Every time Mario Draghi, the President of the European Central Bank, tries to fight very low inflation and indirectly support growth and job creation in Eurozone with monetary measures, the Germans stand in his way. Last Thursday 28 January, Jens Weidmann, the governor of the German central bank the Bundesbank, did it again. In an […]Is there a way out of the next financial crisis? Can more printed money or austerity save us all?
February 1, 2016 by Leave a Comment
Every time Mario Draghi, the President of the European Central Bank, tries to fight very low inflation and indirectly support growth and job creation in Eurozone with monetary measures, the Germans stand in his way. Last Thursday 28 January, Jens Weidmann, the governor of the German central bank the Bundesbank, did it again. In an […]Why are the financial markets shivering again?
January 25, 2016 by Leave a Comment
The major central banks of the world are currently in the middle of a precise but of dubious results surgical operation on capital markets. On the one hand, the monetary authorities aim at supporting the real economy by injecting more cash into the financial system. On the other, they try to mitigate the risky super […]WEF Davos 2016 LIVE: “There is a communication issue (about China) which markets don’t like” Christine Lagarde, Managing Director of IMF stresses from Davos
January 21, 2016 by 1 Comment
At the second day of the World Economic Forum 2016 in Davos the world was anticipating very much the session on China’s outlook and how its growth slowdown affects the entire world. This issue was addressed in a session called “Where is the Chinese Economy heading?” which took place in Sanada room of the Davos Congress […]WEF Davos 2016 LIVE: Banking moguls continue brandishing financial Armageddon to intimidate us all but in Davos they worry about the very distant future
January 21, 2016 by Leave a Comment
On Thursday 7n January this newspaper commented that behind the capital markets selloff, which shook the financial world in the first week of this year, were the financial moguls who want to impose their terms to central banks and mainly the American Fed. Since then stock markets keep losing a lot of grounds every day. […]WEF Davos 2016 LIVE: “You just don’t know if the oil price will be 20$ or 100$ in the next 2-3 years!” top Harvard economist Kenneth Rogoff underscores from Davos
January 20, 2016 by Leave a Comment
It is the first day of the most important economic forum in the world and economy and financial markets are as every year in the foreground. The session called “Preventing Future Shocks” finished a couple of hours ago in the Sanada room in Davos with Maria Bartiromo, anchor and Global Markets Editor of Fox Business Network, […]Capital markets selloff: The financial moguls send messages to monetary authorities
January 7, 2016 by Leave a Comment
The wild selloff in the major capital markets of the world that culminated last Monday, the first working day of the New Year and continued on Wednesday for a fifth day in row was not just an overreaction to the anticipated slowdown of the Chinese economy, as almost all chief analysts assumed in mainstream media. […]G20 LIVE: the EU trade gold rush continues as EU and Australia agree to launch Free Trade Agreement (FTA) live from Antalya Turkey
November 19, 2015 by Leave a Comment
While the outcomes of the last round of the TTIP negotiations and the many recent turning points are still dominating the conversation on the trade side in Brussels, another major happening broke a few days ago. Following talks at G20 Leaders Summit in Antalya Turkey last Sunday morning with Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, the President of […]The Commission sees ‘moderate recovery’ but prospects deteriorate
November 9, 2015 by Leave a Comment
The European Commission released last week its “Autumn 2015 Economic Forecast”, advertising ‘moderate recovery’ for the European Union and the euro area. Understandably, the Commission wouldn’t dig deeper in the economy, to highlight the negative aspects of the present status and the subdued prospects for next year. For a number of important reasons the executive […]Why the ECB prepares to flood the markets with more and free of charge euro; everybody needs that now
October 26, 2015 by Leave a Comment
Mario Draghi’s statement of last Thursday from Malta that the European Central Bank’s “monetary policy accommodation will need to be re-examined at our December monetary policy meeting”, offered a strong support to all major capital markets, with stocks gaining a lot of ground and the euro receding slightly. Understandably, a generous increase of ECB’s monthly […]China’s stock markets show recovery signs while EU is closely watching in anticipation of the €10bn investment
July 31, 2015 by Leave a Comment
The recent turbulence of the Chinese stock exchange has caused great concerns not only to the second biggest world economy but also to the European Union (EU) as a whole. Junker’s European Commission (EC) is anxiously waiting for China to invest in the EU given the fact that not long ago the Chinese Premier promised to […]The EU Parliament and the ECB unknowingly or unwillingly fail to protect our financial assets
April 2, 2015 by Leave a Comment
