The Italian government concluded its revised budget a few hours ago and as expected the Italian budget plan remained the same with small amendments, such as plans to sell off some government real estate, but still is not respecting the EU fiscal rules. The latter is most likely not going to be left unanswered by the […]Italy’s revised budget remains roughly unchanged waiting for Europe’s fury
November 14, 2018 by Leave a Comment
The Italian government concluded its revised budget a few hours ago and as expected the Italian budget plan remained the same with small amendments, such as plans to sell off some government real estate, but still is not respecting the EU fiscal rules. The latter is most likely not going to be left unanswered by the […]Italy’s populist government appears determined to drive EU economy and markets into recession
October 10, 2018 by Leave a Comment
The Italian budget plan has recently created turbulences and serious concerns in the EU economy as the third largest economy of the bloc cuts growth forecasts and increases spending. The European Commission together with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have urged the Italian government to restate its budget and comply with the EU fiscal rules […]Parallel downfalls of Merkel and Deutsche Bank threaten Germany and Europe
September 27, 2018 by Leave a Comment
Only a few years ago, Germany’s stars of pride and accomplishment were personified and embodied in the unparalleled triumphant stories and achievements of Chancellor Angela Merkel and Deutsche Bank. They both had amazed Europe and the world, with their successes in the politico-economic universe. Until the legislative elections of September 2017, and probably sometime earlier […]Who can unlock the stalled Brexit negotiations? UK Premier sticks to her proposal
September 20, 2018 by Leave a Comment
The Brexit cataclysm comes to its apex. On the one side is Prime Minister Theresa May, and on the other around 50 unrepentant Brexiteer Tory MPs. The sides are about to cross swords within and without Parliament. Reportedly, May could pass her own – not so mild but negotiable in Brussels – version of Brexit […]Draghi to lay his print on long term ECB policies prior to exiting next year
September 17, 2018 by Leave a Comment
Mario Draghi, the President of the European Central Bank, was criticized by major global financial media for insisting to end the easy money policy this December. The argument is that, after ECB’s Governing Council decided at the end of the prosperous 2017 to end its extraordinary monetary policy, the world has become a riskier place. […]Which countries have the highest unemployment rates?
August 3, 2018 by Leave a Comment
This article is brought to you thanks to the strategic cooperation of The European Sting with the World Economic Forum. Author: Johnny Wood The global financial crisis that began in 2008 shook the world’s economies, but the long-term impact hit some countries harder than others. First, though, the good news: the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s (OECD) […]Draghi to hold on zero interest rates until he leaves ECB
June 18, 2018 by 3 Comments
The announcement of the end of the monthly money injections into Eurozone by Mario Draghi, the President of the European Central Bank was not received in the capital markets as a hawkish toughening of monetary policy, as it theoretically should have been. The reasons are many. On the contrary, the euro lost more ground with […]At last Germany to negotiate the costs for a really cohesive Eurozone
June 7, 2018 by Leave a Comment
Finally, Germany blinked. Chancellor Angela Merkel at last decided to clearly respond and, up to a certain degree, uphold French President Emmanuel Macron’s ideas, about reforming the Eurozone, in order not only to save it from unraveling, but, if possibe, to make it more cohesive and stronger. In an interview to last Sunday’s issue of […]How Europe beat the financial crisis – and the risks it still faces
May 18, 2018 by Leave a Comment
This article is brought to you based on the strategic cooperation of The European Sting with the World Economic Forum. Author: Kalin Anev Janse, Secretary General, European Stability Mechanism (ESM) Ten years after the financial crisis, what is the most important news for me, coming from the other side of the channel? It is that Europe is booming – […]Draghi joined Macron in telling Germany how Eurozone must be reformed
May 17, 2018 by Leave a Comment
Mario Draghi the President of ECB, speaking at the European University Institute in Florence, on 11 May 2018, must have been under the influence of the idealistic aura of this Florentine learning institution. He went as far as proposing political policies, bravely overstepping his role as central banker of Eurozone. Draghi asked for an effective […]The ECB must extend its money stimulus beyond 2018: Draghi reckoning
