The ECB (European Central Bank) made no changes to its APP (asset purchase program) at its April meeting, maintaining that its purchase rate of 30 billion euros in debt securities per month will continue until the end of September 2018 or beyond if necessary.
The Spain Manufacturing PMI rose to 55.2 in January 2018 compared to 55.8 in December 2017. The figure didn’t beat the preliminary market estimate of 55.7.
Eurozone manufacturing activity in December According to Markit Economics, the Eurozone’s manufacturing PMI (purchasing managers’ index) rose strongly in December 2017, to 60.6 from 60.1 in November 2017. It beat the market expectation of 60.4 and marked the strongest expansion in manufacturing activity since 1997. Major Eurozone members Germany (EWG) (DAX-INDEX), France (EWQ), Spain (EWP), and Italy […]
Spain’s manufacturing activity in December According to Markit Economics, Spain’s manufacturing PMI (purchasing managers’ index) rose to 55.8 in December 2017 from 56.1 in November. Whereas the index had reached an 11-year high in November, in December, it missed the market estimate of 56.4. Despite the lower PMI figure, manufacturing activity remained strong. Spain’s manufacturing PMI performance in […]
Spain’s manufacturing data According to Markit Economics, Spain’s manufacturing PMI (purchasing managers’ index) score rose to 56.1 in November 2017 from 55.8 in October 2017. Although the PMI figure didn’t beat the preliminary estimate of 56.5, it marked the fastest expansion seen since February 2007. Spain’s stronger manufacturing PMI performance was mainly due to increases in the following: improved […]
According to a report from the European Commission, the Eurozone Consumer Confidence Index stands at 0.1 so far in November compared to -1.1 in October 2017.
Spain’s manufacturing PMI rose to 55.8 in October 2017, compared with 54.3 in September 2017. The PMI figure beat the preliminary market estimation of 54.9.
According to a report by Markit Economics, the Eurozone services PMI (purchasing managers’ index) stood at 54.7 in August as compared to 55.4 in July 2017.
Growth projections for Euro area upgraded The International Monetary Fund (or IMF) has revised its growth projections for France, Germany, Italy, and Spain. Growth projections for Germany (FGM), France (EWQ), and Italy (EWI) were upgraded by 0.2% for 2017, and 0.1% for 2018. Spain (EWP) had a higher upgrade to growth expectations, with a change of […]
Europe’s average unemployment has fallen to a four-year low of 9.8% as of 2016. Greece’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 23.5% in January 2017.
In this series, we’ll look at how 2016 has panned out for Europe-focused mutual funds so far. We’ll take an in-depth look at the portfolios of 12 funds and conduct attribution analysis to see which sectoral or stock picks helped or hurt these funds.
In its October 2016 WEO report, the IMF forecasts that the Eurozone will grow by 1.7% in 2016 and 1.5% in 2017—up from its prior forecast of 1.6% and 1.4%.
On Brexit, import restrictions and tariff quotas currently applicable to importers in the UK and foreign businesses that export to the UK are set to change.
On July 6, major European indexes were trading lower for the second day. The fall in the indexes was led by the Italian FTSE MIB and the UK-based FTSE 100.
According to Hewlett-Packard, the HP Elite X3 is a hot category-creating mobile solution that combines mobility and computing in a “truly meaningful way.”
Telefónica’s fixed broadband accesses in Germany continued to fall in 4Q15. These connections fell by ~2.1% YoY to ~2.1 million at the end of the quarter.
Critical European indexes (VGK) were trading in positive territory on March 1, 2016, at 7:00 AM EST. The Euro Stoxx 50 rose by 1.4%. The DAX and France’s CAC 40 traded higher by 1.6% and 0.72%, respectively.
The euro appreciated against the US dollar on December 21. The political parties in Spain are working to form a stable government after historic election results.
Telefonica’s fixed services were responsible for the YoY organic decline in revenue in Germany in 3Q15. On the organic level, the YoY decline was 1.1%.
During 3Q15, Telefonica’s mobile revenue declined 2.6% YoY to 1.1 billion euros in Spain. A robust YoY increase in mobile data revenue limited the decline in mobile service revenues.
Telefonica’s revenue from fixed services in Spain increased sharply by 4.6% YoY to 2.2 billion euros in 3Q15, largely due to a YoY increase in the fixed broadband and new services component.
On a yearly basis, GDP growth in 3Q15 for Spain stands at 3.4% compared to 3.2% in the previous quarter. GDP growth was mainly attributed to an increase in domestic demand.
With an easing in the service sector, Spain’s unemployment rose by 82.3 thousand in October against a rise of 26.1 thousand in September. This is the highest since October 2013.
Spain is one of the fastest-growing regions in the Eurozone. However, its increasing unemployment rate has become the biggest concern for the country’s policymakers.
In its recent update, the International Monetary Fund’s economic growth projections for the Eurozone, including Lithuania, are unchanged at 1.5% for 2015.
Greece is opposed to the austerity and reform agenda. In the past, austerity measures helped reduce Greece’s fiscal deficit, but reduction came at a heavy price: crippling social and economic impacts.
Grexit might not precipitate a financial contagion, but the possibility of a political contagion is very likely. Spain and Italy may decide to follow suit.
Spanish and Italian bonds appear attractive. If Spain (EWP) follows the path of Greece (GREK), by electing leftist government “Podemos”, Spanish bond yields will likely spike.
Rising home prices lead to households taking on more debt to fund the purchase. Increased bank lending to fund the purchases drives real estate prices up more.
Two bailouts got Greece up and running. After trending downward until early 2012, the Athens Stock Exchange Composite Index began to show signs of life.
The subdued economic momentum in Greece has had a direct—and negative—impact on its ability to honor its foreign obligations, specifically its bailout loan.
Tourism revenues—a key revenue component for all these countries—declined substantially because foreign tourists stayed away during the aftermath of the Great Recession. Key industries were also affected—notably cyclical industries like shipping.
Spain’s potential rating upgrade rests largely on its debt ratio being brought to a declining trend within the forecast period, which ends in 2015. According to an export performance Organization of Economic Co-operation and Development (or OECD) indicator, Spain has gained market share for the past 20 years.
Mario Draghi, president of the European Central Bank (or ECB) and former Goldman Sachs (GS) managing director, unveiled a suite of stimulus measures on Thursday, June 5 at the ECB’s policy meeting. Initially, bond yields fell. Yields on short and long-term debt in the Eurozone also fell.
The Spanish recovery continues to be heavily exports-based, and will likely remain this way as nominal wages continue to fall and the housing market bottoms.
Southern Europe and US equities When researching southern Europe as an investment opportunity, a useful story to compare recent performance to is US equities in 2009 and 2010. Although the US economy had not yet bottomed, stocks were soaring to historical returns. The thing to keep in mind is that equities trade based off future […]
When will the consumer come back to Spain? Consumer confidence is an important indicator to follow, as it measures the pulse of an important driver of the economy, the end consumers whose demand creates businesses. As with other economic indicators discussed in this series, it’s not so much the level of an indicator that’s important […]
Is Spain approaching a bottom in growth? Equities, like all assets, are priced off of future expectations. This concept can be difficult to understand when a stock price jumps after a company reports losses or when Apple stock craters after reporting record profits. In the case of Spain, real GDP growth (the increase in output […]
Spanish stocks have been the clear winner lately. In this series, I’ll walk through the country’s economic data to investigate the drivers of this outperformance.