This week the European Parliament and the European Central Bank rather unknowingly or unwillingly failed to protect the European citizens from the attacks of ‘money sharks’. In two different occasions the two most important European institutions secured the bankers reign on peoples’ money. Let us take one thing at a time. When the average hard […]Negative inflation hits Eurozone, ECB to print and distribute one trillion euro earlier than expected
January 8, 2015 by 1 Comment
This week more indications emerged pointing to the possibility that the European Central Bank is to announce a government bond purchases programme sooner than expected. Negative inflation of -0.2% (deflation) in Eurozone during December (announced yesterday by Eurostat), brings this prospect much nearer. The latest information related to the government bond purchases by the ECB […]ECB’s trillion has to be printed and distributed fast before Armageddon comes
December 15, 2014 by 2 Comments
The latest Eurostat data on employment and industrial production for the Eurozone economy point invariably to stagnation, if not recession, while the long-term tendency of household consumption, as a percentage of GDP, appears falling. In short all the key growth indicators of the economy are quite disappointing, to say the least. The economic problems of […]France fails again the exams. Kindly requested to sit in on Commission’s class
December 12, 2014 by Leave a Comment
France gets once more under the microscope. Apparently the second biggest economy of Europe is il for the past couple of years in trouble. Given its enormous political power historically in Brussels L’Exagone was getting away with it for quite some time but it seems that now the time has come for drastic medication. The Macron […]Greece did it again
December 11, 2014 by Leave a Comment
Last Monday, the Greek government scheduled an early Presidential election before the end of the year, which according to the constitution is to be held in the Parliament. If the Parliament proves unable to elect a new President of the Republic (180 votes are needed in a house of 300) a new legislative election must […]Presentation of Juncker’s Investment Plan: Can 315 billion euros save the EU?
November 28, 2014 by 1 Comment
Jean Claude Junker, the president of the European Commission (EC), announced details of his 315 billion euros promising investment plan two days ago in Strasbourg. This three year project will use money from EU institutions in order to create a fund that will motivate investors to bring back their money in Europe and increase growth […]Draghi: printing a full extra trillion non negotiable to help all borrow cheaply
November 20, 2014 by 1 Comment
European Central Bank President Mario Draghi speaking at the economic and monetary affairs Committee of the European Parliament last Monday, made at least two direct references to additional monetary measures, to confront the anaemic economic conditions in Eurozone, “if warranted to achieve price stability over the medium term”. He referred to this prospect once while […]What can stop the ‘too big to fail’ bankers from terrorising the world?
November 13, 2014 by Leave a Comment
Last Monday 10 November the Financial Stability Board, an international non-binding body based in Basel which comprises government and central bank officials from G20 countries had a bright idea for the lenders. They admitted that the 30 “too big to fail” major world banks should retain at least 20% of their risky assets in own […]EU growth in 2015 to be again sluggish; Can the Juncker Commission fight this out?
November 7, 2014 by Leave a Comment
It was last Tuesday when the European Commission (EC) met in Brussels to talk about the 2014 autumn economic forecast. Among others, the discussion was mainly about the sluggish growth and inflation, the impact of geopolitical crises in the EU economy as well as the significant economic performance of Ireland. Wrong growth forecasts The EC stated […]Is the ECB ready to flood Eurozone with freshly printed money?
November 6, 2014 by Leave a Comment
The insatiable appetite of the global financial system for more free cash from central banks has now reached the Governing Council of the European Central Bank. After the American central bank, the Fed, announced last month that it discontinues its quantitative easing policy, under which it has supplied the US banks with around $ 4 […]ECB to play down IMF’s alarms for deflation danger in the EU
October 31, 2014 by 1 Comment
It was last Tuesday when Peter Praet, Member of the Executive Board and chief economist of the European Central Bank (ECB), reported to two Belgian newspapers that there is limited risk of price deflation in the euro area. The Economic Sentiment Indicator (ESI) in the euro area and in the EU gained momentum after four […]How close is the new financial Armageddon? IMF gives some hints
October 13, 2014 by 1 Comment
Six years after the Western financial system collapsed under its immeasurable greed for easy money expressed as an insatiable thirst for risk, the American and European banks and governments are 30% deeper in debt. Few of them can duly repay without major problems of the most dangerous political kind. It is even more alarming that […]European Globalisation Adjustment Fund, who gets it and who pays the bill?