April 30, 2018 by Leave a Comment
Last Thursday, 26 April Mario Draghi, tactfully left it to be understood that Eurozone may not any more grow so fast as we all knew it was doing until recently, and, consequently, the inflation goal of close to 2% may not be achievable. He communicated that by not repeating what he had said on 8 […]Germany resists Macron’s plan for closer and more cohesive Eurozone; Paris and Berlin at odds
April 23, 2018 by Leave a Comment
Last week, surprising everybody, Francois Villeroy de Galhau, Governor of the Bank of France and member of European Central Bank’s Governing Council said that the decision to stop ECB’s extraordinarily accommodating monetary measures this year, is premature. So, according to him, the central bank must continue applying its extra relaxed measures well beyond this year. […]Draghi tells the EU Parliament his relaxed policies are here to stay
March 1, 2018 by Leave a Comment
The too slow or non existing pace of wage increases is the main reason for the non revival of inflation in Eurozone. This is what Mario Draghi told the Economic Committee of the European Parliament last Monday. He added that this is why the economic slack in the euro area may be larger than we […]‘Safe Eurobonds’: a new trick to betray the south euro area countries
February 1, 2018 by Leave a Comment
All along the years after the 2008-2010 financial crisis, which in the European Union took the form banking/government debt breakdowns starting with Greece, there were cries for the creation of a solid Eurozone. In every respect, these calls amounted to demands that super prosperous Germany accepts some degree of risk-sharing with the rest of the […]Will the end of QE come along with ECB’s inflation target?
January 17, 2018 by Leave a Comment
The European Central Bank (ECB) will end its Quantitative Easing (QE) programme within the year as the Eurozone continues growing. However, the inflation rate which is not increasing as much as the ECB officials would like, stands as a barrier to its monetary policy. According to Reuters, sources close to the ECB mentioned that the […]Brexit: UK business fear of a no-deal scenario preparing for the worst
November 8, 2017 by Leave a Comment
The Confederation of British Industry annual conference which took place last Monday in London was a chance for Prime Minister Theresa May to ask for more patience from the business world. Something though that seems to have been lost as negotiations show no significant progress and time presses both sides. A survey by the Chartered […]Extra mild ECB tapering of QE and zero interest rates keep euro low
October 30, 2017 by Leave a Comment
Last Thursday, Mario Draghi, the President of the European Central Bank performed again his superb balancing act, between the needs of the South and the demands of the North. He led the Governing Council of ECB, Eurozone’s most powerful body, to map the exit road from the extraordinary monetary measures (Quantitative Easing) state as frictionlessly […]German political spillovers: ECB’s Draghi resists first attacks by AfD
September 28, 2017 by Leave a Comment
Last Monday, Mario Draghi, President of the European Central Bank, speaking at the Economic Committee of the European Parliament had the opportunity to test the grounds and familiarize himself with the nature of political climate he may come across after the German elections. He had a heated exchange with the head of the AfD group […]The silent euro-dollar parity war rages but realities at home prevail
September 18, 2017 by Leave a Comment
At last, the European economy is growing faster than the US. According to Eurostat, the EU’s, statistical service, during the second quarter of this year, GDP grew by 2.4% in the club of 28 member states compared to the same period of 2016 and 2,2% in the US. It’s worthwhile nothing that in both the […]Draghi’s 2018 compromise: enough money printing to revive inflation and check euro ascent
September 11, 2017 by 3 Comments
Last Thursday Mario Draghi, the President of the European Central Bank, reassured the Eurozone banking conglomerates they will continue being blessed with zero cost money, well into the foreseeable future. He stated, “one thing is clear; the bottom line is that interest rates will stay, as it’s written here, at the present levels (zero for […]Is euro to repeat its past highs with the dollar?
September 4, 2017 by Leave a Comment
The strengthening of the euro vis-à-vis the US dollar is taking alarming proportions, puzzling markets and the European Central Bank. The Eurozone single currency has gained 14% from the beginning of the year, with the tempo of appreciation accelerating. It gained around 10% during the summer. For around three years, the ECB has been following […]Has the EU economy truly revived from the financial crisis?
