Introduction – Bulgaria’s recent announcement On 17 February, Bulgarian finance minister Rositza Velkova announced that, rather than continue as planned with the full, formal adoption of the euro on 1…
ECB
To what Extent Can the ECB Override Financial Markets?
Towards the end of August, every year investors focus on the Jackson Hole conference of the central banking global elite. Given widespread acceptance among central bankers that non-temporary inflation is…
This article analyses the disparity between the substance of what was announced and the language put around it by the ECB, mainly in the press release on its Monetary Policy…
Consumer prices started rising in 2021, and the rise has quickly gathered speed. Many politicians and central bankers were caught by surprise. They initially claimed that price inflation was provoked…
ECB Policymakers Run Out of Options; Antifragmentation Cannot BOTH Address Inflation AND Contain Spreads
When the history of the euro currency’s rise and decline in popularity is written, the month of June 2022 will be viewed as decisive. In June, the ECB committed to…
Central banks increasingly consider combating climate change by pursuing a “green monetary policy”. The European Central Bank is also venturing into the field of climate protection. The ECB can support…
Facebook’s greatest recent challenge has been the fading of its brand. A veritable slew of newer social media platforms are cooler and more trendy than Fb, which now languishes in popular esteem as the social platform of choice for the out of touch greying generations, rather than youngsters.
Fb has 3.5 billion customers – half the world’s population. For these reasons, we think that its new currency Libra is interesting. In particular, it shines a light on continuing existential threat to the euro, which is only one of the presumably G7 currencies whose assets will back Libra. Will Libra succeed?
December’13 Newsletter: Growth Is Fragile, But Banks Might Be In Better Shape
GDP in the EU area seems to be growing, but at a very slow pace. Although financial market remain sanguine, the real estate sector presents a mixed picture, with bad news coming from heavily indebted countries. While waiting for better news, the authorities are devoting their attention to the rating agencies.
Six years after the crisis exploded, experts still find it difficult to come up with satisfactory criteria to evaluate the banking industry. The good news, however, is that regulators are gradually becoming aware of how banks succeeded in circumventing the rules.
October’14 Newsletter: National Debts Reappear, Old Issues Remain Unsolved
Something is rotten in the European Union! It looks like a hide and seek game, where countries and banks are playing a very dangerous game for the citizens’ future. Thus, between political instabilities, stealthy defaults, unhealthy and reckless banks and a real estate market that is artificially boucing back, there are many concerns about the EU’s future.
“There will have to be another program in Greece,” German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble said bluntly on August 20th. The two previous bail-outs amounted to about 240 billion euros but that was not enough. According to the International Monetary Fund, one the Troika member, the estimated uncovered funding needed by Greece for 2014-2015 may amount to 10.9 billion euros.