risk of recession in the eurozone", putting the likelihood of a drop in output at "between 35-40%, which is not insignificant". We are not saying that the eurozone is heading towards recession, but we are saying that there is...
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Irelands economy is growing at a rapid pace last experienced at the tail-end of the Celtic Tiger boom, government statisticians reported Thursday as economists declared an end to the countrys financial doldrums. The report from the Central Statistics Office said gross domestic product grew 7.7 percent from July 2013 to June 2014, the biggest annual rate of growth since early 2007. It said quarterly GDP rose 1.5 percent versus the January-March quarter. Finance Minister Michael Noonan said the figures suggested that Ireland would record around 4.5 percent GDP growth this year, accelerating the countrys escape from debt woes that forced...
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Investors have bought billions of euros in German treasury notes that pay negative interestmeaning the purchasers agreed to pay a small fee for the privilege of lending the German government their money. [] Germany auctioned 3.34 billion ($4.3 billion) Wednesday in two-year notes at an average yield of minus 0.07 percent. Rates are very low all over, and German debt is considered ultra-safe, so security-minded investors are paying for safety. Expectation the European Central Bank will buy bonds has also driven down yields, which move opposite to prices. And the small negative yield on the notes is still a better...
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For the struggling Spanish shopkeeper or the Portuguese restaurant owner, the European Central Banks latest economic stimulus plans wont likely provide much relief anytime soon. If ever. Confronting a stalled economy and painful unemployment across Europe, the ECB is doing what it can. It surprised economists and investors Thursday by cutting its benchmark interest rate to a record-low 0.05 percent. And it announced plans to pump money into the financial system by buying bonds backed by assets such as auto and credit-card loans. But Europe faces a crushing array of problemsfrom burdensome regulations to growth-killing budget policiesthat analysts say remain...
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The debate over Germanys insistence on eurozone austerity has flared anew as an ailing France continues to demand economic stimulus. The European Central Bank may now be siding with Paris, leaving Merkel looking increasingly alone. [] Berlin is particularly alarmed by the stance taken by ECB head Mario Draghi. At the annual conference of top central bankers from around the world at Jackson Hole, Wyoming in August, Draghi surprised those present by saying there is leeway to achieve a more growth-friendly composition of fiscal policies. It was a comment that came close to the kind of debt-fueled growth stimulus measures...
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Wall Street banks could desert Britain if the country decides to leave the European Union, senior figures in the industry have reportedly said. Some major institutions are believed to be already drawing up plans to move activities abroad amid concerns that the UK is drifting further away from the EU. Most US and Asian banks currently run their main European operations from the UK, which gives them a passport to provide services across the EU. But if the UK left the European Union, it is believed to be unlikely foreign banks based in London would carry on receiving the same...
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Canada and the European Union have agreed the final text for a free trade agreement that could provide a blueprint for a US-EU trade deal. Tuesday's deal will cut tariffs between Canada and the EU by 98% and could boost trade by 20%, or about $20bn.
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London could lose more than a million jobs if Britain quits the EU and fails to adopt more outward-looking trade policies, according to a report commissioned by Boris Johnson, the London mayor. In those circumstances, the capital could shed 1.2m jobs and lose out on tens of billions of pounds of gross domestic product, the report says.
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The head of the Bundesbank appealed to Britain on Wednesday to stay in the European Union, saying membership of the bloc had given the country an economic lift and posed little threat to London. In a speech to business people and bankers in central London, Jens Weidmann broke the central banks traditional silence on political questions, saying the European Union would benefit if Britain continues to make its voice heard. The EU is stronger today because of Britains contribution to it, Weidmann said, adding that the countrys trade with EU neighbors had been boosted by more than half because of...
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It's taken a long time, but the International Monetary Fund finally seems to be talking some sense about the beleaguered deficit economies of the eurozone. In a new analysis of continuing imbalances within the single currency area, it pretty much concludes that the situation is hopeless without the sort of eurozone-wide macro economic policies monetary as well as fiscal which are specifically rejected by the high command in Berlin. OK, so it doesn't quite say that, but even so, this will make deeply depressing reading for the struggling economies of Greece, Ireland, Italy, Portugal and Spain.
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The European Commission has warned that it is running out of money again, in the latest standoff between the EU institutions over its unpaid bills. The EU executive says that the blocs budget faces payment gaps worth 4.7 billion covering research and employment programs, cohesion policy, and costs arising from the refugee crisis in Ukraine and Syria. An autumn cash flow crisis for the commission has become a perennial fixture in the EU calendar.After repeatedly warnings from the EU executive that flagship programs such as the Erasmus student exchange scheme and the European Social Fund were within weeks of running...
