Euro zone business activity suffered an unexpected and sharp downturn in November, as the region’s services sector joined manufacturing in contraction. HCOB’s composite Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for the euro zone, compiled by S&P Global, plummeted to a 10-month low of 48.1, well below the 50 threshold that delineates expansion …
Read More »Is Eurozone’s Debt Crisis Looming?
The specter of a Eurozone sovereign debt crisis is once again haunting the continent. A confluence of factors, including elevated debt levels, sluggish growth, and fiscal slippage, has created a perfect storm that threatens to undermine the bloc’s economic stability. The European Central Bank (ECB) has sounded the alarm, highlighting …
Read More »Fresh US – Chinese row on chipmaking
Wang Wentao, China’s commerce minister, has voiced worries about US export restrictions that bar foreign nations from sending lithography machines to China. With these restrictions, the US has prevented China from obtaining cutting-edge chips and the equipment needed to produce them, which may support AI and highly developed computers for …
Read More »Europe Alarmed By Looming Fifth Wave, Lockdowns
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson is set to make an announcement on whether or not England will go into a circuit breaker lockdown or not within the next 48 hours, according to The Sun newspaper. The UK government has so far resisted imposing new restrictions ahead of the holidays even …
Read More »France and Netherlands Aim for New Rules on Big Tech
France and the Netherlands are reportedly proposing new rules by the European Union (EU) to regulate tech giants such as Google, Facebook, and Amazon, CNBC reported. “Our common ambition is to design a framework that will be efficient enough to address the economic footprint of such actors on the European …
Read More »Knot: COVID-19 Needs Fiscal Response
Monetary policy should not be the main line of defense for Europe against the economic impact of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, said Klaas Knot, the Governor of the Dutch Central Bank. Knot, who is a member of the European Central Bank (ECB) Governing Council, said that a strong fiscal …
Read More »Calvino: COVID-19 EU Debts Must Be Repaid
All the debt issued by the European Union (EU) to help its member states in the fight against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic will eventually be paid back, according to Spain’s Minister of Economy Nadia Calvino. “The long-term sustainability of the debt is guaranteed and we are making plans and …
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