Eurozone business activity shrinks sharply in January as lockdowns batter services January 22, 2021 Economic activity in the eurozone has plummeted in January as lockdown measures hit the bloc’s dominant service industry, a survey showed today. IHS Markit’s guide to economic health fell further below the 50 mark to 47.5 in January, a further dip from December’s 49.1. Chris Williamson, chief business economist at IHS Markit, believes a double-dip [...]
Best of 2020: Europe hurtles into decline, almost unnoticed December 21, 2020 As the year winds down, City A.M. is looking back at the columns that tell the story of our year. For a Europe that has made managing rather than solving economic crises into an art form, the time for paying the piper is fast approaching. The continent’s long-stagnating economy is perched at the edge of [...]
Eurozone investor sentiment soars amid vaccine optimism December 7, 2020 Positive vaccine news has made Eurozone investors vastly more cheery, with a closely watched sentiment index hitting its highest level since February. The Sentix Eurozone investor sentiment index jumped to minus 2.7 in December from minus 10 in November, the data company said today. Driving the surge was a sharp recovery in investors’ views of [...]
ECB says banks still vulnerable to corporate coronavirus debt November 25, 2020 The Eurozone’s banks are likely to have to put aside more cash to pay for loan losses as the recovery from the coronavirus crisis enters a new stage, the European Central Bank (ECB) has said. “Bank profitability is expected to remain weak. Provisions have increased but look optimistic in some cases,” said Luis de Guindos, [...]
EU watchdog: Commission failed in vetting Blackrock climate contract November 25, 2020 The EU watchdog has given the European Commission a slap on the wrist for failing to weigh up possible conflicts of interest when it hired Blackrock to help look into green banking rules. EU ombudsman Emily O’Reilly asked the Commission – the executive branch of the bloc – to consider toughening up its conflict of [...]
Eurozone business activity shrink sharply in November as lockdowns bite November 23, 2020 Eurozone business activity shrink sharply in November as lockdowns bite
Hungary says EU recovery fund spat will be resolved November 20, 2020 Hungary’s Prime Minister has said a dispute over the EU’s €750bn (£670bn) coronavirus recovery fund and budget can be solved, after his government and Poland’s blocked the package at a key meeting. Both Hungary and Poland voted against measures that would allow the €1.8 trillion 2021-2027 budget and recovery fund to become operational, even though [...]
ECB’s Lagarde: EU must release Covid recovery funds ‘without delay’ November 19, 2020 European Central Bank (ECB) president Christine Lagarde has urged EU countries to solve their disagreements over the €750bn (£670bn) recovery fund, amid fears that delays could damage economies facing a tough winter of rising coronavirus cases. Lagarde told the European Parliament that the budget package – which amounts to around €1.8 trillion overall – “must [...]
Hungary and Poland veto EU budget and coronavirus recovery fund November 16, 2020 Hungary and Poland have effectively vetoed the European Union’s budget and coronavirus recovery package in response to plans to make access to funds conditional on adhering to the rule of law. The veto came as top EU officials and countries’ ambassadors today discussed the €1.1 trillion (£990bn) budget, which covers 2021-27, and the €750bn coronavirus [...]
ECB to focus on bond buying and bank liquidity to keep eurozone afloat, says Lagarde November 11, 2020 The European Central Bank (ECB) will focus on emergency bond purchases and cheap loans for banks when it puts together its new stimulus package for the coronavirus-hit eurozone economy, president Christine Lagarde said. Lagarde told the ECB’s annual central banking conference that inflation in the eurozone was now likely to remain negative for longer than [...]