Luca Rossi

Hard times for big banks. In the US they are making a last minute push to ease the new global liquidity requirements, that would force them to come up with an additional $800bn in easy-to-sell assets under the proposed standards. On the other hand, UK banks are facing the threat of a break-up if they […]

Euro-area services and manufacturing output fell less than forecast in December, giving hope to a quicker recovery from the debt crisis that is weakening several countries. An index based on a survey of purchasing managers in both industries rose to 47.3 from 46.5 in November, London-based Markit Economics said today, whereas economists had forecast a […]

Eurozone financial ministers agreed early this morning on a deal to make the European Central Bank the bloc’s banking supervisor, making a step towards a future banking union. The ECB will monitor up to 200 eurozone lenders from early 2014, but one of the main purposes of the reform – to allow the €500bn of […]

Mick Carney, the next Governor of the Bank of England, has suggested that targeting economic output instead of inflation should be the method in an attempt to revive a weak economy. Considering nominal gross domestic product (GDP not adjusted by inflation) would allow central banks to act more aggressively to counter an economic slump. “If […]

Many developing countries are using exchange rates as their key tool for monetary policy instead of stimulating domestic demand, spreading the risk of a war between currencies in the near future.  The big concern of Sir Mervyn King, Governor of Bank of England, points out the necessity for the G20 group to address global imbalances […]

Italian shares fell sharply and government borrowing costs soared after Mario Monti’s decision to resign earlier than expected. The yield on 10-years Italian bonds rose 28 base points above 4.8% on a two week high, while the main stock market fell 3.3%. The plunge arrived after the announcement by the former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi […]