Europe: Summary of Selected News

Econintersect:  Here is a summary of selected European news for the past week.

UK

Jobs growth in City helps London double boost to UK coffers – http://www.standard.co.uk/business/London’s contribution to the nation’s coffers  has doubled over the last financial year, helped by a rise in City jobs as well as the Olympic Games and Queen’s Jubilee.

Triple dip recession in 2013 looks increasingly likely – http://www.standard.co.uk/business/The longest double-dip recession since the 1950s may have just ended but fears are rising that the UK economy will enter triple dip territory in 2013.

Weak figures spark talk of more quantitative easing – http://www.standard.co.uk/business/City analysts today predicted that the Bank of England will soon be forced to restart its £375 billion money-printing programme in the wake of weak official data showing the economy is at risk of relapsing back into recession.

Germany

A Reputation in Ruin: Deutsche Bank Slides into a Swamp of Scandal – http://www.spiegel.de/Deutsche Bank was once Germany’s proudest financial institution. Now, though, the giant is facing myriad investigations, legal troubles, scandals and accusations of malfeasance. Its current leadership has pledged a new beginning, but several executives are tainted as well. By SPIEGEL Staff

Tight Squeeze in Hamburg: World’s Largest Container Ship Visits Germany – http://www.spiegel.de/In a highly symbolic visit, the world’s largest container ship docked on Wednesday in Hamburg, Germany’s premier port city. Fully loaded, the Marco Polo would be unable to enter Hamburg’s harbor and the vessel’s arrival has highlighted disputed plans to prepare the city for the next generation of mega-ships.

Official data start to confirm the German manufacturing survey downturn gloom – http://www.markit.com/Manufacturing output in the Eurozone’s largest member country was some 2.4% lower than September, confirming indications from recent business surveys that the German economy is on course to contract in the fourth quarter, which will in turn drive the Eurozone as a whole deeper into its double-dip recession.

As foreign workers flow to Germany, tensions on both sides – http://feeds.washingtonpost.comTUTTLINGEN, Germany — More than three years into an economic crisis that has threatened to tear Europe apart, one country is still on a hiring spree, and it is pulling away the best and the brightest workers from its neighbors along the way.

Eurozone downturn eases as Germany returns to growth – http://www.markit.com/The eurozone downturn showed further signs of easing in December, adding to hopes that the outlook for next year is brightening. It looks like the downturn reached its fiercest back in October, since when the PMI has turned up steadily by no means spectacularly.

France

Challenging France to Do Business Differently – http://www.nytimes.com/While the European crisis has made the French aware of the need to modernize the economy, there are mixed signals on whether the government of François Hollande is willing to heed the advice.

French president urges paired economy with Algeria – http://english.cntv.cn/Visiting French President Francois Hollande said here Thursday that France and Algeria have to work on setting up paired economic growth models, during his the second- day visit to the North African nation.

Other

Vexed in Vienna: New Allegations Haunt EADS Fighter Jet Deal – http://www.spiegel.de/In the corruption scandal surrounding the sale of Eurofighter jets to Austria, more and more information suggests that European defense giant EADS may have played a role in bribery aimed at securing the lucrative contract. The affair has the potential to damage the company’s image and its bottom line.

Europe: November sees stronger growth in food & drink, non-bank financial services and technology – http://www.markit.com/The latest detailed sector PMI data for Europe indicated further declines in most sectors in November, but signs of strengthening growth in some key industries.

Putin says Russia could join Cyprus bailout effort – http://news.yahoo.comBRUSSELS (Reuters) – Russian President Vladimir Putin said his country could provide support to Cyprus as part of an international bailout for the indebted island, but only after euro zone countries have defined the terms of their assistance. “We do not see it as comfortable for ourselves to meddle in this process…

Emerging markets for chocolate? – http://cnn.com/Swiss chocolate maker Lindt is expanding into the U.S., China and Russia as it seeks to combat the impact of the country’s strong franc and the eurozone crisis.

Steel giant ArcelorMittal’s euro woe – http://www.standard.co.uk/business/The world’s biggest steelmaker, ArcelorMittal, is slashing the value of its European business by  about  $4.3 billion (£2.6 billion) after the eurozone’s economic woes have decimated demand.

Globalisation: Going backwards – http://www.economist.com/ HOW integrated countries are with the rest of the world varies more than you might expect. And the world is less integrated in 2012 than it was back in 2007. These are the conclusions of the latest DHL Global Connectedness Index, which found that the Netherlands is the most globalised of 140 countries (see chart), just ahead of Singapore; landlocked Burundi is the least…

Iceland asks business to ‘meet in the middle’ – http://cnn.com/With high-tech facilities, Iceland is trying to woo business travelers by pitching itself as a halfway point between Europe and the U.S.

When global banks fail: National trust – http://www.economist.com/“PHEW,” says a senior bank regulator, leaning back in his chair, when asked how he would cope with the collapse of a big global bank. “It’s a daunting task.” On December 10th the Bank of England (BoE) and America’s Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) took a step towards making it a little less daunting when they outlined plans to work together were any of their large global banks to implode…

Europe Consumers to Stay Cautious – http://online.wsj.com/Germans have become less upbeat about the economic outlook as 2012 draws to a close, indicating consumer spending in the euro zone will likely remain weak, despite a slightly more positive tone among Italian consumers and French businesses.

Steven Hansen, John Lounsbury