Prepared by Malin Andersson, Valerie Jarvis and Michel Soudan | Business investment in the euro area has grown less dynamically – and its outlook remains less favourable – than in the United States. In the post-pandemic period between the fourth quarter of 2021 and the fourth quarter of 2024, business investment grew by 15.4% in the United States – more than double the 6.8% cumulative increase over this period in the euro area (Chart A). Across components, intangible investment – i.e. intellectual...

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By Claudia Buch and Isabel Schnabel | As the normalisation of the Eurosystem balance sheet progresses, the aggregate amount of central bank liquidity available to banks in the euro area will fall over the coming years. This blog explains the role played by the Eurosystem’s refinancing operations within the operational framework for monetary policy implementation. The ECB, both as a monetary policy authority and as a supervisor, expects that banks should consider these operations as an integral part of...

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Anonymised data on individual banks in the entire euro area will be available to academic researchers Several access modes will be tested with a view to establishing a permanent framework for research access to ECB data The European Central Bank (ECB) today launched a pilot project to facilitate research access to data it collects from the financial sector. The initiative aims to promote independent research, enhance cross-country economic analysis and promote a deeper understanding of financial dynamics within the...

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Ahead of tomorrow's World Consumer Rights Day, the Commission has published the 2025 Consumer Conditions Scoreboard, which shows that 68% of European consumers feel confident about the safety of the products that they buy, with 70% trusting that their consumer rights are respected by traders.  However, data from the Scoreboard also shows that online risks for consumers persist, including scams, fake reviews, and misleading advertising practices. Commissioner for Democracy, Justice, the Rule of Law, and Consumer Protection, Michael McGrath, said: “The...

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Anonymised data on individual banks in the entire euro area will be available to academic researchers Several access modes will be tested with a view to establishing a permanent framework for research access to ECB data The European Central Bank (ECB) today launched a pilot project to facilitate research access to data it collects from the financial sector. The initiative aims to promote independent research, enhance cross-country economic analysis and promote a deeper understanding of financial dynamics within the...

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Simulations that incorporate machine learning-based predictions of conflict suggest large payoffs from preventive policies, including efforts to promote macroeconomic stability and growth  Blog post by Franck Bousquet, Paul M. Bisca, Christopher Rauh, Benjamin Seimon | Macroeconomic policy can play a key role in preventing armed conflict, in turn saving lives and avoiding injuries, forced displacement and migration, and vast damage to the economy. That’s according to new IMF research, based on policy simulations incorporating machine learning-based predictions of conflict. The paper finds that every $1...

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ECB wage tracker, updated with agreements signed up to 19 February 2025, broadly unrevised compared to data release following January Governing Council meeting Forward-looking information continues to suggest that negotiated wage pressures will ease overall in 2025 Forward-looking information from the wage tracker should not be interpreted as a forecast The European Central Bank (ECB) wage tracker, which only covers active collective bargaining agreements, indicates negotiated wage growth with smoothed one-off payments of 4.7% in 2024 (based on an...

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