Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1483841
10.11.2022 6 MARKETS Symbol Volume Value Trades High Low Open Closing Change Code Traded Traded Trades Price Price Price Price EQUITIES APS 10,000 6,350.01 2 0.635 0.635 0.635 0.635 0.000 BMIT 25,000 11,550.00 1 0.462 0.462 0.462 0.462 -0.002 BOV 21,329 18,689.98 5 0.900 0.870 0.880 0.900 0.000 GO 1,000 3,020.00 1 3.020 3.020 3.020 3.020 0.020 HSB 2,390 1,768.60 1 0.740 0.740 0.740 0.740 0.000 TRI 792 1,156.32 1 1.460 1.460 1.460 1.460 0.000 CORPORATE BONDS BN32A 20,000 20,000.00 1 100.000 100.000 100.000 100.000 0.000 CB27A 6,000 5,952.00 1 99.200 99.200 99.200 99.200 0.200 EF27A 4,000 4,000.00 1 100.000 100.000 100.000 100.000 0.000 HP25A 4,500 4,567.50 2 101.500 101.500 101.500 101.500 0.000 IB25A 99,500 101,987.50 2 102.500 102.500 102.500 102.500 0.000 IH26A 5,600 5,656.00 2 101.000 101.000 101.000 101.000 0.000 IH26B 4,800 4,776.00 1 99.500 99.500 99.500 99.500 0.000 IH31A 12,000 11,460.00 4 95.500 95.500 95.500 95.500 0.000 MD26A 17,800 17,801.12 4 100.040 100.000 100.040 100.000 -0.040 MF24A 100 102.60 1 102.600 102.600 102.600 102.600 0.600 PC26A 4,500 4,485.00 4 100.000 99.500 99.500 100.000 2.000 ST27A 10,000 10,000.00 1 100.000 100.000 100.000 100.000 0.000 Malta Stock Exchange Regulated Main Market Trading Date: 9 Nov 2022 EU bids farewell to austerity with review of debt rules THE European Commission laid out proposals to overhaul the European Union's debt rules for member states on Wednesday, acknowledging that a system that locked in austerity may have been ineffective and counterpro- ductive. e announcement will kick off a fierce debate among EU mem- bers on a topic that divides the union, pitting fiscally conserv- ative states such as Germany and Finland against a southern bloc that says the spending rules hobbled their economies by pre- venting them from making in- vestments that would allow their economies to grow. e rules broadly limit member states to running annual deficits that are no more than 3 per cent of their gross domestic product each year and state that national debt should be reduced once it exceeds 60 per cent of GDP. Debt has nevertheless grown across much of the union, while the rules were patchily enforced and grew more complex over time. e European Commission's economy minister Paolo Gentilo- ni said lessons had been learned from the Covid-19 crisis. is saw a transformation in the EU's approach as it confronted the economic downturn with mas- sive investment stimulus and supportive spending, which is now credited with cushioning the pandemic's economic blow. "We are building on the pos- itive lesson learned of the RRF," Gentiloni said, referring to the EU's ground-breaking €750 bil- lion jointly borrowed Covid-19 recovery fund. "Ultimately, what matters for debt sustainability and for the markets, is that member states reduce our public debt ratios, especially when it is high, in a realistic, gradual, and sustained manner," he continued. "is is why we believe we should move away from the unrealistic re- quirements imposed by the unre- alistic 1/20 debt reduction rule." e 1/20 rule applies to coun- tries with debt levels above 60 per cent of GDP and states that the gap between their actual debt level and the target should be reduced by one twentieth each year, though countries have often flouted this. Gentiloni noted the 60 per cent of GDP level was "not a product of the economic sciences", but had simply been the average debt of the 12 countries that signed the Maastricht treaty that set the rules in 1992. e Commission is also arguing that massive borrowing will be required for investments in the years ahead, including hundreds of billions of euro annually to overhaul the EU's energy system away from fossil fuels. "We must finance massive in- vestment needs, notably to sup- port the green transition, ener- gy security, common defence, our European competitiveness," Gentiloni said. e proposals follow an evolu- tion in thinking over time as a new generation of leaders in the Commission and around Europe consider extreme cuts to spend- ing in the aftermath of the finan- cial crisis to have deepened and lengthened the downturn, while a hangover of fiscal conservatism meant governments failed to take advantage of cheap credit in later years to make economically beneficial investments. A senior European Commission official, speaking off the record, acknowledged that excessive aus- terity had been a mistake. "I think we have suffered in par- ticular in the later years of the crisis and the early aftermath of an excess of austerity, if you would ask me," the official said. "I think it's also fair to say that when things improved again later on, that member states have not benefited or have not made use enough of the fiscal space that was created. "Member states, they cut back massively on expenditure, but the investment part of that was hit the hardest," the official con- tinued. "at is understandable, be- cause it's easier to cross out in- vestment than some other meas- ures. So the political logic of it is very understandable, but the economic damage that that has done is just enormous." Under the Commission's sug- gestions for reform, the fiscal rules would be simplified and fo- cus on economic risks, differenti- ating between countries accord- ing to their particular challenges. National governments would draw up plans for the reduction of their debt, but these would be highly tailored to national cir- cumstances and be "more real- istic" and "gradual". On the other hand, they would also be more strongly enforced. e debate will now be handed over to the EU's member states, among whom there are strongly differing views on the issue, and Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe will have an important role in trying to find consensus if he succeeds in staying on as president of the Eurogroup club of finance minsters. PC26A - 3.75% PRC PLC