Europe

ECB: sharp decrease of counterfeit banknotes in first half 2016

The ECB announced that, in the first half of 2016, it had withdrawn from circulation about 331,000 counterfeit euro banknotes, 25% less than in the second half of 2015. The data covers the entire Eurozone.
In relation to the increasing number of genuine banknotes in circulation (over 18.5 billion in the first half of 2016), the proportion of counterfeits remains at very low levels. About 80% of counterfeits concerned the 20-euro and 50-euro banknotes.

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ECB, first meeting after Brexit

Today the ECB board should not disclose specific news. Analysts do not expect it new monetary stimulus, especially after not even the Bank of England cut rates, postponing the loosening of its monetary policy probably in August. The press conference of the Governor Mario Draghi will be important, however, because his words will express the intentions for September, when it is expected the strengthening of the apparatus of stimulus already being implemented.

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UBS: Athens is investigating possible tax fraud

The Greek government confirmed the raid, which took place in Athens in the house of a former UBS banker in the early days of the month, news already anticipated by the Financial Times. The investigation is relating to an alleged tax evasion.

A bank spokesman said the institute would not have been informed by the Greek authorities in the investigation and therefore can not provide more details on the matter.

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UK unemployment rate fell to decade low before Brexit Referendum, earnings rise in May

The unemployment rate in the UK fell to its lowest level in more than a decade in May, a sign the labor market continued to strengthen in the run-up to Britain’s referendum on membership of the European Union, while average weekly earnings edged up in the same month. The unemployment rate in the UK came in at 4.9% in the fifth month of the year, unaffected by the Brexit fears before the referendum. The unemployment rate in the UK measured on a three months moving average basis, therefore, fell below the level of the natural, or non-inflationary, unemployment level of 5.0% estimated by the Bank of England.

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Ex-UBS trader lost UK deportation appeal

The former London-based UBS trader Kweku Adoboli will not remain in the United Kingdom and will be extradited to Ghana, his country of origin. The Upper Tribunal of the Immigration and Asylum Chamber issued that judgment, rejecting his appeal to remain in Britain, where he lived from the age of 12 years.

In 2011, Adoboli had been responsible for a loss of $ 1.4 billion, as a result of unauthorized trading. In 2012 he was sentenced to seven years jail for fraud.

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Moody’s: negative outlook on UK banking system

Moody’s revised to negative from stable its outlook on the UK banking system due to the release of the UK by the European Union.

"The change of the outlook – according to a Moody’s statement – reflects the expectation that the heightened uncertainty about future trade agreements between Britain and the European Union will lead to fundamental weaker credit for the country’s banks’ .

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Switzerland: immigration or EU trade agreement

Switzerland could see another referendum to modify the effects of the end of 2014 on the limitation of immigration in the country. A group of citizens is collecting signatures to cancel the results of the previous consultation, which with 20,000 votes difference has rewarded the initiative of the SVP, which aims to put a cap of 100,000 units to the inputs in the country, where a quarter of the resident population it is foreign.

It is the first time that such a thing happens in the country, which historically has made more use of public consultations on the key issues under discussion. The problem lies in relations with the EU, because since 2002 the country adopted the Bilateral Agreement I, which ensures a market for its goods and its services in the rest of Europe, in exchange for accepting the free movement of workers.

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Turkey: downgrade and GDP collapse very closed

Failure coup in Turkey was added to the other problems of an already hot situation. And the economy can only suffer; Salman Ahmed, Chief Investment Strategist of Lombard Odier Investment Managers has declared in a statement that: "Given the strong intensification of political instability in Turkey and the external profile of the country’s extremely fragile and deteriorating, we believe likely that Turkish assets remain under pressure also in the future, while the underlying structural stability is re-evaluated. " He added that the resolution rather rapidly, in terms of re-establishment of public order, and the consequent strengthening of Erdogan in the context that followed the failed coup "could help reduce the extreme tail risk scenario of a civil war."

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