Wall Street Journal (October 26)
The European Central Bank is now faced with “a dilemma as it edges toward higher interest rates just as the region’s economy slows and faces escalating risks, from international trade tensions to a European dispute over Italy’s budget.” For now, President Mario Draghi has no plans to change course as the ECB seeks to “phase out easy-money policies.”
Tags: Budget, Dilemma, Draghi, ECB, Economy, Interest rates, Italy, QE, Risks, Trade tensions
Bloomberg (October 24)
“Don’t let Italy off the hook. The euro area needs budget rules, and the European Commission is right to enforce them…. The euro area has a strong collective interest in each member’s willingness to maintain fiscal discipline.”
Tags: Budget rules, Collective interest, Enforce, euro, European Commission, Fiscal discipline, Italy
The Economist (August 18)
“It is not just in Italy that questions should be asked about monitoring and maintenance regimes. Bridges throughout Europe, America and Asia are all showing signs of deterioration…. With the world covered in reinforced concrete, this is a problem that spans countries. The failure of the Morandi bridge shows that it must not be ignored.”
Tags: Asia, Bridges, Deterioration, Europe, Failure, Italy, Maintenance, Monitoring, Morandi, Reinforced concrete, U.S.
Wall Street Journal (June 4)
Despite the “unanimous concern and disappointment” expressed in a statement by G7 members Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the UK, ”the Trump administration showed no sign of backing down from restrictive tariffs” or provided any indication “that the administration was wary of inching closer to a trade war.”
Tags: Canada, Concern, Disappointment, France, G7, Germany, Italy, Japan, Tariffs, Trade war, Trump, UK, Unanimous
CNBC (May 29)
“Political uncertainty in Italy has unhinged world markets, raising the specter of a euro crisis that could ripple across the global economy and even force the Federal Reserve to slow its rate-hiking plans.” While odds appear low that Italy will opt out of the single currency bloc, “internal chaos and a new election could make for a rocky summer for markets and even put a dent in European economic growth.”
Tags: Chaos, Currency, Economy, Election, Euro crisis, Fed, Growth, Italy, Markets, Political uncertainty, Rate hike, Unhinged
Financial Times (February 24)
Germany and Italy now appear to be backing Brussels hardliners on fixing the bill for Brexit. They are supporting Michel Barnier, the chief EU negotiator, “in seeking progress on divorce terms as an opening step.” The move to focus “on Britain’s €60bn exit bill” will come as a major “blow to Downing Street.”
Tags: Barnier, Brexit, Brussels, Divorce terms, Downing Street, EU, Germany, Hardliners, Italy, Negotiator
Financial Times (December 31)
“After December’s No vote in the Italian referendum, the rise of Donald Trump and the British vote to leave the EU, it appears that the political landscape of the developed world is being redesigned by the victims of globalisation and technological change. Anger towards political elites is pervasive. Yet a few rage-free zones remain, of which Japan is the most conspicuous.” Japan’s “immunity from the populist political tide remains remarkable.”
Tags: Anger, Elites, EU, Globalisation, Italy, Japan, Political landscape, Populist, Referendum, Technological change, Trump, UK, Victims
Bloomberg (April 11)
“For global equity investors and Shinzo Abe, it’s splitsville.” For 13 straight weeks during 2016, “foreign traders have been pulling out of Tokyo’s stock market.” They’ve dumped “$46 billion of shares as economic reports deteriorated, stimulus from the Bank of Japan backfired and the yen’s surge pressured exporters. The benchmark Topix index is down 18 percent in 2016, the world’s steepest declines behind Italy.”
Tags: Abe, BOJ, Equity investors, Exporters, Italy, Shares, Stock market, Tokyo, Topix, Traders, Yen
The Economist (June 27)
“Electric buses in parts of South Korea, Italy, Britain and California are, today, recharging themselves from underground wireless chargers.” Wireless charging isn’t new. Nicholas Tesla used resonant induction in the 19th century, but it may finally prove revolutionary. From mobile phones to cars and kitchen appliances, “sales of such machines, now half a billion dollars a year, will grow 30-fold over the next decade.” Furthermore, the technology may succeed in “decarbonising the world’s road vehicles.”
Tags: Britain, California, Electric buses, Italy, Recharging, Resonant induction, Revolutionary, South Korea, Tesla, Vehicles, Wireless charging
The Economist (February 21)
“Deflation can be a good thing. But today’s version is pernicious.” Prices have fallen in Germany, Italy, Spain, Greece, indeed the euro zone as a whole, and “ultra-low inflation is also widespread. America, Britain and China each have inflation rates of less than 1%.” Should there be another crash, central banks would have little room to act. “The world is grievously underestimating the danger of deflation.”
Tags: Central banks, China, Deflation, Euro zone, Germany, Greece, Italy, Pernicious, Prices, Spain, U.S., UK
