Inflation in the euro zone weakens more than expected
Energy prices are still rising the most, but not as much as they were months ago
(dpa) Inflation in the euro zone eased more than expected in December. Consumer prices increased by 9.2 percent compared to the same month last year, as the statistics office Eurostat in Luxembourg announced on Friday based on an initial estimate. In November, the annual inflation rate was still 10.1 percent. The decline was stronger than expected. Experts had expected an average rate of 9.5 percent in December. In October, the inflation rate rose to a record 10.6 percent. Compared to the previous month, consumer prices fell by 0.3 percent in December.
Annual core inflation excluding energy and food rose to 5.2 percent in December from 5.0 percent. This is the highest value since the introduction of the euro. Economists pay particular attention to this parameter because it gives an indication of the extent to which companies are passing on higher costs, particularly in the energy sector, to consumers. This in turn can result in so-called second-round effects in the form of higher wage demands. Experts speak of a price-wage spiral.
Energy prices continue to rise the most, albeit much more slowly than recently. Compared to December 2021, they were 25.7 percent higher. In November, the annual rate was 34.9 percent.
The Swiss stock exchange fines Swissquote for violating publication regulations
Swissquote has to pay a fine of 75,000 francs.
tsf. The Sanctions Commission of the Swiss stock exchange operator SIX has imposed a fine of CHF 75,000 on the online bank Swissquote. The reason is a negligent violation of publicity regulations. The decision is final. As SIX announced on Friday, Swissquote has not taken any legal action against it.
The case was triggered by an ad hoc announcement published on June 16, 2021 entitled “Swissquote expects record half-year results thanks to extraordinary growth”. The SIX Sanctions Commission confirmed the earlier statement by the stock exchange regulator (SIX Exchange Regulation, SER) that the e-mail distribution list sent the message just under three hours after the ad hoc announcement. In addition, this was done in an illegal manner during trading hours. The reason was technical problems and human error.
As the stock exchange further announced, the sanctions commission took into account the severity of the fault and the severity of the violation when determining the amount of the fine. It was rated as serious but not serious (“serious but not as severe”).