Econintersect: Here are some top of the news stories collected by Econintersect for Sunday 21 July 2013 and immediate preceeding days.
Banks, youth unemployment top threats to euro zone – Reuters poll – http://www.uk.reuters.com/
The poor health of the banking system and youth unemployment are the two biggest threats to the future of the euro zone economy, according to a Reuters poll of economists on Thursday. The survey also showed they agree the European Central Bank’s adoption of forward guidance marks a significant change in its approach to policymaking, rather than merely tinkering.
Bunds Underperform Treasuries After Fed Says Tapering Not Preset – http://www.bloomberg.com
Lucy Meakin and Lukanyo – German 10-year government bonds underperformed U.S. Treasuries after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke damped speculation the U.S. central bank is close to ending its asset-purchase program.
The Irish bail-out programme: The meaning of exit – http://www.economist.com
When tapes of conversations between senior executives at the failed Anglo Irish Bank at the height of the financial crisis in 2008 were leaked in June, Irish credibility as a true penitent among the five bailed-out euro-zone countries took a knock.
G-20 Reaches for Growth as China Changes Lending Rules – http://www.bloomberg.com
Rebecca Christie, Scott Rose and Joshua Goodman – Global finance chiefs sought to buttress the global economic recovery with pledges to avoid spooking markets as China moved to scrap a lending rule that had constrained its banks. Group of 20 nations will pursue “carefully calibrated and clearly communicated” policy moves so that the U.S. and Japan don’t cause cross-border damage when they start rolling back stimulus, they said after a two-day meeting of finance chiefs in Moscow.
Rival accuses Germany’s Merkel of deceit over euro zone bailouts – http://www.uk.reuters.com/
Germany’s main opposition leader Peer Steinbrueck accused Chancellor Angela Merkel of covering up the likelihood that German taxpayers will have to fund further euro zone bailouts due to a looming election. Steinbrueck, who is lagging Merkel in the run-up to the September 22 vote, was quoted by a German magazine on Saturday as saying a fresh writedown on Greek debt would mean losses for public creditors, in other words taxpayers.
Jena McGregor: CVS won’t sell Rolling Stone issue featuring Boston bombing suspect – http://feeds.washingtonpost.com
Two New England-based companies said Wednesday they won’t be carrying copies of the newest issue of Rolling Stone, which bears a controversial cover featuring Boston bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. On their Facebook pages, both CVS and Tedeschi Food Shops explained their decisions. “As a company with deep roots in New England and a strong presence in Boston,” CVS writes, “we believe this is the right decision out of respect for the victims of the attack and their loved ones…
UK labour market continues to improve alongside broader economic upturn – http://www.markit.com/
The UK labour market is showing signs of further improvement, with employment rising, vacancies up to their highest since October 2008 and unemployment numbers falling sharply. Pay growth also picked up slightly.
Fed Chief Reaffirms Fervor for Stimulus – http://www.nytimes.com/
Ben S. Bernanke said that the Federal Reserve expected the economy to gain strength in the coming months, potentially allowing the central bank to decelerate its stimulus campaign.
ECB policy will be expansionary as long as needed – Asmussen – http://news.yahoo.comVILNIUS (Reuters)
The European Central Bank’s monetary policy is expansionary and will remain so as long as is needed, ECB Executive Board member Joerg Asmussen said on Thursday. “We at the European Central Bank have done quite a lot in the crisis,” Asmussen he said at an event organised by the Lithuanian central bank…
Analysis – Rajoy sits out corruption storm within Spanish ruling party – http://news.yahoo.com
By Fiona Ortiz and Elisabeth O’Leary MADRID (Reuters)
Dissent is growing within the usually disciplined ranks of Spain’s ruling centre-right People’s Party over a corruption scandal, but there are few signs yet of any rebellion strong enough to topple Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy. Rajoy has denied any wrongdoing in the affair which involves Swiss bank accounts and allegations of a party slush fund, but it has eroded his credibility as he tries to plug a huge budget deficit and prove Spain is not the weak link of the euro zone…
Eurozone current account surplus narrows – http://news.yahoo.com
The eurozone’s current account surplus narrowed to 19.6 billion euros ($25.7 billion) in May from 23.8 billion euros in April, European Central Bank data showed on Thursday.