August 16, 2017 by Leave a Comment
Last week the European Commission published a press release regarding EU’s recovery from the financial crisis where it is mentioned that the EU, after 10 years since that start of the crisis, is back to growth because of the EU influential actions. What is more, it was announced yesterday that Germany’s gross domestic product in […]The ECB accuses the politicians of inaction, continues injecting billions to banks
July 13, 2017 by Leave a Comment
Last Saturday 8 July the Belgian newspaper De Standaard published an interview with Peter Praet, Member of the Executive Board and chief economist of the European Central Bank. Praet said it plainly “We do say that we still need a long period of accommodative policy before we are ready”. What he means by ‘being ready’ […]ECB intervenes to clean May’s and Schäuble’s mess
June 12, 2017 by Leave a Comment
Last Thursday 8 June, on the day the Britons were punishing Theresa May for her mistakes and arrogance, the European Central Bank under Mario Draghi was preparing for a less favorable politico-economic environment and a much longer disinflationary period. Indirectly, Mario Draghi blamed the dying out inflation on the avowed neoliberals, of the kind of […]Germany caught with selfish double standards in euro area policy
June 1, 2017 by Leave a Comment
Over the past three years the European Central Bank, guided by its President Mario Draghi, has been folowing a super relaxed monetary policy. It has been aiming at reviving uncertain economic growth and dying inflation, by handing out to banks, and through them to the economy, hundreds of billions of euro and at the same […]ECB steadily continues monetary easing policy as EU economy gains momentum
April 12, 2017 by Leave a Comment
European Central Bank – Press Conference Vítor Constâncio, Vice-President of the ECB, Mario Draghi President of ECB and Christine Graeff, Director General Communications (from left to right). Location: Frankfurt . Date: 09/03/2017 © ECB, 2017 / Source: ECB – Audiovisual Service It was last Thursday when the president of the European Central Bank gave a […]Chatterbox Rome Declaration cannot save the EU; Germany has to pay more to do that
March 27, 2017 by Leave a Comment
Last Saturday, the phantom of Wolfgang Schaeuble, the hawkish German minister of Finance, overshadowed the gathering of the 27 EU leaders in the Italian capital, without him having left Berlin. The heads of EU states or governments, at the exception of British MP Theresa May, went there to celebrate the 60th anniversary after the signing […]Will Brexit shatter the EU or is it still too early to predict?
February 15, 2017 by Leave a Comment
The president of the European Commission together with EU and German officials fear that Brexit will divide the EU after the negotiations have been concluded. Theresa May is about to trigger Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty and begin the talks for UK’s exit once the House of Lords grants permission. In addition to the Brexit procedure, […]Why is Grexit again in the news? Who is to pay for Eurozone’s banking problems?
February 13, 2017 by Leave a Comment
Grexit, Greece’s exit from the euro area, is back in the news – for the wrong reasons. During this past week, the country’s creditors, the European Commission, the European Central Bank, the European Stability Mechanism and the International Monetary Fund, finally agreed amongst themselves to set even tougher conditions in order to continue refinancing the […]Germany and Europe prepare for Trump’s America
January 16, 2017 by Leave a Comment
Germany, and more generally the EU, is now preparing in earnest to confront the groundbreaking changes in their relations with Trump’s America. Last week, both the German Chancellor Angela Merkel and her Federal minister for Finance Wolfgang Schauble, made direct and indirect statements about the policies now needed for Germany and the European Union. On […]Italian banks: It’s Rome’s turn to confront Berlin’s aggressiveness
January 5, 2017 by Leave a Comment
Italy, after Greece, is now the next target of the archetypical Teutonic aggressiveness, aimed this time at making the life difficult for Paolo Gentiloni the new Prime Minister. The problems Rome has with the country’s banking system are being exaggerated and used by Berlin to either pave the road leading outside the euro area or […]Deutsche Bank chased away from US, threatened with more fines
December 29, 2016 by Leave a Comment
The US Department of Justice settled its claims against Deutsche Bank, the biggest German lender, for packaging and selling toxic mortgage securities to uninformed customers prior to the 2008-2010 financial crisis. Initially, the Justice Department had asked for $14 billion, but it seems it settled for a fine of $7.2bn. However, this is not the […]ECB: The bastion of effective and equitable Europeanism keeps up quantitative easing
December 12, 2016 by Leave a Comment
Last Thursday, 12 December, Mario Draghi, President of the European Central Bank, was forced to compromise with the Germans during the Governing Council’s regular meeting. He accepted to reduce the monthly injections of cash into the economy (through asset purchases of mainly government bonds) from €80 billion to €60bn, along the lines of the nonstandard […]
