ITALY’S PM CONTE WINS LOWER HOUSE CONFIDENCE VOTE; SENATE CHALLENGE AHEAD
By Silvia Marchetti ROME (MaceNews) – Italy’s Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte won on Monday a key vote of confidence in the Lower House with 321 votes out of a total 630, six more than the absolute majority required. The main challenge will be on Tuesday morning at the Senate where the ruling coalition has a […]
ITALY RECOVERY AHEAD, BACK TO PRE-PANDEMIC LEVELS IN 2023 – BOI
By Silvia Marchetti ROME (MNI) – The Bank of Italy Friday forecast an average 3.5% GDP growth this year, 3.8% in 2022 and and 2.3% in 2023 when pre-crisis levels are expected to be recovered. In its economic bulletin the BOI said the European Central Bank’s ongoing accommodative policy stance and new European measures aimed […]
ECB SIGNALS LESS RELIANCE ON QE AMID SIGNS OF GOVERNING COUNCIL DISAGREEMENT
–Minutes of December Meeting Suggest Council May Not Exhaust Emergency QE Allocation By Laurie Laird LONDON (MaceNews) – The European Central Bank could rely more heavily on its long-term refinancing operations in combatting the Covid-related economic downturn, although minutes of the December rate-setting meeting suggest some disagreement about the appropriate policy path. “The focus on […]
ITALY GOVT FACES RISK OF COLLAPSE, SHOWDOWN FOR PM CONTE OVER EU AID – SOURCES
By Silvia Marchetti ROME (MaceNews) – Italy faces the risk of a government crisis right in the middle of an unprecedented pandemic as the minor Italia Viva party threatens to pull out of the ruling coalition if a new ruling pact isn’t reached. A meeting scheduled on Tuesday between coalition parties will be showdown time […]
ITALY TO SEEK MORE FLEXIBILITY OVER NEW EU RULES ON NPL’S – COALITION SOURCES
By Silvia Marchetti ROME (MaceNews) – Italy wants greater flexibility over new tighter European-wide credit rules that could further worsen liquidity, according to ruling coalition sources. The new framework, that came into force on January 1, introduces stricter parameters for the ‘default’ classification on non-performing loans and so-called ‘calendar provisioning’ for write-offs, combining a 90-day […]
EURO-AREA ECONOMIC SENTIMENT PICKS UP IN DECEMBER
—Germany Sees Sentiment Stagnate By Marco Babic ZURICH (MaceNews) – Economic sentiment in the Euro-area was a positive note, rising in December from the previous month driven by “markedly higher” industrial and consumer confidence, the European Commission said in its latest Business and Consumer Survey report. Economic sentiment picked up 2.7 points in December to […]
ITALY TO SELL MORE USD-DENOMINATED BONDS IN 2021; NEW ‘GREEN’ SECURITIES – SOURCES
By Silvia Marchetti ROME (Mace News) – Italy’s government aims to issue more U.S. dollar-denominated bonds this year alongside new green bonds and retail securities aimed at supporting pandemic measures, according to ruling coalition sources. The goal is to keep diversifying the investor base through new issuances in foreign currencies both in the Global and […]
UK AGREES TO EUROPEAN UNION BREXIT DEAL
–Few Details But UK Claims Tariff/Quota-free Access for Goods Exports to EU By Laurie Laird LONDON (MaceNews) – With just a week left to run on the current transitional arrangement, the UK has agreed a trade deal with the European Union that will officially end Britain’s membership of the European Union. The UK left the […]
GERMANY’S ECONOMIC SENTIMENT IMPROVES DECEMBER DESPITE LOCKDOWN
By Marco Babic ZURICH (MaceNews) – Improved current economic conditions and expectations pushed overall economic sentiment in Germany higher in December, even with increased lockdown measures due to COVID-19. The Ifo Business Climate Friday rose to 92.1 in December from a revised 90.9 (90.7) the previous month, and was well above the median forecast of […]
US LABELS SWITZERLAND, VIETNAM CURRENCY MANIPULATORS; NOT CHINA
–Tracking China Interventions ‘Closely’ By Denny Gulino WASHINGTON (MaceNews) – The U.S. Treasury Department Wednesday signaled that Switzerland and to a much lesser extent Vietnam are manipulating their currencies, in part at least, for a competitive advantage in trade while China, having briefly been so designated up until January, was not included. Switzerland renewed its […]