As Spain has moved closer to what looks increasingly like economic disaster, there have been a couple of surprising - even heartening - moves by the country’s senior politicians lately. One was the announcement made by Socialist leader Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba that his party offered its full support to the conservative government going into the key European summit in Brussels on June 28. This rare instance of political unity was accompanied by an unusual show of stark public honesty by Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy. “We can’t finance ourselves at these levels of interest much longer,” said the man who had denied that Spain would request a bank bailout days before it did so, and who said he … [Read more...] about Spain’s true crisis isn’t economic, it’s institutional
spain banks
Bankia: A tale of confusion, conflict and unnecessary haggling
Measured from the close of May 7 - the day Bankia’s president Rodrigo Rato announced his resignation - through noon of Thursday the 18, when its shares hit a low of €1.17, Bankia shed no less than 48 percent of its value. Adding to this the 40 percent lost since the July 2011 initial public offering through early May (this perfectly in line with the average euro zone bank over the period, by the way) and the hoards of retail depositors cajoled into parting with their savings in order to subscribe to the IPO by their local bank managers, we’re looking at just shy of a 70-point loss in a bit over eight months. It wasn’t intended to turn out that way. When Banco Financiero y de Ahorros (BFA) … [Read more...] about Bankia: A tale of confusion, conflict and unnecessary haggling
Euro to end as Greece exit nears?
Here is my latest update of the British pound to euro exchange rate, covering the 11th to 18th May 2012. This is intended as a brief guide to what’s affected the exchange rate this past week as well as what might happen next, to help you decide if now’s the best time to change currencies. Pound to euro: -0.72% decrease on the week (from 1.254 to 1.245) +2.33% increase on the month (from 1.217 to 1.245) This past week: 1. Right-wing UK newspapers including The Telegraph and Daily Express have been openly discussing this week the possibility that the euro might soon end, as economists put the odds of Greece leaving the euro at 50.0% and above. 2. The pound has lost a cent against … [Read more...] about Euro to end as Greece exit nears?
