Greece-Eurozone standoff presents “greatest risk to economy” George Osborne warns as Yanis Varoufakis visits London February 2, 2015 The standoff between Greece and the Eurozone presents the greatest risk to the global economy, chancellor George Osborne has said. Osborne, who met Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis in London today, said both sides needed to consider how they worked in future, or risk derailing growth, both globally and specifically within the UK. Varoufakis [...]
Eurozone manufacturing sector is growing at its fastest rate for six months February 2, 2015 As many headline stats for the Eurozone continue to cause headaches for markets and governments alike, there was a tiny spark of good news from the bloc‘s manufacturers. The purchasing managers’ index (PMI), compiled by Markit Economics, showed that the manufacturing sector’s rate of growth rose by 0.4 percentage points in January, to 51. Any [...]
32 charts showing every unemployment rate in every Eurozone economy January 30, 2015 The Eurozone has finally had some good news: unemployment is down to 11.4 per cent, its lowest rate since August 2012. Although admittedly, 11.4 per cent would cause a mutiny in the UK. The figure’s drop was relatively small: it was 11.5 per cent in November and 11.8 per cent in December. And chipping fractions [...]
Eurozone slips further into deflation January 30, 2015 The Eurozone slipped further into deflation in January, with inflation falling to -0.6 per cent, down from -0.2 per cent in December. The figure is a record low for the bloc, and worse than analysts had feared: they had expected a fall of -0.5 per cent. Of course, the fall was, in part, caused by [...]
Mark Carney calls on Germany to foot Eurozone’s risk January 28, 2015 Eurozone countries should share more risks and allow taxpayers’ money to circulate more freely as it does between countries in the UK, Mark Carney said in an unusually outspoken address last night. The Bank of England governor hinted that Greece’s troubles would be less severe if it could access more German money, comparing the situation [...]
Mark Carney slams Eurozone austerity and urges common fiscal policy January 28, 2015 Mark Carney has launched a withering attack on the Eurozone's pursuit of austerity and urged a new course for European fiscal policy. Speaking in Dublin, the governor of the Bank of England warned the Eurozone could suffer another lost decade of stagnation and unemployment. "Since the financial crisis all major advanced economies have been in [...]
Why Syriza’s fairy tales will devastate Greece – and the wider Eurozone too January 26, 2015 When I was 16 years old, my family (bless them) scraped together enough money to send me to Europe; the first place I touched down on the continent was Athens. A longstanding – and correct – family joke makes it clear that, in many ways, I intellectually never came back from that first trip. It’s [...]
Wolfgang Schauble’s fine line on the Eurozone’s QE – CNBC Comment January 26, 2015 I had to laugh. Watching the CNBC panel at the World Economic Forum last Friday in Davos, the German finance minister Wolfgang Schauble stole the show in his dry, wry way. Having been one of the biggest critics of the European Central Bank’s (ECB) QE programme from the start, he walked a delicate line defending [...]
Greece election 2015: A whole new Eurozone crisis awaits if Syriza wins January 25, 2015 Today is Greece's general election. Until 7pm, polling stations will accept votes on whether the current New Democracy party remains in power or is replaced by another party. According to the polls, it looks likely that the radical left-wing Syriza party will be the ultimate winner. In terms of economic policies and the [...]
The Eurozone desperately needed Mario Draghi’s QE stimulus – but the euro isn’t safe yet January 22, 2015 European Central Bank (ECB) president Mario Draghi has done what many in the markets had hoped for, and announced a massive package of QE of over €1 trillion – promising more if need be. This is much bigger than had generally been expected, indicating Draghi’s determination to deal decisively with the Eurozone’s deflation problem. If [...]