Central Bank

The economic recovery in the eurozone continues, thanks to the support measures offered by the ECB, but foreign demand is weak confirms, following the persistence of the international crisis, and the restrictive budgetary policies of the member states act as a brake to the stimuli offered. It ”s the point of the monthly bulletin published by the Institute of Frankfurt.

According to the Eurotower, the increase in employment guaranteed by the structural reforms and the low price of oil will continue to support household income and thus private consumption. The labor market continues to offer signs of improvement, even if gradually, which led to a 0.3% dell’occupaizone growth in the last quarter of 2015 and a reduction in the unemployment rate to 10.3%.

The EU Commission sees continuing in Italy a "moderate growth" but revises downward the GDP 2016: 1.4% expected in February goes down to + 1.1%. Brussels confirms, then, the estimates on Italian unemployment in 2016 (11.4%) and slightly lower than the 2017 (from 11.3% to 11.2%).

In the spring forecast, Brussels also revise downward the Italian deficit of 2016 (from 2.5% forecast in February down to 2.4%), but raised the estimates for the one of 2017 (from 1.5% to 1, 9%). The structural deficit instead, "after a marginal improvement" in 2015, "worsens by more than half a percentage point in 2016", reaching -1.7%. It remains unchanged in 2017.

The Eurogroup will hold a special meeting to examine the situation of macro-economic adjustment program for Greece. The meeting is scheduled Monday, May 9 starting at 15 in Brussels.

The meeting of ministers of the euro zone Finance, anticipated in late April via Twitter by the spokesman of the President of the Eurogroup, Jeroen Dijsselbloem, "will focus on a comprehensive list of policy reforms and the sustainability of the Greek public debt." "To carry out the first review of the program and unlock additional financial assistance in favor of Greece both of these elements must be defined," he said on the European Council website.

The fate of the 500-euro banknotes is marked: the Governing Council of 4 May the ECB will decide the abolition mode.
In the stores it will still be accepted, but the production is going to be interrupted. It seems to have come to an end the 500-euro note, long been a target of the EU institutions to be used in criminal activities and money laundering. According to Handelsblatt, in fact, the ECB Governing Council in the May 4 will decide the manner in which the abolition will be performed.

A profit of 5.7 billion francs in the first quarter of 2016, it was announced by the Swiss National Bank (SNB).
The gold stock has generated a profit of 4.1 billion. The gain obtained on the positions in foreign currencies amounted to 1.2 billion francs. The appreciation of the franc caused exchange losses 6.9 billion, has indicated this morning the central bank.

In the first quarter of 2015, the abandonment of the minimum threshold of franc / euro exchange rate had generated an appreciation of the franc and exchange losses on all the investment currencies in the amount of 41.1 billion francs.

The Fed still leaves unchanged the interest rates between 0.25% and 0.50%. This decision leaves the door open to a possible rate hike in June. In the statement released Wednesday after the two-day meeting, the Federal Reserve made no reference to the risks posed by the global economic and financial developments, merely communicate that will monitor these developments. A change of language that analysts believe signaling a possible narrow in the coming weeks, at the latest within two months.

In an interview with Bild, Mario Draghi spoke of the lack of inflation in the euro, the impact of low interest rates on savers – in particular to be angry are those Germans – the age-old problem of the greek debt and referendum on Brexit, scheduled for June 23.

The journalist who asked how a central banker Italian, that the Germans feared could trigger inflation too high, can not stimulate consumer prices, Draghi said that in Germany can rest assured that the ECB is doing everything possible to bring inflation to the desired levels, around 2%. "Interest rates are low because growth is low and inflation is too low. Think about what would be the alternative: if we increase the time cost of money, what would be bad for the economy and result in deflation, unemployment and a new recession. "

The president of the Bundesbank, Jens Weidmann, in a speech to the German embassy in Italy, believes that a large risk-sharing between the Member eurozone without a strengthened common control mechanism "would be a wrong path" and would not create the " strong incentives to comply with the rules "that will see the Italian Economy Minister Pier Carlo Padoan.

"Since the creation of the monetary union the rules of the Stability and Growth Pact were violated by some states, including even Italy, more often than they have been" osservate.Weidmann also recalled that "even Germany in the years 2003/2004, he has helped weaken the binding force of the rules. "