Category: Eurozone

GERMAN BUSINESS CONFIDENCE FALLS IN NOVEMBER ON VIRUS CONCERNS

By Marco Babic ZURICH (MaceNews) – Sentiment at German companies deteriorated in November, as a second wave of COVID-19 cases are dampening expectations, the Munich-based Ifo Institute said Tuesday. The Business Climate Index fell for a second month to 90.7 in November from a revised 92.5 (92.7) the previous month. The decline was not as […]

BOE SEES DIMINISHING MARGINAL RETURNS FROM ASSET PURCHASES

— External Rate Setters Lament Low Inflation, Raising Questions Over MPC Rift and Future Policy By Laurie LairdLONDON (MaceNews) – Top Bank of England rate setters agreed that quantitative easing will exert a diminishing influence on the UK economic recovery, raising questions about the tools available to the central bank as two external officials lamented […]

COVID RESURGENCE RAISES EU FINANCIAL STABILITY RISKS, AFFECTS GROWTH OUTLOOK – BOI

By Silvia Marchetti ROME (MacsNews) – The second COVID-19 wave hitting Europe and in Italy is raising financial stability risks and could worsen the outlook, the Bank of Italy warned Friday in its Financial Stability Report.  Even though summer’s economic recovery was greater than expected also thanks to the support of monetary policy, “the risks […]

ECB’S LAGARDE URGES GOV’T, PRIVATE EQUITY SUPPORT FOR EUROPEAN TECH

–Lagarde Makes No Mention of Monetary Policy in Address to Frankfurt Banking Conference By Laurie Laird LONDON (MaceNews) – Up-and-coming European technology firms could greatly benefit from more extensive support from governments and from the private equity industry, according to the continent’s top central banker, outlining her views on the future of employment in a post-Covid […]

ECB’S LAGARDE: ASSET PURCHASES, CHEAP FINANCING ARE KEY TOOLS VS LATEST DOWNTURN

By Laurie Laird LONDON (MaceNews) –  Europe’s top central banker suggested that expanded asset purchases and enhancements to the Bank’s long-term finance scheme are best suited to counter the latest eurozone downturn, while urging national governments to keep the fiscal taps flowing. “While all options are on the table, the pandemic emergency purchase programme (PEPP) […]

BANK OF ENGLAND: INFORMAL, NON-TARIFF BARRIERS POSSIBLE IN NO-DEAL BREXIT

–MPC’s Ramsden Sees Risk of ‘Trade Friction’ on Top of WTO Tariffs By Laurie Laird LONDON (MaceNews) — Bank of England leaders have begun to break their silence over the possibility of a no-deal Brexit, with a top policy maker voicing fears that a lack of cooperation between trading nations could introduce informal barriers to […]

TOP ECB OFFICIAL DOWNPLAYS SYMMETRICAL INFLATION TARGET, RATE CUTS

—Governing Council’s Mersch Expresses Lukewarm Support for Lagarde By Laurie Laird LONDON (MaceNews) — A top European Central banker Monday expressed opposition to a symmetrical inflation target and raised questions over the efficacy of further rate cuts, while withholding full support for the central bank’s leader. “Symmetry does not mean that we would engage in […]

ECB, BOE SEE NO SILVER BULLET IN COVID VACCINE

–Both CenBanks Expected to Adjust Policy in December –Fed’s Powell Sees More Tech-Oriented, Less Job-Oriented Recovery By Laurie Laird LONDON (MaceNews) – Europe’s top central bankers welcomed the positive news on a Covid vaccine unveiled earlier this week, but warned that the region faces more economic pain before an inoculation becomes widely available. European Central […]