BBC (July 20)
“Heat records tumbled and firefighters faced new blazes as much of Western Europe baked in a gruelling heatwave.” The UK “saw temperatures of more than 40C (104F) for the first time.” Germany had “its hottest day of the year,” as did the Netherlands, while in France “37,000 people had to be evacuated from their homes” due to wildfires. In the past week, Portugal alone has recorded “more than 1,000 heatwave-related deaths.”
Tags: Blazes, Deaths, Firefighters, France, Germany, Gruelling, Heat, Heatwave, Netherlands, Portugal, Records, Temperatures, UK, Western Europe, Wildfires
Wall Street Journal (July 28)
“Since the 15th century the world has had six unofficial reserve currencies, starting with the Portuguese real. On average they have maintained their leading position for 94 years. The dollar succeeded the British pound 96 years ago, and it has no serious rival in sight.” Today, nearly 90% of global trades involve dollars and, worldwide, nearly two thirds of foreign currency reserves are held in dollars.
Tags: Dollar, Global trades, Portugal, Pound, Real, Reserve currencies, UK
New York Times (August 7)
The “government rescue of one of Portugal’s largest lenders” is another example of “regulatory failure.” Banco Espírito Santo had succeeded in a system that made “it easy for banks to look good and hide their problems.” As the European Central Bank (ECB) moves to assume supervision for some of Europe’s largest banks later this year, it will have to show that it really is serious. “Europe’s economy will not recover until its banking system is truly healthy.”
Tags: Banco Espírito Santo, Banks, ECB, Economy, Europe, Government, Lenders, Portugal, Recover, Regulatory failure, Rescue
Washington Post (October 27)
“Not many countries would cheer about an economic growth rate of one-tenth of 1 percent, sustained for a mere three months. But for Spain, which has been mired in negative growth for two years, the tiny uptick in the third quarter of 2013 represents a kind of breakthrough.” For Europe, however, this is just the slightest hint of a “silver lining in a what is still a very dense, dark cloud hanging over Europe’s economy. Spain and its fellow euro-zone debtors — Italy, Portugal, Ireland and Greece — don’t just need a trickle of growth to bring down their unemployment rates and debt-to-gross-domestic-product ratios. They need a gusher; many consecutive months of high-single-digit growth. And there is no short-term prospect of that.”
Tags: Breakthrough, Debt, Economy, Euro zone, Europe, GDP, Greece, Growth, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Unemployment, Uptick
Euromoney (June Issue)
Portugal successfully raised €3 billion through a 10-year sovereign issue. This “might or might not amount to a return to full market access, but it is certainly a positive development.” Portugal still has a way to go, though, with “progress on its economy and the state of its banks… equally crucial.”
Tags: Banks, Economy, Full market access, Portugal, Sovereign
Boston Herald (May 13)Boston Herald (May 13)
“The failure of any party to form a new government following Greek national elections means the end of the euro currency there is almost a certainty. Thus dies the illusion that a common European currency would cure all ills…. Greece faces a grim future.” For Italy, Spain, Portugal and the rest of Europe “nothing is certain.”
“The failure of any party to form a new government following Greek national elections means the end of the euro currency there is almost a certainty. Thus dies the illusion that a common European currency would cure all ills…. Greece faces a grim future.” For Italy, Spain, Portugal and the rest of Europe “nothing is certain.”
Financial Times (July 10)
Ratings agencies have come under considerable criticism since the Lehman crisis. Most recently, European leaders have heaped scorn on them after Moody’s downgraded Portugal to junk and S&P evaluated a proposal for a Greek debt rollover as a selective default. This time, the ratings agencies are addressing truths that are difficult to stomach. “We have to thank the rating agencies for giving the eurozone’s policymakers a clearer vision of which strategies are feasible, and which are not. It is now time to get serious.”
The Wall Street Journal (April 8)
Many have forgotten the “Lisbon Irony.” The 2000 EU summit was held in Portugal where European leaders unveiled the Lisbon Agenda “to transform the European economy into the world’s most ‘competitive and dynamic’ by 2010.” Instead, Portugal is now asking the EU and the IMF for a bailout. As the Journal notes, the Lisbon Agenda “didn’t turn out that way, least of all for Portugal.”
Many have forgotten the “Lisbon Irony.” The 2000 EU summit was held in Portugal where European leaders unveiled the Lisbon Agenda “to transform the European economy into the world’s most ‘competitive and dynamic’ by 2010.” Instead, Portugal is now asking the EU and the IMF for a bailout. As the Journal notes, the Lisbon Agenda “didn’t turn out that way, least of all for Portugal.”
Economist (March 31)
A “big step forward” is how Germany’s chancellor Angela Merkel characterized the March 24-25 euro-zone summit. The Economist thinks otherwise. ”Something between a fudge and a failure would be more accurate.” Europe’s leaders must face up to the fact that Greece, Ireland and Portugal are bust and their debts need to be restructured. Delaying the inevitable only makes things worse.
A “big step forward” is how Germany’s chancellor Angela Merkel characterized the March 24-25 euro-zone summit The Economist thinks otherwise. ”Something between a fudge and a failure would be more accurate.” Europe’s leaders must face up to the fact that Greece, Ireland and Portugal are bust and their debts need to be restructured. Delaying the inevitable only makes things worse.
Tags: Debt criss, Europe, Greece, Ireland, Portugal, Restructuring