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Jean-Claude Juncker was elected European Commission President on Tuesday (15 July) after promising a more social Europe and paying tribute to the major integrationist politicians of the previous generation. The former Luxembourg PM, who has been on and around the EU stage for the last two decades, received 422 votes, easily surpassing the minimum 376 needed. Of the 729 MEPs that took part, 250 voted against him, 47 abstained and 10 votes were void. In a 50-minute speech before the ballot, the center-right politician said he wanted the European Commission to be very political and indicated he will try and...
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The EUs bailout fund has moved closer to being able to directly pump money into troubled banks after the German government introduced a bill allowing direct bank recapitalization. The draft law will now require approval in the Bundestag, but is planned to enter into force in November. This is an important step to stabilize our financial sector and to increase further the trust in our common European currency, said finance minister Wolfgang Schuble on Wednesday (9 July). He added that the law would help rule out the risk that the taxpayer would have to accept liability, as in the...
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It is a sign that the European economy is no longer in crisis territory that tax cuts rather than bailouts dominated Mondays (7 July) meeting of eurozone finance ministers. Ministers at the monthly Eurogroup meeting agreed to sign off the next 1 billion tranche of Greeces bailout program almost as an afterthought. Instead, the main item of discussion focused on how they can cut business costs and increase the pay packet of the average European. In its annual set of economic recommendations to the EUs 28 countries last month, the European Commission urged 11 euro-area countries to reduce their so-called...
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Future EU commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker on Tuesday (8 July) promised that the economic affairs commissioner post will go to a Socialist, as part of a grand coalition-type bargain between the center-right and center-left. He made the commitment before MEPs from the center-left S&D group, whose support he needs to secure his appointment as head of the EU executive in a parliament vote next week. In his opening speech, he emphasized several issues dear to the Socialists hearts. He said he favors equal pay for equal work, a minimum wage across Europeif not harmonized, then at least as a recommendationas...
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Students at German universities have shown themselves to be a risk-free lot in a survey by Ernst & Young. The civil service is their most popular choice of future profession, while job security is valued above all else. [] The number was higher for female students (36 percent), but government work also came in first among men with 23 percent choosing it as their preferred career path. [] Other future positions popular with students were in the fields of science (19 percent) and culture (17 percent). Consultants and auditors were the private sector jobs most interesting for students in Germany...
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The euro crisis may have eased recently, but companies and countries in the common currency zone still arent investing enough to fuel growth. The best solution, a Berlin economics institute argues, is to establish an EU-wide investment fund. [] But simply ratcheting up public expenditures, as some Southern European governments have advocated, is not a sound strategy for improving the situation, the [German Institute for Economic Research (DIW)] believes. One of Europes biggest weaknesses is the lack of private investments, (Marcel) Fratzscher says. We have to close the gap by way of a European investment agenda.
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A handful of former EU officials and an outgoing top MEP have landed jobs in industry sectors that they legislated on. The cases highlight what pro-transparency experts describe as a revolving door where policymakers are hired to work for private companies with a vested interest in EU-level legislation.Last October, two consultancy firms hired Joo Pacheco. Pacheco was at that time the European Commissions deputy director of agriculture. Today, he is the director for European markets AFJ and associates in the US. He is also president at the Brussels-based JSPacheco-International consultancy firm.
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The European Union is closing a loophole that allows companies to shift their profits between different country divisions to avoid taxation. [] EU officials say tax fraud and firms aggressive cross-border tax avoidance schemes cost the blocs governments an estimated 1 trillion ($1.3 trillion) a year.
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The European Commission is to launch a formal investigation into whether tax breaks used to attract international companies breach the EUs state aid rules. The probe, which is likely to target Ireland, Luxembourg and the Netherlands, is set to be announced at a news conference on Wednesday (11 June) by EU competition chief Joaquin Almunia. Irish broadcaster RTE on Tuesday reported the launch of an investigation into the arrangements of US-based software giant Apple, but EU officials have also been gathering information on tax deals in Luxembourg and the Netherlands since last autumn. EU countries have promised to crack down...
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Not much has been heard from former British Prime Minister Tony Blair lately. But in recent days, he has waded into the debate surrounding the next EU Commission president. In an interview, he also predicts that the British will vote to stay in the European Union. [] I believe that Britain ultimately will vote to stay in Europe. In the end, the British understand the folly of leaving Europe. I dont accept that the British are as anti-European as everyone says. It is a matter of fact that no-one has ever won an election on a platform of hostility to...
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