ITALY: DRAGHI TASKED WITH FORMING UNITY GOVERNMENT; ‘CONFIDENT’ PARTIES WILL JOIN
By Silvia Marchetti ROME (MaceNews) – Former European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi was handed on Wednesday the mandate to form a new government by Italy’s head of state Sergio Mattarella and put an end to Italy’s political crisis. “It’s a difficult moment. There’s a dramatic health crisis, which requires adequate responses in defeating the […]
ITALY’S POLITICAL CRISIS DEEPENS; CONTE’S FUTURE ON LINE AS HEAD OF STATE BUYS MORE TIME
By Silvia Marchetti ROME (MaceNews) – Italy’s head of state Sergio Mattarella handed to lower house leader Roberto Fico an ‘explorative’ mandate to evaluate whether the current ruling coalition has a stable enough majority to keep on governing. Mattarella was obliged to take the step following the failure of two days of party talks at […]
ITALY FACES UPHILL ROAD FOR A ‘THIRD’ CONTE GOVERNMENT; MAJORITY STILL WEAK – SOURCES
By Silvia Marchetti ROME (MaceNews) – Ruling coalition parties are confident there will likely be a ‘third’ government ruled by outgoing premier Giuseppe Conte who resigned Monday but they warn that forming a new, stable majority able to put an end to Italy’s ongoing political crisis and avoid the risk of an early vote will […]
IMF’S WORLD ECONOMIC OUTLOOK: WORLD GROWTH REVISED +0.3 TO 5.5%
WASHINGTON (MaceNews) – The International Monetary Fund’s January update to its World Economic Outlook Tuesday saw world growth revised up 0.3 to 5.5%, fueled by a vaccine-propelled recovery. Last year’s performance benefited from a stronger than previously seen second half and it was revised up 0.9 to a contraction of 3.5%. U.S. growth was revised […]
ECB’S LAGARDE: ASSET BUYING AS LIKELY TO EXCEED CURRENT ALLOCATION AS TO FALL SHORT
— ECB President Denies New Language Toward PEPP Programme Reflects More Hawkish Attitude By Laurie Laird LONDON (MaceNews) – ECB warnings that it may not expend all of its emergency bond buying do not represent a more hawkish outlook toward the eurozone recovery, according to Europe’s top central banker. The rate-setting Governing Council raised eyebrows […]
IFO: GERMAN BUSINESS CONFIDENCE DECLINES IN JANUARY ON CORONA
By Marco Babic ZURICH (MaceNews) – German business conditions started the year off on a negative note as the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic pushed both current conditions and business expectations lower, the Munich-based Ifo Institute said in a report Monday. Ifo’s Business Climate Index for January fell to 90.1 in January from a […]
ECB SITS ON ITS HANDS. SAYS DECEMBER FORECASTS HOLD DESPITE LOCKDOWN
By Laurie Laird LONDON (MaceNews) – The European Central Bank left all policy instruments on hold at its latest rate-setting meeting, stressing the ECB’s most recent economic projections envisioned the risk of the strong Covid containment measures currently in place through much of Europe. Forecasts published in December “were predicated on lockdowns lasting through”the first […]
EUROZONE INFLATION STUCK IN THE RED AHEAD OF THURSDAY’S ECB MEETING
—HICP Falls by an Annual Rate of 0.3% in December, Marking the Fifth-Straight Decline By Laurie Laird LONDON (MaceNews) — Eurozone inflation remained stubbornly in the red at the close of last year, with the HICP index slumping by an annual pace of 0.3%, according to data released by Eurostat on Wednesday. That decline matches […]
ITALY’S CONTE WINS SENATE VOTE BUT LACKS STABLE MAJORITY TO PURSUE GOVT AGENDA
By Silvia Marchetti ROME (MaceNews) – Italy’s Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte Tuesday has won a key Senate confidence vote but with only a “relative majority” that hampers the government from fully ruling and efficiently pursuing its agenda. The final vote result was 156 yes and 140 no votes. The political crisis, triggered when the minor […]
GERMAN ECONOMIC EXPECTATIONS START 2021 ON A POSITIVE NOTE, ZEW REPORTS
By Marco Babic ZURICH (MaceNews) – Expectations for Germany’s economy started the year off on a positive note, even in the face of uncertainty about new COVID-19 restrictions, with the outlook for the export market in particular providing a foundation for optimism. The ZEW Institute’s Indicator of Economic Sentiment rose 6.8 points to 61.8 in […]