In Sober Look, Marcello Minenna gives us a clue about a possible new breach in the euro’s structure. A few years ago (2011-2012), when the euro was going through its worst time, one of the consequences was that the central banks in the peripheral countries increased their debt position with TARGET2.
The blog RWER recently published a very interesting article about Ireland. It tells the tale of an economic miracle, which no-one has been able to figure out yet. And it raises doubts that can well apply in Spain’s case. And Krugman has written an inspiring post about the possible perverse relationship between debt and the decline in Portugal’s population, which could call into question the theory of Optimal Monetary Areas.
MADRID | By Sean Duffy | The Irish Government presented its budget on Tuesday, keen to present the announcement of its projections for the year 2015 as the successful consequence of prudent fiscal planning. Critics have pointed out that it is much of the same, yet with the economic picture improving, the Government has sought to offer a respite from austerity, whilst also attempting to address the outstanding concerns of its international partners.
MADRID | By Sean Duffy | The OECD´s announcement this week that it was initiating a plan to combat tax avoidance schemes from multinationals has been met with almost universal approval across Europe. Ireland in particular has been the subject of criticism from its EU partners. Until recently, the country had determinedly defended its tax policy, famously refusing to negotiate on the issue when the country was in need of an EU bailout back in 2009.
BRUSSELS | By Alexandre Mato | EU finance ministers are meeting in Milan on Friday to focus on Ireland, Greece and Cyprus exit plan to leave their IMF-EU financial assistance programs. The much-needed debate about economic stimulus and growth is not on the agenda, nor will be Scotland, despite the thorny economic implications of an eventual yes vote in the upcoming referendum.
MADRID | By JP Marin Arrese | Last Tuesday, Ireland raised € 3.75 bn on a 10-year bond issue, for the first time since it exited the bailout scheme last month. Investors’ appetite run high as offers placed reached roughly four times that figure. The yield stood at 3.54% showing that confidence is swiftly pulling back to fair standards. It was a gorgeous day for the island’s economy as Dublin was able to cash half of government’s funding needs for the whole year, at such a reasonable cost.
BRUSSELS | By Suzanne Lynch at The Irish Times via Presseurop | Ireland may choose to exit its bailout programme without the support of a precautionary credit line, the Minister for Finance said yesterday following a meeting with the International Monetary Fund in Washington.
LONDON | By Michael Burke at The Guardian via Presseurop | After three years of public sector spending cuts, Ireland looks set to exit the EU-ECB-IMF bailout programme on December 15, but at what cost? The country remains mired in depression and the economy is now hollowed out. (Illustration: “Informal Meeting of ECOFIN Ministers in Dublin” by Eoin Kelleher).
THE CORNER | ECB executive board member Jorg Asmussen has said there are “pending risks” for Ireland as it prepares to exit the EU-IMF 85 billion euro bailout on December 15. Dublin is launching its seventh austerity budget in six years on Tuesday, under pressure to deliver a €2.5 billion package of more cuts and taxes without compromising the fragile recovery. Investors are watching closely.
Like other American tech giants such as Facebook, Google or Microsoft, Spain is the new gate for Twitter’s international expansion… although all of them go to Ireland to pay taxes.