September 12, 2014 by
The Budgets Committee of the European Parliament (EP) announced yesterday that they approved financial aid to the Netherlands, Greece, Romania and Spain, whose workers were laid off as redundant due to globalisation or the financial crisis. It seems that the applications of the authorities of each country to the EU were fruitful, however it remains […]Bureaucracy in the member states again the obstacle for long due strong European Hedge Funds
July 25, 2014 by Leave a Comment
It has been a rough week for the European hedge funds industry. The deadline (22/07/2014) for the implementation date of the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (AIFMD) has well passed and many fund managers ran to apply at the very last moment. Now it is time for the national authorities to review the applications and report whether they […]Europe can easily exit from stagnation if Germany changes perspective
July 22, 2014 by Leave a Comment
If things continue on their present course, there is no indication that in the foreseeable future the Eurozone inflation rate could start performing its desirable role again and could signify, or probably even trigger a new period of economic expansion. If the European Central Bank continues resisting the pressures for substantial monetary quantitative easing, the […]“None of our member states has the dimension to compete with China and the US, not even Germany!”, Head of EUREKA Pedro Nunes on another Sting Exclusive
June 16, 2014 by Leave a Comment
This revealing exclusive interview with Pedro Nunes, Head of EUREKA, was conducted by Carlo Motta at the European Sting’s pavilion during European Business Summit 2014. In the following interview Carlo Motta will be signalled as C.M and Mr Nune as P.N. C.M.: I am very please to welcome to our booth Mr Pedro Nunes, Head of EUREKA. So […]Crimean crisis: not enough to slow down European indices
May 12, 2014 by Leave a Comment
Two months and 19 days have passed since the commencement of the international crisis between Russia and Ukraine. Starting with the Ukrainian revolution which resulted in the President Viktor Yanukovych’s deposition and continuing with the formation of an interim government, Ukraine is now facing one of its most severe “battles” in its after-Soviet history. Europe […]European banking stress tests 2014: A more adverse approach for a shorter banking sector
April 29, 2014 by Leave a Comment
The aftermath of the financial crisis of 2007-2008 is mainly related to the banking sector. The capital adequacy of the European banks is an important aspect that European Regulation Bodies have to be aware of. During the past years the European Banking Authority (EBA) and the Committee of European Banking Supervisors are setting up simulations that […]EU: Protecting victims’ rights from cartels and market abuses
April 19, 2014 by 1 Comment
It was high time that the European Union took care of citizens and companies, usually SMEs, who have suffered economic losses and other damages from infringements of the EU antitrust rules, such as cartels and abuses of dominant market positions. Until now it was very difficult for the victims to substantiate their claims for damages […]European Banking Union: no one is perfect
March 27, 2014 by 1 Comment
Europe came to an agreement last Thursday 20 March to complete the second pillar of the European Banking Union with the establishment of the Single Resolution Mechanism (SRM). After months and months of negotiations between the European Parliament and the member states, Europe will have as of now the relevant legislation and the mechanisms to function a banking […]The EU to bear the cost of eventual sanctions against Russia
March 4, 2014 by Leave a Comment
It’s easy for Washington and London to threaten Russia with far reaching economic sanctions, but very many countries and businesses in continental Europe don’t see it that way. The US and Britain after having actively supported the ‘Kiev revolution’ which ousted Victor Yanukovych from the Presidency, now insist that the West imposes tough economic measures […]The European giant tourism sector in constant growth
January 30, 2014 by Leave a Comment
The tourism industry is undoubtedly a flourishing sector of the EU economy. However it suffers of an increased sensitivity to events like the 11 September 2001 catastrophe, which can harm its potential on a global scale. Even an airplane accident can undermine its activities for a long time. That’s why it is considered as a […]No better year for the EU’s weak chain links
January 9, 2014 by Leave a Comment
The European Parliament issued a Press release this week with the ambitious target to inform us all about what is bound to change in our lives this year, resulting from the application of EU laws. It mentions the mercury ban in thermometers and some new rules in recycling of electrical and electronic equipment, the legislation […]
