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Eurozone Jolt

Eurozone Jolt
Eurozone Jolt

The theme of the year so far has been the calcified eurozone being jolted into life by European Central Bank money printing, cheap energy and food prices and a weak euro to outperform, at least relatively, the world’s two biggest economies, BDLive reported. Data last week showed bank lending to eurozone households and firms rose for the first time in three years. Purchasing managers’ surveys this week will give the latest snapshot of activity. “With its more aggressive stance, the European Central Bank is finally bringing the eurozone back to at least trend growth,” said Holger Schmieding, chief economist at Berenberg bank. China is struggling to meet its growth targets. The main potential tripwire for the eurozone is Greece. Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras hopes for a reform-for-funds deal with the eurozone and International Monetary Fund by May 9. Eurozone finance ministers meet on May 11 and Greece is due to repay the IMF €750m a day later, a bill it is not certain it can meet.

 

Financialtribune.com