Eurozone production falls in May but sector showing signs of stabilising – http://www.markit.com/
Eurozone industrial output fell more than expected in May, but PMI data suggest the sector could stabilise in coming months. Slowing global demand presents a challenge to Eurozone producers, however, suggesting growth could remain weak for some time.
Bernanke Pursues Leeway on Jobless Rate’s Weight – http://online.wsj.com/
Fed Chairman Bernanke played down the unemployment rate’s weight in the central bank’s calculation of when to start raising short-term borrowing costs.
French restaurants: No place like home – http://www.economist.com/
See? Our bouillabaisse is made right here!
GIVEN the state of France’s economy, its politicians ought to have bigger worries. But one of the hottest topics in parliament these days is how to force restaurants to reveal whether they make their boeuf bourguignon on the premises or rip open packets and warm up the contents…
Trade Talks: Deal Could Double German Exports to US – http://www.spiegel.de/
The EU and the US are set to start negotiations on a trans-Atlantic free trade agreement in July. A deal could have huge benefits for Germany and the rest of the EU. But there would also be losers according to a new study.
Global Business Outlook: UK bucks global trend of falling price pressures – http://www.markit.com/
An upturn in prices charged for goods and services over the coming year in the UK contrasts with downturns in almost all other developed and emerging countries, according to the 12th Markit global survey of business expectations for the year ahead, covering 11,000 companies. The upturn in the UK is expected to take place despite an easing of input cost pressures.
UK inflation picks up to highest since April 2012, and firms’ future price intentions rise to two-year high – http://www.markit.com/
UK inflation rose a little less than expected in June, but nevertheless increased from 2.7% in May to 2.9%, its highest since April of last year. Manufacturers’ prices also rose, with input costs and selling prices growing at faster rates than in May, adding to fears that stubbornly high price pressures could smother – or at least subdue – the economic recovery that has been taking hold in the UK.
Greek police ban protests during visit by Germany’s Schaeuble – http://news.yahoo.comATHENS (Reuters)
Greek police have banned protests in downtown Athens on Thursday during a visit by German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble, whom many accuse of forcing painful cuts on Greece in return for the multi-billion euro bailouts keeping it afloat. With Greece now in a sixth year of a deep, austerity-fuelled recession, many of those struggling with record unemployment and plummeting living standards blame Germany’s insistence on fiscal rigor for their economic woes…
South African bonds, rand largely steady ahead of rates call – http://news.yahoo.comJOHANNESBURG (Reuters)
South African government bonds were largely steady and the rand was not far off previous closing levels against the dollar on Thursday, ahead of the central bank’s decision on interest rates. Markets and economists widely expect the Reserve Bank to keep the benchmark repo at a four-decade low of 5 percent, but will monitor governor Gill Marcus’s speech that starts at 1300 GMT to gauge whether her concerns have shifted about rising inflation pressures and anaemic growth…
Swiss Bank Leaker: ‘Money Is Easy to Hide’ – http://www.spiegel.de/
It was the most spectacular bank data leak of recent years: In 2008, former HSBC employee Hervé Falciani disappeared with the information of some 130,000 customers. He tells SPIEGEL he wants to help Europe hunt down its tax dodgers and expose a broken system.
MPC members drop calls for more QE as economy gains momentum – http://www.markit.com/
There was unusual unanimity among policymakers at the Bank of England at its first meeting under new governor Mark Carney. According to the minutes of the latest Monetary Policy Committee meeting, all nine members voting against further quantitative easing. In prior months, three members, including previous governor Sir Mervyn King, voted for more asset purchases to help stimulate the recovery.
Euro Gives Latvia Escape From Geography’s Bear Hug – http://www.bloomberg.com
Aivis Ronis – Of all the trips I took as Latvia’s ambassador to the U.S., one of the most memorable was a drive a decade ago across west Texas. While I was stopping for gas, a cowboy who overheard my accent asked where I was from. I told him I came from a country of 2 million people on the Baltic Sea in north-central Europe. He said, “I know where you’re from — we liberated you after World War II.”
