Latest News

ECB Insight: Müller Takes a Robust Stand, Adding to Hawks’ Momentum

By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – European Central Bank Governing Council member Madis Müller on Wednesday became the latest monetary policymaker to paint a picture of the euro area economy that would be consistent with a withdrawal of support, a conclusion he was not hesitant to reach.

ECB: NFCs’ Indebtedness Could Limit Medium-Term Economic Growth

By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – The health of non-financial corporates has been negatively affected by the pandemic and their debt burden could hamper the medium-term recovery, the European Central Bank said on Wednesday.

ECB Research Bulletin: See Potential Side Effects of Monetary Stimulus When Rates Already Low

By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – Authorities need to be careful of the possible unintended consequences of cutting interest rates further when these are already low, according to a research bulletin published Wednesday by the European Central Bank.

ECB: Need Stronger Wage Developments for Durably Higher Inflation, But Don’t See These

By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – Durably higher inflation would require price pressures on a broad base and in particular stronger wage developments that to date are not clearly visible, the European Central Bank said on Tuesday.

ECB Hawk-Dove Ranking: de Guindos Takes a Moderate Step in a Hawkish Direction

Econostream's latest ranking of the members of the European Central Bank Governing Council in terms of hawkishness/dovishness.

ECB Insight: de Guindos Ratches up the Hawkishness

By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – European Central Bank Governing Council member Vice President Luis de Guindos on Tuesday ratcheted up the hawkishness, sounding almost but not quite alarmed about the potential for price pressures to remain elevated and declaring economic risks that had loomed large earlier in the crisis to be essentially null and void.

ECB Insight: Stournaras Ready to Have His Cake and Eat It, Too

By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – European Central Bank Governing Council member Yannis Stournaras on Monday provided a glimpse into the nature of the tussle awaiting the euro area’s monetary authorities, lining up with numerous colleagues who’ve already conceded brighter inflation prospects, yet remaining as unwilling as ever to take the logical next step towards reduced accommodation.

Bank of Spain Hikes Spanish GDP and Inflation Outlook For 2021 Through 2023

By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – Spanish economic growth this year will bounce back by 6.3% and remain at an elevated 5.9% next year before subsiding in 2023 to a still-respectable 2.0%, according to the central scenario of Banco de España’s latest macroeconomic projections, released on Tuesday.

ECB Insight: Drumbeat of Inflation Warnings Gaining in Volume

By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – Officials of the European Central Bank have been all but lining up in recent days to sound the alarm with respect to the potential for euro area inflation to come back to life sooner and more vigorously than expected.

ECB’s Schnabel: Asset Purchases to Remain Crucial in the Time to Come

By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – The European Central Bank’s asset purchases will continue to play an essential role beyond the pandemic, Executive Board member Isabel Schnabel said on Monday.

ECB: No Evidence of Substantial Side Effects from TLTROs So Far

By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – The European Central Bank’s targeted longer-term refinancing operations (TLTROs) have not had significant side effects yet, the ECB said on Monday.

ECB Insight: de Cos’ Remarks Show a Certain Evolution, But No Conversion

By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – A close look at the interview published Sunday with European Central Bank Governing Council member Pablo Hernández de Cos reveals him to be slowly taking on board at least some of the optimism finally infecting the less hawkish side of the Council. By no means has he undergone a full-bore conversion.

ECB’s Stournaras: Inflation Subject to Upside Risks, But Far From Being Cause for Concern

By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – Although euro area inflation is subject to upside risks, the situation is far from being worrisome, European Central Bank Governing Council member Yannis Stournaras said Monday.

ECB’s Kazāks: Some Upside for the Inflation Outlook over the Medium Term

By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – The increase in asset purchases under the European Central Bank’s pandemic emergency purchase programme (PEPP) is envisioned as temporary, but this depends on how the situation evolves, according to ECB Governing Council member Mārtiņš Kazāks.

ECB’s Makhlouf: ‘Lot of Evidence to Suggest’ HICP to Subside, But May Not Happen That Way

By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – European Central Bank Governing Council member Gabriel Makhlouf on Friday expressed confidence that inflation would subside again, but at the same time acknowledged that future price developments could surprise on the upside.

ECB Brief: de Guindos Sees Potential for Even Higher 2021 HICP, Stronger Wage Developments

ECB’s de Cos: Financing Conditions Still Need Policy Support; ECB Hasn’t Started Tapering

By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – The European Central Bank did not initiate the tapering of its asset purchases with last week’s decision and financing conditions still very much need policy support, ECB Governing Council member Pablo Hernández de Cos said Friday.

ECB Insight: ECB Sets Its Own Traps, Then Falls into One and Flounders

By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – The European Central Bank has essentially stumbled headlong into a pitfall of its own making after information regarding the institution’s expectations of future inflation was apparently shared by Chief Economist Philip Lane with private bankers.

ECB Hawk-Dove Ranking: Council Members Left Unchanged for Now, But Several Under Review

Econostream's latest ranking of the members of the European Central Bank Governing Council in terms of hawkishness/dovishness.

ECB’s Holzmann Warns of Monetary Policy Consequences if r* Decline Not Reversed

By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – European Central Bank Governing Council member Robert Holzmann on Wednesday warned of the monetary policy and economic consequences if the downward trend of the equilibrium real interest rate r* were not reversed.