J. Julián Cubero

Global trade is not at its best amid moderate economic growth and uncertainty in emerging economies – the drivers behind trade momentum prior to the 2007-2009 crisis. There has been a slowdown in the international exchange of goods and services since the middle of the last decade, making it seem like there are other factors behind recent years' cyclical weakness. There could be technological reasons, since falling transportation costs from “containerization” have slowed, or from China reorienting its economy toward domestic demand and services instead of acting as the world’s assembler.

The European Banking Authority (EBA) just released a new stress test for banks in the region, something it hasn’t done since 2014.  That’s why it published a detailed description  of the methodology and macroeconomic scenarios in which the institutions have to estimate the potential repercussions on their ability to generate profit and capital.