Eurozone service sector’s slowdown puts pressure on ECB to undertake quantitative easing September 3, 2014 The Eurozone’s services firms flagged a further slowdown in the troubled currency bloc’s growth yesterday, with surveys indicating that the region is growing at the slowest pace this year so far, putting pressure on the European Central Bank (ECB). The Eurozone’s composite purchasing managers’ index, collated by Markit, dropped to just 52.5 – the lowest [...]
European bond yields fall further after Draghi’s hints at quantitative easing August 27, 2014 European bond yields fell again on Wednesday, as the knock-on effect from a speech by European Central Bank (ECB) president Mario Draghi continued to quell investors' fears over muted growth. Germany's 10-year yield fell to 0.9 per cent in London (and a record 0.91 per cent in New York), while Spanish 10-year yields fell to [...]
London Report: Draghi QE hint sends banks and FTSE up but Antofagasta falls August 26, 2014 BRITAIN’S top equity index rose yesterday, with financial stocks outperforming, amid expectations of new economic stimulus measures from the European Central Bank. The blue-chip FTSE 100 index closed up by 0.7 per cent, or 47.51 points, at 6,822.76 points – its highest closing level since early July. As the FTSE was closed on Monday due [...]
Is the ECB considering quantitative easing? August 25, 2014 European markets are up this morning after European Central Bank (ECB) president Mario Draghi gave a doveish speech in Jackson Hole (Friday). The ECB, Draghi implied, could be gearing up for more monetary stimulus, in order to address the ongoing stagnation in the Eurozone economy. Inflation in the Eurozone has been perilously low of late, [...]
Mario Draghi says QE “falls squarely” in European Central Bank mandate July 14, 2014 Mario Draghi is doing more scene-setting work for full-blown quantitative easing. Speaking to EU politicians today, the European Central Bank (ECB) president said that QE "falls squarely" in the central bank's mandate. Draghi's comments come as the International Monetary Fund today did all but outright say that the ECB should begin to engage in asset [...]
The International Monetary Fund calls for Eurozone to start doing QE right now July 14, 2014 The International Monetary Fund (IMF) assessment of the Eurozone’s economic policies has just been released, and much of it does not make pleasant reading – despite noting the recent expansion, the Fund is calling on the European Central Bank (ECB) to set out on a quantitative easing programme. If inflation remains too low the [...]
Clipper Round the World Yacht Race sailors veering from austerity to global QE bid July 14, 2014 Clipper Round the World Yacht Race sailors were splashing the champagne about as they arrived back in London over the weekend after a 40,000 mile round the world race. With entrants from firms including Goldman Sachs, UBS, Credit Suisse and HSBC, critics might label this sprinkling of sparkling as City excess. But organisers [...]
Fed minutes: QE stimulus to end in October July 9, 2014 The US Federal Reserve plans to end its program of quantitative easing in October according to minutes released from meetings in June. US markets dipped briefly on the news but quickly moved higher. The end of the bond buying program which began in September 2012 has already slowed by $10bn each month and the US [...]
Here’s what Morgan Stanley thinks ECB QE might look like May 12, 2014 It's clear that the European Central Bank knows it has a disinflationary problem. Today, a global investor poll conducted by Bloomberg finds that 74 per cent of participants see deflation as a greater risk to the region than inflation. While headline Eurozone inflation remains positive, that aggregate measure masks the member states already suffering from [...]
How QE has harmed the economy April 7, 2014 LET ME begin with a confession. I admire former Fed chair Ben Bernanke for undertaking quantitative easing (QE) back in 2008. It was a brave decision, which involved taking a bold step across an unknown monetary horizon. It was also the right decision for the time, as it prevented the money supply from collapsing – [...]