Chapter News

22 Jan
Chapter News

Euro banknote counterfeiting at historically low level in 2020

460,000 counterfeit euro banknotes withdrawn from circulation in 2020, a historically low level in proportion to banknotes in circulation About two thirds of the total were €20 and €50 banknotes Euro banknotes continue to be a trusted and safe means of payment All euro banknotes can be verified using the “feel, look and tilt” method Some 460,000 counterfeit euro banknotes were withdrawn from circulation in 2020 (220,000 in the second half of the year), a decrease of 17.7% when...

Read more

22 Jan
Chapter News

Results of the ECB Survey of Professional Forecasters in the first quarter of 2021

Shorter-term inflation expectations largely unchanged; longer-term inflation expectations unchanged at 1.7% Opposing revisions to real GDP growth outlook, with near-term forecasts revised down but stronger rebound envisaged thereafter Unemployment rate expectations revised down across all horizons Respondents to the European Central Bank (ECB) Survey of Professional Forecasters (SPF) for the first quarter of 2021 reported point forecasts for annual HICP inflation averaging 0.9%, 1.3% and 1.5% for 2021, 2022 and 2023 respectively. These were unchanged for both 2021 and...

Read more

21 Jan
Chapter News

EU tax haven blacklist is not catching the worst offenders

Criterion to judge if a country’s tax system is fair or not needs to be widened Countries should not be removed from the blacklist if they only make symbolic tweaks A 0% tax rate policy should automatically lead to being placed on the blacklist List has to be formalised through a legally binding instrument by end 2021 MEPs adopted a resolution pushing for the system used to draw up the EU list of tax havens to be changed, as...

Read more

21 Jan
Chapter News

‘Right to disconnect’ should be an EU-wide fundamental right, MEPs say

‘Always on’ culture leads to increased risk of depression, anxiety and burnout EU law to define minimum requirements for remote working No repercussions for workers who exercise their ‘right to disconnect’ Parliament calls for an EU law that grants workers the right to digitally disconnect from work without facing negative repercussions. In their legislative initiative that passed with 472 votes in favour, 126 against and 83 abstentions, MEPs call on the Commission to propose a law that enables those who...

Read more

21 Jan
Chapter News

Monetary policy: Latest ECB press conference

Christine Lagarde, President of the ECB and Luis de Guindos, Vice-President of the ECB | Frankfurt am Main, 21 January 2021 | Ladies and gentlemen, the Vice-President and I are very pleased to welcome you to our press conference. We will now report on the outcome of today’s meeting of the Governing Council, which was also attended by the Commission Executive Vice-President, Mr Dombrovskis. The start of vaccination campaigns across the euro area is an important milestone in the resolution of...

Read more

20 Jan
Chapter News

ECB | January 2021 euro area bank lending survey

Credit standards tightened for loans to enterprises and households Firms’ demand for loans continued to decline, while demand for housing loans increased Government guarantees on loans to firms supported bank lending conditions Credit standards – i.e. banks’ internal guidelines or loan approval criteria – tightened across all loan categories, namely loans to enterprises, loans to households for house purchase and consumer credit and other lending to households in the fourth quarter of 2020, according to the January 2021 bank lending survey (BLS). The net...

Read more

20 Jan
Chapter News, COVID-19 News

IMF | What the Continued Global Uncertainty Means for You

Global uncertainty reached unprecedented levels at the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak and remains elevated. The World Uncertainty Index—a quarterly measure of global economic and policy uncertainty covering 143 countries—shows that although uncertainty has come down by about 60 percent from the peak observed at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in the first quarter of 2020, it remains about 50 percent above its historical average during the 1996–2010 period. 'Uncertainty in systemic economies matters for uncertainty around the world.' What drives global uncertainty? Economic...

Read more

19 Jan
Brexit News, Chapter News

European Commission reorganises the “Task Force for Relations with the United Kingdom” into the “Service for the EU-UK Agreements”

The conclusion of the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement on 24 December 2020 means that the very successful mandate of the Task Force for Relations with the United Kingdom (UKTF) will come to an end. The UKTF will cease to exist on 1 March 2021. To support the efficient and rigorous implementation and monitoring of the Agreements with the UK, the European Commission has decided to establish a new Service for the EU-UK Agreements (UKS). The UKS will be part...

Read more

14 Jan
Chapter News

ECB digital euro consultation ends with record level of public feedback

Over 8,000 responses received in online survey Privacy, security and pan-European reach ranked highest in European citizens’ preferences Detailed analysis to be published in spring, ahead of decision on project launch The European Central Bank (ECB) concluded its public consultation on the digital euro yesterday and will now analyse in detail the large number of responses. 8,221 citizens, firms and industry associations submitted responses to an online questionnaire, a record for ECB public consultations. The public consultation was launched on...

Read more

14 Jan
Chapter News

IMF | Legally Speaking, is Digital Money Really Money?

Countries are moving fast toward creating digital currencies. Or, so we hear from various surveys showing an increasing number of central banks making substantial progress towards having an official digital currency. But, in fact, close to 80 percent of the world’s central banks are either not allowed to issue a digital currency under their existing laws, or the legal framework is not clear. To help countries make this assessment, we reviewed the central bank laws of 174 IMF members in a new IMF staff paper, and...

Read more

«‹174175176177178›»