The European Parliament adopted yesterday tougher rules for the issuance of creditworthiness ratings on governments and private businesses by the relevant agencies. Obviously the new legislation was voted in relation with and aims to set new restrictions on the activities of the three largest of them, namely Standard & Poor’s, Moody’s and Fitch IBCA. But […]The European Parliament fails to really restrict the rating agencies
January 17, 2013 by Leave a Comment
The European Parliament adopted yesterday tougher rules for the issuance of creditworthiness ratings on governments and private businesses by the relevant agencies. Obviously the new legislation was voted in relation with and aims to set new restrictions on the activities of the three largest of them, namely Standard & Poor’s, Moody’s and Fitch IBCA. But […]The new European Union of banks is ready
January 16, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Yesterday, José Manuel Durão Barroso, President of the European Commission, speaking in a farewell ceremony to honour the Cypriot Presidency of the European Union during the second half of 2012, made clear that the Commission has made the creation of the Single Supervisory Mechanism (SSM) for the EU banks as its utmost priority and will […]Eurozone: How can 200 banks find €400 billion?
January 14, 2013 by Leave a Comment
The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) considers that Eurozone banks need to strengthen their capital accounts by at least €400 billion in order to reach a viable capital to assets coverage ratio of 5%. The good news from OECD however is that its economist estimate that the single money EU zone seems to have […]European financial values on the rise
January 11, 2013 by Leave a Comment
No doubt the screams, mainly coming from English language media, economists and commentators about the possible dissolution of Eurozone have now subsided and only some late comers in the league of those who have bet on Eurozone’s destruction still try to salvage their wrecks, by predicting catastrophe. On the other side of the fence those […]Draghi hands over to banks €77.7 billion more
January 10, 2013 by 1 Comment
The European Central Bank lent but in reality handed over yesterday 9 January a total amount of €77.7 billion to a number of Eurozone banks, under an arrangement called Main Refinancing Operation (MRO) at the negligible interest rate of 0.7% for a duration of 7 days. This is however the upper side of the iceberg. It’s […]Eurozone’s credibility rock solid
January 9, 2013 by Leave a Comment
The European Stability Mechanism (ESM) issued yesterday its first short-term debt paper (bills), which met an unprecedented success in this capital market auction. The bid/cover ratio was 3.2. This means that for every euro of this debt issue, investors offered 3.2 euros. The bills mature on 4 April 2013. In detail this ESM’s bill issue […]Eurozone business activity again on upwards path
January 7, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Business activity in Eurozone has being deteriorating for the past nine months. Last December however the PMI, index which measures this phenomenon, gave the first indications that the bottom of the dreadful U curve is now behind. In detail, the Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for the industrial sector, being drafted on data over the demand […]Banks cannot die but can be fined
January 4, 2013 by Leave a Comment
The oldest Swiss bank was forced to temporarily shut down its US subsidiary yesterday, after its lawyers accepted that it has being helping at least 100 American citizens to avoid taxation. The bank Vegelin, of St Gallen, established in 1741 is accused by the US tax authority, the famous IRS, that it has directed those […]At last a good price for the Greek debt!
December 3, 2012 by Leave a Comment
Greece and its Eurozone masters once more took by surprise all and every financial market, by offering a generous buy back price for the country’s outstanding debt held by the private sector, mainly banks, pension funds and speculators. In more details on Monday 3 December the Greek debt management agency (ODHX) announced that Athens calls on […]Higher education becoming again a privilege of the wealthy?
December 2, 2012 by Leave a Comment
Over the past few years higher education tuition fees have skyrocketed all over the European Union. Last year thousands of British university students took it to the streets of London and the other major cities protesting against the planned increases of tuition fees. Incidentally, this really huge protest movement gave Scotland Yard the opportunity to […]Bundestag kick starts the next episode of the Greek tragedy
November 30, 2012 by Leave a Comment
It’s quite astonishing to watch the German Parliament, the Bundestag, voting on Friday 30 November, with the overwhelming majority of 473 deputies in 584 present, saying yes to a third in a row aid programme for Greece, while all the major media insist, that the public opinion in this country is against any help Berlin should […]Christmas spending: Who can afford not to cut?
November 30, 2012 by Leave a Comment
European Union consumers will be very careful with their Christmas gifts shopping lists this year, says an in-depth analysis of Wall Steer Journal’s Europe Edition, based mainly on data from a relevant survey of Deloitte LLP. With unemployment reaching unheard before levels above 25% in Greece and Spain and skyrocketing in other weak EU economies, the […]How many more financial crises in the West can the world stand?
November 28, 2012 by Leave a Comment
“After five years of crisis the world economy is weakening again”, states bluntly the very first phrase of the editorial of OECD’s latest economic report, published on 28 November. Actually it couldn’t be differently, because the US economy doesn’t seem to respond well to therapy and Europe is in a much worse state. But let’s […]What happens when the Eurogroup decides to help Greece
November 27, 2012 by Leave a Comment
Once more Eurozone and Greece made it. Using “creative accounting” they agreed that the over indebted country’s loan load will be drastically reduced after one…decade! Says the Eurogroup statement of 27 November 2012 on Greece: …in 2022 the debt to GDP (Gross Domestic Product) ratio will be substantially lower than 110%. But this is just […]How Greece was destroyed
November 24, 2012 by 1 Comment
Right from the beginning, the scenario of the Greek financial tragedy was criticised as fake. Towards the end of 2009, the newly elected government of George Papandreou, son and grandson of prime ministers, found out that his PASOK socialist party had won the election on populist promises that could not be fulfilled. Papandreou […]EU summit: Are the London Tories planning an exit from the EU?
November 23, 2012 by 1 Comment
It’s not the first time that the European Union leaders are divided between the paymasters and the receivers. However during their last Summit of Thursday and Friday 22 and 23 November the 27 heads of states and governments were divided in more than three groups and left the conference room blaming each other, for the […]The undead banks
November 22, 2012 by Leave a Comment
History has proved that ideology and logic (science) are in direct conflict. If you want to serve them both the outcome is usually a monster or a statement of the obvious. Take for example the soviet science, full of proletarian ideology at its apex during the Stalinist period. Its most cherished achievement was the experiments […]Does EURES really exist?
October 10, 2012 by Leave a Comment
EU Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion László Andor has repeatedly said that, “free movement of workers allows EU nationals to look for a job in another EU country, to work there without needing a work permit and to enjoy equal treatment with nationals of the host country in terms of access to employment, […]
