Italy’s Layoff Freeze Soon to End But Government Eyes Job ‘Incentives’, Confident In Recovery – Sources
By Silvia Marchetti ROME (MaceNews) – Italy’s pandemic layoff freeze will be lifted at the end of June but the recovery underway and special government incentives will likely push firms to keep their employees and potentially hire more, said ruling coalition sources. “The layoff freeze has been a key measure which was adopted right after […]
Euro Use Remained Near Historic Lows in 2020; Share of Official Reserves Falls
–ECB’S Panetta Hails Steadiness in Comparison with Sovereign Debt Crisis By Laurie Laird LONDON (MaceNews) – The euro’s share in global transactions remained at 19% in 2020, a performance hailed as an accomplishment by a senior ECB official given the low rates of return in the bloc. The share of euro transactions “has not decreased; […]
Eurozone Economic Sentiment Improves in May on Boost from Services
ZURICH (MaceNews) – Economic sentiment in the Eurozone rose to higher-than-expected levels in May, driven by a strong performance in the services sector, the latest report from the European Commission showed. The Economic Sentiment Index (ESI) rose to 114.5 in May from 110.5 in April, beating the median of 112.1 in an Econoday survey of […]
German Business Sentiment Rose in May to Highest Since May 2019; Manufacturers Expect Price Increases
ZURICH (MaceNews) – Business confidence among Germany companies improved markedly in May as they judged current conditions and future developments more positively, the latest figures released by the Munich-based IFO Institute showed. The Business Climate Index rose to 99.2 in May from a revised 96.6 (96.8) the previous month, and solidly beating expectations for a […]
Italy Govt To Extend Loans Freeze, State-Backed Guarantees – Sources
By Silvia Marchetti ROME (MaceNews) – Italy’s government is expected to extend key pandemic state-backed guarantees for private investments and a loans payment moratorium by Friday, according to ruling coalition sources. Both measures, set-up in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis to help struggling firms’ and families access credit, are to due to expire in […]
Eurozone April HICP +1.6% vs Year-Ago on Energy Prices
ZURICH (MaceNews) – Consumer prices in the Eurozone rose 1.6% from a year ago, increasing from the 1.3% pace in March as energy prices drove the HICP higher, according to data released Wednesday by Eurostat. Wednesday’s final result matched the preliminary report as well as the median forecast of an Econoday survey of economists. Energy […]
Germany’s ZEW Economic Sentiment Surges to Highest Reading Since February 2000
ZURICH (MaceNews) – Economic sentiment in Germany rose to its highest reading in May since February of 2000, as the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic has slowed, according to the latest report from the ZEW Institute in Mannheim. The Economic Sentiment index for Germany rose 13.7 points to 84.4 in May, far surpassing economists’ […]
Italy to Push for Overhaul of EU Fiscal Rules, Investments Exempted from Deficit – Sources
By Silvia Marchetti ROME (MaceNews) – Rome will push for a revision of tight European fiscal rules to take into account a post-COVID economy, allowing member states to run higher pro-growth deficits net of strategic investments without running into sanctions, according to Italian ruling coalition sources. “There’s growing consensus in Europe on the need to […]
Eurozone April Flash HICP Rises 1.6% Y/Y on Energy Prices; Ex-Energy +0.8% Y/Y
ZURICH (MaceNews) – Inflation in the Eurozone accelerated to 1.6% year-on-year, rising from a 1.3% rate in March, driven higher by energy prices, according to the latest figures from Eurostat. The result was in-line with the median forecast of an Econoday survey of economists. Excluding energy prices which rose 10.3% on a year-on-year basis in […]
Eurozone Economic Sentiment Shows Strong Gains in April and Beats Expectations
ZURICH (MaceNews) – Sentiment in the Euro-area showed a marked improvement in April, driven by an all-time high for industrial sentiment, and is now above the pre-pandemic level for the first time, according to the latest European Commission report. The Economic Sentiment Index (ESI) rose to 110.3 in April, resoundingly above the 103.0 median forecast […]