What the ECB’s quantitative easing means
The European Central Bank had no choice but to launch its own quantitative easing programme in the end. The jury is still out on whether it will work – but judging by the first reactions, it could...
View ArticleInvestors underestimate ‘Grexit’ risks
As the second quarter begins, Greece is still waiting to reach a deal with its creditors, while its banks are haemorrhaging deposits fast and investors are losing whatever confidence they had left....
View ArticleHousing bubble back in Ireland and Spain?
Could the housing bubble be back in former eurozone basket cases Ireland and Spain? The two countries were members of the infamous PIIGS (Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece and Spain), which until not...
View ArticleItalian banks’ bad loans need long-term solution: rating agency
Italian banks’ bad loans are holding back its economy, but creating a “bad bank” and dumping them there is not a good idea, because deeper reforms are needed, a European rating agency has warned. The...
View ArticleSpanish banks on the mend as bad loans subside
The financial crisis of 2007-2009 has left a lot of collapsed Spanish castles in its wake, hitting Spanish banks hard. Pictures of Spain’s ghost towns were splashed across the world’s newspapers at the...
View ArticleEurozone banks are doing better, lending improves
One piece of good news about the eurozone has been overshadowed by the ongoing, Syriza-orchestrated drama on Greece: lending continues to improve, and with it, the prospects for the single currency...
View ArticleThe next European crisis: the real estate sector
If you’re curious to see where the seeds of the next financial crisis are in Europe, take a look at what’s happening in the real estate sector. As money-printing by the European Central Bank is...
View ArticleEurozone banks get help from ECB collateral measure
A small step for the ECB, a big step for eurozone banks could be one way of looking at a recent announcement by the European Central Bank that it is widening the array of financial instruments that it...
View ArticleIn 2017, the ECB should learn to break the rules
This is going to be a crucial year for the European Union. There are more and more voices predicting its disintegration. With the political events that are ahead, it’s not a possibility that should be...
View ArticleInvestors’ worries about Italy are justified
With summer over, Italy is back at the forefront of the news – this time not as a holiday destination but in its other capacity, as chief source of market worries. The way things are going, the worries...
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