“Three of Europe’s largest economies are under threat of recession, which could spell a crisis across Europe.
“Dozens of companies in Germany have turned to “short-time” work — cutting employee hours — a canary in the coal mine of industrial weakness
“Britain could also already be in a recession despite having not left the EU due to the uncertainty caused by Brexit.”
“A double whammy of Brexit uncertainty and a slowdown in global trade has seen order books in Britain’s factories shrink at their fastest pace since the financial crisis, the CBI has said.
“Urging the next prime minister, confirmed on Tuesday as Boris Johnson, to strike a deal with the EU, the employers’ organisation said industrial output also fell in the latest quarter, for the first time since the spring of 2016.”
“Industry in Europe’s largest economy took another battering in July, with a measure of manufacturing dropping to its lowest in seven years. Germany’s factory Purchasing Managers’ Index dropped to 43.1 from 45, below even the most pessimistic forecast in a Bloomberg survey.”
“Deutsche Bank has suffered its biggest quarterly loss since the depths of the financial crisis…”
https://www.ft.com/content/9473bb2c-add6-11e9-8030-530adfa879c2
“Italy’s depositor protection fund on Tuesday kicked off a 900 million euro (£807.9 million) rescue process for troubled bank Carige (CRGI.MI) via the conversion of around 313 million euros of a bond into shares.
“Genoa-based Carige, weakened by decades of mismanagement, risks collapse as a result of bad loans accumulated during Italy’s recession that followed the global financial crisis a decade ago.”
“Political infighting in Spain could soon lead to another election, which would be its third in three years, raising questions on whether instability has become the new normal for the southern European nation.”
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/07/23/the-new-italy-spain-political-crisis-has-no-clear-end-in-sight.html
“A financial crisis confronting South Africa’s state power utility has become a national debt problem.
“Finance Minister Tito Mboweni Tuesday unveiled a second multi-billion dollar bailout for Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd. within five months, aid that may force the cash-strapped government to increase borrowing and taxes.
“That could in turn trigger a credit-rating downgrade and massive outflow of funds, raise the cost of new debt and stymie efforts to revive the moribund economy.”
“South Africa risks a second recession in consecutive years.”
““We are living in historic times,” he says. “In the period since the central banks launched their response to the GFC, we have seen many occasions when good news has been bad news for the markets.
““It’s certainly a concern and a potentially dangerous situation. We are within a few percentage points of an all-time high and the US market is already there at record highs. But there is a lot of concern about where we are at in share markets.””
“The carmaker Nissan plans to cut more than 10,000 jobs around the world as part of efforts to turn itself around, Japanese media have reported.
“Nissan announced in May it would cut 4,800 jobs from its global workforce of around 139,000 as it grapples with a fall in profits to a near-decade low amid “a difficult business environment”.”
“Mercedes-Benz owner Daimler swung to a €1.2bn loss in the second quarter after the manufacturer was forced to make payments for diesel-related legal issues and to cover the costs of replacing Takata airbags, as it battled a global slump in car demand.”
https://www.cityam.com/daimler-swings-to-loss-as-car-demand-slumps/
“If late reporters are excluded, consumption in the top 15, accounting for 45% of world consumption, fell 2.2% in the three months to May compared with 2018, the fastest decline since the recession of 2008/09.
“Since 2006, consumption growth in the top 15 has been a reliable leading indicator for the top 18 and demand more generally, which is not surprising given the interconnectedness of the global economy.
“Decelerating oil consumption growth since the second and third quarter of 2018 has corresponded closely with the slowdown in global manufacturing activity and freight movements.”
“Global economic growth will slow this year to the weakest rate in a decade, the International Monetary Fund has said, blaming Donald Trump’s trade war with China, Brexit uncertainty and geopolitical tensions.”
“Fed, ECB officials all …studying their current strategies and whether they need to be changed to revive inflation as it keeps undershooting their targets.”
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