Macroeconomics

The financial markets have calmed down a bit over the past two weeks. The stock markets, in particular, settled and some experienced quite significant gains during the last fortnight.

The situation for general market liquidity also seems to have normalised and interest rates are on their way down again. Unfortunately, in most cases, only to the levels of the national banks; many commercial banks are not passing them on to their customers. Quite the reverse, in fact. On enterprise levels they are even trying to raise interest rates arguing that corporate risk levels have gone up. A lot of businesses are complaining bitterly that access to credit is increasingly difficult and banks are piling up cash reserves for their own balance sheets rather that lending the money to keep business activity alive. A lot of government aid is not being used in the way it was meant to be.

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