Recent Posts

Italian government’s next big test in the bond market

Italy may have dodged one blow, but its fight is far from over. After escaping a ratings downgrade from S&P Global Ratings last week, the government bond auction was the next test of investor appetite. October 30 saw 2 billion euros ($2.3 billion) of five-year and 2.5 billion euros of 10-year bonds offered. With the country enmeshed in a budget ...

Read More »

Europe’s budget rules need smart enforcement

As it does each year, the European Commission is digging into the budgets of euro-zone member states to see if they comply with the bloc’s fiscal rules. The recent slowing of the European economy complicates this work — or ought to. It suggests that Brussels should not be overly strict. The commission needs to sanction serious violations, but it can ...

Read More »

Why did Hammond omit B-word in Britain’s budget?

Britain’s Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond barely uttered the B-word in the more than 70 minutes it took him to unveil the latest UK budget on Monday. Inevitably, though, Brexit was the elephant stomping around the room — or, rather, one of them. Exit negotiations with the European Union (EU) are stalled over a disagreement about how to keep ...

Read More »
Send this to a friend