"Father of the euro" Lamfalussy dies at 86
Economist Alexandre Lamfalussy, one of the founding fathers of the European single currency, died on Saturday at the age of 86, Belgian media reported on Monday.
No other details were immediately available.
Lamfalussy, who left his native Hungary after World War Two and became a Belgian citizen, was the first president of the European Monetary Institute, the predecessor of the European Central Bank.
He was replaced by Dutchman Wim Duisenberg …
Merkel pressed to give up on Greece
German chancellor Angela Merkel is coming under growing pressure from within the ranks of her own party bloc to give up on Greece for the sake of the euro.
Members of Merkel’s Christian Democratic bloc are openly challenging her stance of keeping Europe’s most-indebted country in the 19-nation currency region.
Even some officials in the finance ministry are leaning toward the conclusion that the eurozone would be better off without …
Greece crisis: Euro slips on unease over talks
The euro slipped against the dollar on Monday, as many investors took a pessimistic view of the latest round of euro zone talks on a cash-for-reform deal for Greece.
Greece, which must repay a 750 million euro loan to the International Monetary Fund on Tuesday, faces the risk of defaulting on debt repayments and being forced out of the euro zone. Negotiations have moved slowly and its lenders have ruled …
Irish household debt burden ‘remains huge’
Senior debt advisers have warned that households continue to face paying down intolerable debt burdens despite new official figures showing that overall personal debt levels had fallen to a 10-year low.
The total sum of the country’s household debt stood at €157bn in the final quarter last year, equivalent to a debt of €34,069 owed by every person in the State, but down by 1.6% from the previous quarter, said …
Job security ‘drives’ Irish consumer demand
Job security rather than workers’ salaries or disposable income has a far greater impact on consumer demand and retail rents, a report has found.
Research from the ESRI and Savills Ireland shows the degree of certainty workers feel they have in their job plays a much bigger role in driving consumer spending that has been previously thought.
This phenomenon subsequently drives retail rents as demand increases.
Arbitration proposals for trade deal
Proposals for an arbitration system in the EU-US trade deal under negotiation have been well received by most EU countries including Ireland, Germany and France.
Negotiations on this investor state dispute mechanism have been frozen for the past few months after a public outcry over potentially allowing business interests to overturn national laws in special tribunals.
The new proposals presented to trade ministers in Brussels yesterday by Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom …
Production output up 45% in March
Ireland’s manufacturing industries showed strong growth in March — according to new CSO data — with production levels rising nearly 3% in the month and by as much as 45.5% on a year-on-year basis.
The monthly increase was driven by the so-called ‘modern’ sector — comprising high-tech and pharma sectors — which showed a near 8% production increase. Industrial output in the domestic ‘traditional’ sector was down by almost 3% …
Services growth slow but optimism at 14-month high
The latest data on the health of the services sector has revealed a strange coincidence with growth slowing to a 14-month low at the same time as optimism crept up to the highest levels seen in the same period.
Investec’s latest monthly services purchasing managers’ index (PMI) reveals that despite the drop off in the rate of growth, the sector continues to expand.
The headline PMI has fallen over the …
Eurozone businesses make strong start to Q2
Eurozone businesses started the second quarter with healthy growth as a buoyant order book again encouraged them to hire more, a survey showed.
Any sign that the bloc’s recovery is gaining traction will be welcomed by the European Central Bank, which embarked on a €1tn bond buying stimulus programme in March, although the survey did show firms were still cutting prices.
Markit’s final composite Purchasing Managers’ Index, seen as a …
ECB plans more stress tests to ward off bank crises
The ECB plans to use further stress tests as part of its effort to ward off any future banking crises in the eurozone, a high-level official said yesterday.
The ECB directly supervises the eurozone’s 123 largest lenders, while smaller banks remain under the purview of national supervisors. It put lenders through hypothetical stress scenarios last year as part of an assessment of banks’ financial health, before taking overall responsibility for …