Automatically translated from Basque, translation may contain errors. More information here. Elhuyarren itzultzaile automatikoaren logoa

Interest rate: rise, impoverish

  • The price of the money market, the interest rate, continues to grow in central banks around the world, even in Europe. The European Central Bank (ECB), after several years of almost free donations, increased this rate by 0.50% in July and 0.75% in September, the biggest historic increase.
Zarata mediatikoz beteriko garai nahasiotan, merkatu logiketatik urrun eta irakurleengandik gertu dagoen kazetaritza beharrezkoa dela uste baduzu, ARGIA bultzatzera animatu nahi zaitugu. Geroz eta gehiago gara, jarrai dezagun txikitik eragiten.

Faced with rising prices, the ECB has maintained the economic orthodoxy that the solution is a tough monetary policy. But for many experts this will not be a solution.

Firstly, because it does not go to the origin of inflation: prices started to rise last year, when the war in Ukraine was not yet in place, taking advantage of the loopholes of the marginal market for electricity companies. And above all, it's not a solution because global debt is already 350 percent of GDP, as economist Roser Espelt pointed out three weeks ago in his pages, that having to pay more money to pay that debt can lead to losing families, businesses and the whole country.

The United Nations itself, at its last session, has called on central banks to stop monetary fever because it can lead to a “global recession.”

But while some have a 37% mortgage, others will benefit greatly from the increased money: In the Spanish state, €14.630 million will be transferred to the banks, according to economic professor Carlos Sánchez Mato in El Salto, “who are the real shareholders of the ECB”.

The wage increase is “a source of risk” to the governor

It is known that the ECB will continue to increase interest rates. But how far? His leader, Christine Lagard, admitted to the European Parliament that the rise has no roof and that he will be meeting on 27 October to reach a “neutral point” between supply and demand. However, many consider this point impossible because since the 2008 crisis they have “poisoned” the money to save banks, as ex-Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis writes. But economic authorities seem to have other concerns…

Pablo Hernández Cos, Governor of the Banco de España in the BEC of Barakaldo. (Photo: CEDE)

On September 29, the Governor of the Bank of Spain, Pablo Hernández Cos, visited Barakaldo in an event organized by the Spanish Confederation of Directors and Executives (CEDE) at BEC. Besides announcing that interest rates will rise to 2.5%, Hernández Cos, with Felipe VI, king of Spain, gave a chilling speech. He was satisfied that the demand, which talked about the wage hike, has not risen so much, because he understands that wage increases are "a source of risk" to enter a spiral of inflation. The governor recalled that while inflation is 9%, wages have risen only 2.5%, “it’s relaxing,” he added.

[This article is part of a broader report on the claws of poverty.]


You are interested in the channel: Ekonomia krisia
Banquet
Iberdrola has earned a profit of EUR 5,472 million until September of this year, which is a new revenue record in 2024, 14% more than last year. Repsol had in his pocket EUR 1.626 million for the month of July, and the EUR 3.168 million he won in 2023 seem to outnumber this... [+]

Tax allowances for young people: The impact of the movie 'On falling'?
The Portuguese Government has proposed reducing or eliminating IRPF for young people in some cases, but for the moment it has only put the question, because it is not clear whether it will be able to approve the budgets, because the parties that make up the government do not add... [+]

VAT on basic food in Hego Euskal Herria
Since January 2023, the measure to prevent the application of VAT to basic foods, where olive oil has been present for three months, has been in force.

Europe imposes a fine of EUR 15 billion on multinationals Apple and Google
The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has sentenced the Apple and Ireland case and has ratified the conviction of Google for abuse of a dominant position.

Two out of three doctors are missing at Elizondo Health Center
Services without medical personnel are being carried out in Elizondo through overtime and voluntary hours. Dr. Xabi Zarandona has denounced that "the continuity of patients cannot be guaranteed".

2024-06-19 | ARGIA
Doctors and pediatricians missing in Bortziri and Baztan
They have gone to the streets to denounce the lack of doctors and pediatricians from Bortziri and Baztan, the endless waiting lists and the delay in appointments, among others. “Those of us who live in rural areas also deserve proper attention.”

Europe opens the door to the far-right converted into merchandise
The prices of housing and rents continue to rise without limits, which has left millions of people in a very precarious situation: young people cannot afford to emancipate themselves, they have kicked many citizens of their neighbourhood, and for many the only solution is to... [+]

The drop in interest rates, how will it affect the housing crisis?
The European Central Bank will cut interest rates this Thursday, after two years of continuous growth. The increase or decrease in money has a direct impact on Euribor and the mortgages that citizens have to pay. But how will this change be noticed?

Return of austerity
They take on the new tax rules in Brussels and open the door to social cuts
The European Union is on track to return to the strict pre-pandemic tax rules, following the adoption by the European Parliament of new fiscal measures to limit the deficit and indebtedness of Member States. According to the Ecofin decision at the end of 2023, this will mean... [+]

European Central Bank announces "structural reforms" to meet defence spending
Luis de Guindos, Vice-President of the European Central Bank, spoke in Barcelona of the European "threats": "We have to talk again about structural reforms".

Analysis
Tax reform at the moment

The Araba, Bizkaia and Gipuzkoa Foral Haciendas have just extracted the data from the collection, and we have seen that they have received more money than ever before. They soon announce that they will take the necessary margin for reflection on tax reform, because there is no... [+]


The neoliberal Europe of 2024 has a northern austerity policy of Schäuble
The Ecofin Council of the European Union’s Finance and Finance Ministers has given us stricter tax rules in the new year. The return of austerity policies will result in a change of direction after the pandemic and a further reduction in public investment and cuts by... [+]

More expensive life without cuts: electricity, gas, municipal taxes and highways
In Hego Euskal Herria, only one beneficial measure currently in force will continue to apply, at least until June: not paying VAT on basic food.

Austerity policies
This is the year 2024: welcome to the "normality" of neoliberal Europe
The Council of Ministers of Economic and Finance of the 27 countries of the European Union has agreed on 20 December to establish stricter tax rules. The return of austerity policies will mean a change of direction in recent years and a further reduction in public investment and... [+]

2023-10-25 | ARGIA
ARGIA publishes ‘Planet Precario’ by Pello Zubiria, chronicle of crises and resistances of the 21st century
ARGIA has published, with the help of journalist Pello Zubiria Kamino, an essential book that offers the keys to understanding the present world and the future. This is a paper that tells the crises and resistance of many parts of the world from twenty years of articles in the... [+]

Eguneraketa berriak daude