European Reality Check

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The EU’s new competition rules are going live — here’s how tech giants are responding​

March 6th marks a long-awaited moment of change: it’s the deadline for tech’s biggest “gatekeepers” to comply with the European Union’s Digital Markets Act, or DMA. The DMA requires powerful companies to allow more interoperability and avoid preferencing their own digital services. It’s generated disputes over which services should be included, sparked excitement among smaller competitors, and resulted in changes to how companies handle fundamental parts of their business. And in March 2024, after years of debate, the rules are coming into force.

The EU has designated six companies as gatekeepers, which it defines as large digital platforms providing “core” services like app stores, search engines, and web browsers. The DMA’s restrictions apply to specific services within these companies: Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, ByteDance, Meta, and Microsoft. Here’s what each has been doing to meet — and fight — those demands.

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The EU’s new competition rules are going live — here’s how tech giants are responding

The Digital Markets Act’s deadline for compliance is imminent. Its six designated ‘gatekeepers’ have fought the rules, but also bent to them.

www.theverge.com

 

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Here's why Europe needs to revive its mining sector

The revival of Europe's domestic mining sector could reduce the continent's dependence on Chinese rare earth minerals, as well as risks such as price volatility and loss of competitiveness.

www.euronews.com

 

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ECB cannot commit to rate path even after first cut, Lagarde says

The European Central Bank cannot commit to a pre-set number of interest rate cuts even after it starts reducing borrowing costs as that will depend on incoming data, ECB President Christine Lagarde said on Wednesday. Many ECB policymakers have expressed support for a first reduction in...

finance.yahoo.com

 

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Swiss National Bank makes surprise rate cut, getting ahead of global peers​

ZURICH, March 21 (Reuters) - The Swiss National Bank cut its main interest rate by 25 basis points to 1.50% on Thursday, a surprise move which made it the first major central bank to dial back tighter monetary policy aimed at tackling inflation.

The central bank, in the first rate decision since long-serving Chairman Thomas Jordan said he would step down in September, also cut its interest rate on sight deposits to 1.50%.

The SNB's decision, its first rate cut in nine years, was the first in a busy day for central banks in Europe, with the Bank of England and Norwegian central bank also announcing their latest policy decisions. The Norges Bank kept its rates on hold and economists also expect no change from the Bank of England.

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https://www.reuters.com/markets/rates-bonds/swiss-national-bank-surprises-with-interest-rate-cut-2024-03-21/

 

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EU leaders to back tighter euro zone fiscal stance in 2025​

BRUSSELS, March 22 (Reuters) - European Union leaders will back on Friday a slightly tighter fiscal policy for the euro zone next year, to help bring down inflation and make public finance more stable after the excess spending of the COVID pandemic and the energy price crisis.

The endorsement comes after finance ministers of the 20 countries using the euro agreed on March 11 on fiscal policy guidelines for 2025 to take into account new fiscal rules that give more time to cut debt while maintaining investment.

"The European Council endorses ... the ...recommendation on the economic policy of the euro area," draft conclusions of the EU leaders say.

The endorsed recommendation says that the new fiscal rules would require an overall slightly contractionary fiscal stance in the euro zone in 2025.

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https://www.reuters.com/markets/europe/eu-leaders-back-tighter-euro-zone-fiscal-stance-2025-2024-03-22/

 

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Middle East tensions pose the biggest threat to rate cuts, European Central Bank policymaker says​

• Geopolitical risk is the biggest threat to a prospective rate cut from the European Central Bank, according to ECB policymaker Robert Holzmann.
• ECB President Christine Lagarde on Tuesday said the central bank was closing in on a rate reduction, barring any major surprises.
• The ECB on Thursday left its policy unchanged for the fifth consecutive meeting, but signaled that cooling inflation means the institution could soon start to moderate rates.

Tensions in the Middle East pose the biggest threat to a prospective interest rate cut from the European Central Bank, according to ECB policymaker Robert Holzmann.

“At this stage, I think the biggest threat is geopolitics, because we have seen what’s happened in the Middle East,” Austrian central bank governor Holzmann told CNBC’s Karen Tso on Wednesday on the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund Spring Meetings.

“As you can imagine, only when a boat is sunk in the [Strait] of Hormuz and you may have a different oil price, and this of course may require us to rethink our strategy,” he added.

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https://www.cnbc.com/2024/04/17/middle-east-tensions-pose-the-biggest-threat-to-european-central-bank-rate-cuts-policymaker-says.html