Italy’s biggest lender offers €30.6bn to buy world’s oldest bank
Italy’s largest bank says takeover would result in significant cost savings
Will AI really make banking better for customers?
Dorde Krstic/ShutterstockAI is changing how people bank, save, borrow and ask for help. It could make finance faster, cheaper – and even more personal. But if customers cannot understand decisions, challenge mistakes or reach a human when things go wrong, “smart” finance may simply become a more efficient way to frustrate people.
Fuels prompt sharp drop of 25.2% in April trade deficit
Greece’s trade deficit fell sharply in April with a 25.2 percent year-on-year (YoY) drop, after an equally sharp fall of 30.5 percent in March, according to data released by ELSTAT on Monday.
Blackstone looks to sell $2bn of stakes in private investment funds
One of the biggest deals of its kind will test investor appetite for ageing private equity vehicles
Elon Musk’s SpaceX courts retail investors
Plus, redemption woes at Partners Group, shorting call centre stocks and Le Parc at Tate Modern
SYRIZA steps aside as ELAS gains traction and Samaras starts counting down
The developments in Greek politics continue to come at a high pace: Over the last few days, SYRIZA has effectively withdrawn from the electoral arena, Alexis Tsipras’s ELAS has consolidated its position as the main opposition force, New Democracy is reportedly preparing a limited reshuffle while quietly weighing the temptation of autumn elections, and ex-PM Antonis Samaras has all but confirmed his intention to launch a new party
Hg-backed Gen II targets $6bn sale
New York-based group in preliminary talks to target sales process in second half of this year
Santander chief Ana Botín: UK bank taxes make ‘no economic sense’
Boss of EU’s biggest bank criticises policy of singling out sector for extra levies
Intesa prepares Monte dei Paschi bid to gatecrash BPM’s €50bn bank merger
Board of Italy’s largest lender meets hours after rival proposed potential tie-up with MPS
ProMacro_Scope Quarterly Bulletin Q1 2026
This quarter’s bulletin delivers exclusive polling, proprietary socioeconomic indicators and in‑depth political and economic analysis. Combined, they offer a uniquely sharp reading of where Greece stands, and where it’s heading.
A few standout insights from this edition:
· Households under pressure despite macro resilience
The Economic Sentiment Index inches up to 4.3/10, but personal finances drop to 3.6/10.
75% of Greeks name cost of living as their top concern — a signal that macro stability isn’t translating into lived security.
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