Kyriakos Pierrakakis, Minister of National Economy and Finance and Eurogroup President, told the IMF annual meetings in Bangkok that Europe is resilient to successive shocks and is making progress on the Capital Markets Union and Banking Union. He said Europe's biggest problem is a productivity gap: over the past 30 years US productivity grew 1.8% a year on average versus 1.1% in Europe, leaving Europe at 75% of the US level, down from 90% in 2000. The EU's average deficit is 3.5% of GDP, up from 1.7% a decade ago, and only five EU countries, including Greece, run a surplus. IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva praised Greece for repaying its IMF loans ahead of schedule. Pierrakakis said Greece aims for growth next year above the IMF's forecast.
Summary written by Upside AI from the original article. Read the source for full details.
Read the original on sofokleous10.gr ↗
Related tickers and likely impact
EUR/USD
▲ Likely positiveRelevance: low
| Market | Currencies |
|---|---|
| Close on 10/14/2026 | 1.11573 |
| Change that session | -0.38% |
Impact is scored by AI from the headline and may be wrong. It is not investment advice.
Related news
- France political crisis puts pressure on euro
The euro weakened against the US dollar and other major currencies amid France's political and economic crisis, according to Tickmill analyst Patrick Mannelly. Around 550,000 people took part in mass protests on October 17, while trade unions put the figure at 800,000, and clashes, looting and arson were reported in Paris, Lyon, Marseille and other cities. Left-wing groups accuse President Emmanuel Macron of ignoring cost-of-living demands, while right-wing forces call for a tougher response. Analysts note that France, the eurozone's second-largest economy, is under close market scrutiny over its high public debt and the difficulty of delivering fiscal discipline.
- Gold Slips, Dollar Gains, Yields Edge Up
- France Estimates 550 , 000 Protesters as European Prices Rise
France's government estimated that 550,000 people marched on October 17 over living costs and school conditions, below the CGT union's count of nearly 800,000. The protests, which began with school demonstrations in September, widened to cover living costs and public services, and some turned violent, including clashes and looting in Milan. France's prime minister ordered prefects to impose localized curfews, while separate protests took place in Italy and Portugal. Eurostat said euro-area annual inflation rose to 3.8% in September from 3.2% in August, with energy accounting for 1.71 percentage points, and inflation reached 5.0% in Spain, 4.2% in Italy, 3.6% in Portugal and 3.4% in France.
- France Deepening Crisis Puts Europe on CONTAGION Alert
deVere CEO Nigel Green warns that France's escalating debt and political crisis could spill into Italian and Belgian bonds and global portfolios. The comments come as France faces its worst civil unrest in years, with around 550,000 people protesting over the weekend and almost 2,400 arrests, just before a key National Assembly vote on the 2027 budget. Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu's minority government is seeking EUR 54 billion in savings to cut the deficit to 5% of GDP from 5.4% this year, while public debt is around 119% of GDP. The yield on 10-year French debt neared 5%, its highest since 2002, and when French bonds sold off in early October, Italian, Belgian and Greek bonds fell too and the euro dropped below $1.12. The article says the ECB has so far not stepped in simply because spreads are wide, and warns that upcoming elections across Europe could test investor confidence in government debt.
- AI stocks lead a rebound on Wall Street as European markets drop following protests
- From France to Albania, social unrest is setting Europe streets ablaze
Related markets
Latest news
- J.P. Morgan Stays Top of Extel’s All-America Equities Research Table
Extel's 55th annual All-America Research Team survey ranks J.P. Morgan first in the research team table with 47 published positions, followed by BofA Securities with 44 and Morgan Stanley with 43. UBS posted the largest gain in positions, reaching 42 and climbing to fourth place. In the analyst leaders table, Jefferies takes first place with 43 positions, while UBS leads Extel's weighted ranking of research teams ahead of J.P. Morgan and Evercore ISI. The results reflect the views of 4,451 portfolio managers and analysts at 1,608 institutions across 60 sectors, with 129,919 votes counted. The number of participating institutions fell from 1,705 in 2025, but more firms now sit in the highest commission bands, rising to 89 from 82.
