Deja vu: Eurozone businesses back in decline as Covid cases jump October 23, 2020 The Eurozone’s private sector slipped back into decline in October as coronavirus ripped through the region and new restrictions hit countries’ service sectors and wider economies, according to a new survey. The preliminary IHS Markit Eurozone composite purchasing managers’ index (PMI) – which measures the health of businesses – dropped to 49.4 in October from [...]
Mergers can improve banks’ profitability, says ECB vice president October 19, 2020 The vice president of the European Central Bank has called for further consolidation by eurozone banks to improve lenders’ profitability during the Covid-19 crisis. Banks in Spain and other EU countries have come under pressure to consolidate as the sector faces rising bad loans and rock bottom interest rates due to the coronavirus pandemic. “Removing [...]
Boris Johnson turns his back on today’s Brexit trade deal ‘deadline’ October 15, 2020 Prime Minister Boris Johnson will not walk away from Brexit negotiations today, despite setting a 15 October deadline for reaching an “outline” for a trade deal with the EU. Johnson signaled that he will not decide whether an agreement with the bloc is possible before today’s EU summit in Brussels, following advice from Brexit envoy [...]
EU watchdog proposes software capital relief to increase banks’ safety buffers October 14, 2020 The European banking watchdog has proposed allowing lenders to include the value of software investments in capital calculations, a move that could increase banks’ capital buffers by billions of euros. The European Banking Authority (EBA) said lenders will be allowed to “amortise” or taper the value of software for capital purposes over three years. Under [...]
Almost unnoticed, Europe hurtles into decline October 12, 2020 The string is almost played out. Despite a generation of frantically trying to change the subject — be it by focusing on their own arcane (and very boring) institutional struggles, the problems of other countries (usually the US), or fatuously announcing that every obvious setback is merely a chance to move “the project” of European [...]
ECB should issue digital euro, say Christine Lagarde October 2, 2020 The European Central Bank (ECB) should issue a digital euro in addition to banknotes and coins, according to its boss Christine Lagarde
7,500 UK finance jobs shifted to EU since historic vote, as hard Brexit edges closer October 1, 2020 More than 7,500 UK finance jobs have headed for Europe since the 2016 EU referendum, with more relocations expected as City firms edge against a hard Brexit. In September alone, financial services firms moved more than 400 jobs to financial hubs across the EU, according to a new Ernst & Young report, published earlier this [...]
Zombification is spreading through companies in the euro zone October 1, 2020 On 24 September 2020, euro area banks raised an additional €175bn in the fifth round of the so-called Targeted Longer-Term Refinancing Operations (TLTROs). The stock of outstanding loans, most of which now have a maturity of three years, has jumped by €1,130bn since January to €1,700bn. The ceiling is currently set by the ECB at [...]
A no-deal Brexit could cause the UK’s digital sector to shrink August 28, 2020 The EU’s trade negotiator Michel Barnier recently said that a post-Brexit deal seemed unlikely. This supports our view at Securys that the Brexit transition period will close without an adequacy agreement, bringing an end to the unrestricted flow of data between the UK and the European Economic Area (EEA). Buried in a weekend article came [...]
From the modern Babylon to the city of canals: Eurostar goes to Amsterdam August 26, 2020 From October this year, passengers will be able to take the Eurostar from St Pancras right into the heart of Amsterdam, the great Gothic Revival Station Centraal on Stationsplein. It’s an eye-catching headline, and one which conjures up images of connectivity, of grand continental train journeys, comfort, ease and relaxation. It’s true that the London-Amsterdam [...]