A total of 120,000 Turkish construction companies are set to halt activities on June 9 to protest a skyrocketing rise in iron prices and a visible undersupply in the material. The protests are expected to last one month, according to sector representatives. Source Hurriyet Daily
A downturn in Greece’s property market deepened in the first quarter, as uncertainty over its bailout program and chronic weakness in its banking sector further eroded a traditional pillar of the country’s ailing economy. Source ekathimerini
Italy is giving away more than 100 historic castles, farmhouses and monasteries for free in an effort to breathe new life into its disused public buildings. Source CBS
U.S. homebuilding fell in March in February and manufacturing output dropped for the first time in seven months, further indications that economic growth braked sharply in the first quarter. The data last week showed the second monthly decline in retail sales in March as well a decrease in consumer prices. Source Reuters
China’s efforts to weed speculation out of the housing market seem futile as data show you ‘Can’t Beat the Real Thing’. Prices not only edged higher in more of the nation’s biggest cities during March, they did so at a faster pace too — a fearless challenge to government orders to stamp out speculation in red hot real estate markets. Source Asia Times
French politicians have cautioned construction-materials giant LafargeHolcim about the consequences of supplying cement for the 3000km wall that US President Donald Trump intends to build along the border with Mexico. Source Global Cement
China’s property sales surged in the first two months of the year despite government measures to cool the market, though growth in real estate investment showed signs of easing, according to official data on Tuesday. Property sales by area rose 25.1 percent year-on-year in January and February. Source: Reuters
The Project 09852 special-purpose nuclear-powered submarine Belgorod that will be the first carrier of Poseidon strategic underwater drones was floated out at the Sevmash Shipyard in north Russia on Tuesday, TASS reports from the scene. Source: Tass
A Saudi prisoner has been executed and crucified, according to a statement by the country’s state media. The man was one of 37 people executed on Tuesday on charges of terrorism. Source: BBC
Antonio Rinaldi, who teaches economics at Rome’s Link Campus University and is a frequent guest on television talk shows, has campaigned for years for Italy to “take back the keys to our own house” by leaving the eurozone.
Anti-euro campaigners say quitting the euro would allow Italy to revive its stagnant economy by spending more and devaluing its currency, helping exports. Others warn the move would lead to a flight of capital, higher borrowing costs and inflation, reducing the value of Italians’ savings. Source: EU Reporter
Vladimir Putin and his North Korean counterpart Kim Jong-un will meet in Vladivostok, in Russia’s Far East, on April 25. It will be the first meeting of the two heads of state.
The leaders will hold talks on Thursday, Putin’s foreign policy aide, Yuri Ushakov, confirmed. He called Kim’s visit to Russia “the key event” in the recent history of Moscow-Pyongyang relations. Source RT
One of Northern Ireland’s “most promising” journalists has been shot dead during rioting that police are treating as a terrorist incident. Dissident republicans are being blamed for killing 29-year-old Lyra McKee after violence broke out during police searches in Londonderry on Thursday. Source: BBC
Spain’s far-right Vox party has been banned from a televised debate leading up to the general elections. The April 23 debate is the only debate scheduled before the April 28 elections. The anti-immigration party was banned from the debate following a ruling from the electoral commission. The commission argued that Vox’s inclusion was not “proportional” because the party currently holds no seats in the national parliament. Source: Euronews
The U.S. State Department spokesperson has called on countries to “follow Malta’s example” and block Russian military planes en route for Venezuela from using their airspace. Source Moscow Times
Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un will meet in Russia later this month, the Kremlin announced Thursday. Source: CNN
“The Western liberal model of development, which particularly stipulates a partial loss of national sovereignty – this is what our Western colleagues aimed at when they invented what they called globalization – is losing its attractiveness and is no more viewed as a perfect model for all. Moreover, many people in the very western countries are skeptical about it,” Lavrov said. Source: Tass
Years after the company first dismissed fears it was empowering extremists, Facebook has permanently banned a number of right-wing organisations and individuals including the British National party (BNP), the English Defence League (EDL) and Britain First . Source: The Guardian
The euro zone is worried about the heavily indebted Italian economy’s weak growth and needs Rome to implement its budget plans “with credibility”, the head of the currency bloc’s group of finance ministers said. Source: Reuters
Public debt in Greece and Italy, the two most indebted countries of the euro zone, grew last year while the bloc as a whole recorded an overall decrease in its liabilities, the European Union statistics office said on Tuesday. Source: Business Recorder
Germany’s Finance Minister, Olaf Scholz had ruled out any possibility of injecting new monetary stimulus as debts to stimulate slowing German economy and blamed external factors like trade disputes and risk of United Kingdom leaving European Union behind this year’s anemic growth. Source: Financial World
Japan and China have signed an agreement for a program that will make it easier for investors to buy exchange-traded funds listed in each other’s markets.
Under the program, a Japanese or Chinese firm would create an ETF that mainly invests in the other country’s listed ETFs, the Japan Exchange Group Inc. and Shanghai Stock Exchange said in a joint statement Monday. Source: Japan Times
Oil prices surged on Monday, hitting new 2019 highs, after the Trump administration announced that all oil buyers will have to end imports from Iran in just over a week or be subject to U.S. sanctions. Source: CNBC
Turkey, or rather the breakaway “Turkish Republic of North Cyprus” (TRNC) recognized only by Turkey, has informed the United Nations it will begin drilling for oil and natural gas within Cyprus’ Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). Source : Ekathimerini
Poland’s industrial sector maintained a decent rate of activity in March, despite a slowdown in Germany and the eurozone. Still, GDP in the first quarter should moderate due to weaker contributions from construction and transportation. Source: ING Think
Amazon.com Inc said it will shut its China online store by July 18, as the U.S. e-commerce giant focuses on the lucrative businesses of selling overseas goods and cloud services in the world’s most populous nation. Source: Reuters
European stocks and the euro were hit on Thursday after a business survey showed the German manufacturing sector contracted for the fourth month in a row, adding to concerns around the sector and pushing investors into the safety of euro zone government bonds. Source: Reuters
Apple Inc was accused in a new lawsuit of securities fraud for concealing a slump in demand for iPhones, particularly in China, leading to a $74 billion one-day slide in its market value once the truth became known. The complaint filed on Tuesday seeks damages for investors who bought Apple stock in the two months before Chief Executive Tim Cook on Jan. 2 unexpectedly reduced Apple’s quarterly revenue forecast as much as $9 billion, in part because of the intensifying U.S. trade war with China. Source: Reuters
Gefira tracks the global players in Europe, the USA, Russia and China and anticipates the consequences of their policies
Gefira No. 9 is now available at a discount. 160 euros for 10 issues a year plus access to our archives.
Europe's geopolitical situation resembles that of 1913.
The enlargement of the European Union to the east, Germany's Ostpolitik, economic power and its reluctance to align its policy with France's and Italy's make the break-up of the Union unavoidable. While Germany is gaining a status of a financial superstar, German society is starting to disintegrate.
Nobody dares to ask, but the ECB board is bracing itself for the upcoming break-up of the euro. The Gefira team explains why France or Italy will leave the euro and we investigate how the ECB is preparing for the looming euro collapse.