- Visa, Mesh partner to enable crypto spending at 175M merchant locations
Visa and crypto payments network Mesh have partnered so users can spend cryptocurrency and stablecoin balances directly from participating digital wallets at merchants on Visa's network, without transferring funds to a bank account or using a separate crypto card. Merchants receive payments through Visa's existing network without changing their checkout systems. The network covers more than 175 million merchant locations in over 200 countries and territories, and participating wallets and launch dates will be announced later. Mesh will handle funding and conversion between crypto, stablecoins and fiat, as well as onboarding and KYC requirements. The partnership follows Mesh's September integration with Bybit Pay and its $75 million raise in January at a $1 billion valuation.
- Mastercard Brings Its Fraud-Fighting Tools to Stablecoin Payments
Mastercard has launched Stablecoin Security, a tool that lets financial institutions screen stablecoin payments for fraud, scams and sanctions exposure and generate a risk score before a payment settles. Delivered through a platform-agnostic API, it combines Mastercard's payment intelligence with blockchain analytics and launches with Borderless.xyz and Keyrails as initial participants. The move addresses a blind spot flagged by a Bank for International Settlements study, which found nearly 60% of 593 million stablecoin transfers in 2025 were complex, multi-step transactions. The product extends Mastercard's broader stablecoin push, including its Global Money Platform with BVNK, and will launch first in North America, with worldwide availability expected in 2027.
- Better Oil Stock: Chevron (CVX) vs. ExxonMobil (XOM)
The article compares integrated oil majors Chevron (CVX) and ExxonMobil (XOM), whose stocks rose 45% and 58% respectively over the past 12 months as oil prices climbed. Chevron earns about 80% of its profit from upstream operations versus about 70% for ExxonMobil, which has a larger downstream and petrochemicals business. With Brent crude at $110 per barrel, well above breakeven prices of $50 for Chevron and $35 for ExxonMobil, the author argues Chevron's upstream focus suits oil spikes, while ExxonMobil's diversification helps when prices fall. Chevron offers a 3.2% forward yield versus 2.3%, and analysts expect its EPS to grow at a 26% CAGR from 2025 to 2028, compared with 20% for ExxonMobil. Both trade at 15 times next year's earnings, and the author prefers Chevron.
- This High-Yielding Dividend Stock Has Soared Past the "Magnificent Seven" in 2026
Target (TGT) shares are up 57% so far in 2026, outpacing the Magnificent Seven tech group, where Tesla is down 18% and Apple leads with a 26% gain as enthusiasm for AI cools. The stock is still down 39% over five years, with its last positive year in 2021, as consumers have pulled back on discretionary spending, but a new CEO and recent earnings progress have renewed investor interest. Growth in the most recent quarter, which ended Aug. 1, was 5.3%, with comparable growth of 3.6%, which the author sees as decent but not spectacular. Target trades at a P/E of 16 versus about 23 for the S&P 500 and 43 for Walmart, and its dividend yields 3% versus roughly 1% for the market, with 55 consecutive years of increases.
- Here's What a $5,000 Investment in AMD Could Be Worth by 2032
AMD shares have risen 147% in 2026 as of writing, well ahead of the 57% gain in the PHLX Semiconductor Sector index, driven by demand for its server CPUs and GPUs in AI data centers and by gains in the PC market. The data center segment made up 58% of Q2 revenue, rising 107% year over year to $6.7 billion. The company cites an AI data center accelerator market growing at a 45% CAGR through 2030, reaching $1.4 trillion in revenue, and says its server CPUs are used by hyperscalers including Amazon, Microsoft, Oracle, and Google. Other catalysts include its Helios rack-scale systems, semi-custom processors for next-generation Sony and Microsoft consoles, and PC client CPU revenue up 23% to $3.1 billion, with market share estimated at 30.3% versus 23.9% a year earlier, while global PC shipments fell 4%.
Get the briefing on Telegram or Zalo
Join the Upside Telegram channel or Zalo group for the Vietnam stocks and gold briefing at 8:00 and 19:00 (Vietnam time) on trading days, plus a weekly wrap on Saturday morning.