There's a worrying piece by Robert Peston on the BBC website this morning about the state of British and European banks.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-18607088
Banks are allowing customers to have payment holidays or shift onto interest only deals in order to hang onto their mortgage. 8% of British mortgage holders are said to be subject to these deals, and it's concerning that this is happening at a time of record low interest rates.
The same is true for other European economies, and also the commercial sector.
Carrying on with that theme, a piece at the FT Alphaville blog also showed that despite a few years of the housing market deflating, there's still a long way to go in countries like Spain.
http://ftalphaville.ft.com/blog/2012/06/26/1059711/of-housing-booms-and-busts/
That said, I'm feeling a bit more confident about the Eurozone right now. The Germans have been getting a lot of flack for not bailing out the southern states. I don't think that they're opposed to this in principle, but they want there to be safeguards in place.
Take a look at this interview with Wolfgang Schäuble.
http://www.spiegel.de/international...means-eu-structures-must-change-a-840640.html
The Germans want deeper political and fiscal integration as the price for supporting the weaker member states, so that there is some mechanism for reining in profligate governments. Merkel is looking for a long term solution, whereas a number of countries, and the markets, are demanding quick fixes.
There's a major summit in Rome tomorrow and Friday, and I'd expect to see some sort of movement towards the this being announced. Unfortunately the British government will object, and make life difficult for everyone else for no real gain.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-18607088
Banks are allowing customers to have payment holidays or shift onto interest only deals in order to hang onto their mortgage. 8% of British mortgage holders are said to be subject to these deals, and it's concerning that this is happening at a time of record low interest rates.
The same is true for other European economies, and also the commercial sector.
Carrying on with that theme, a piece at the FT Alphaville blog also showed that despite a few years of the housing market deflating, there's still a long way to go in countries like Spain.
http://ftalphaville.ft.com/blog/2012/06/26/1059711/of-housing-booms-and-busts/
That said, I'm feeling a bit more confident about the Eurozone right now. The Germans have been getting a lot of flack for not bailing out the southern states. I don't think that they're opposed to this in principle, but they want there to be safeguards in place.
Take a look at this interview with Wolfgang Schäuble.
http://www.spiegel.de/international...means-eu-structures-must-change-a-840640.html
The Germans want deeper political and fiscal integration as the price for supporting the weaker member states, so that there is some mechanism for reining in profligate governments. Merkel is looking for a long term solution, whereas a number of countries, and the markets, are demanding quick fixes.
There's a major summit in Rome tomorrow and Friday, and I'd expect to see some sort of movement towards the this being announced. Unfortunately the British government will object, and make life difficult for everyone else for no real gain.