The European Economy Podcast with Fexingo: ECB, Eurozone, and Continental Markets

The Strait of Hormuz deal signed a week ago was supposed to calm shipping lanes. Instead, a new attack under the peace deal has shattered confidence. Lucas and Luna break down how the Eurozone's trade exposure to the Middle East is reshaping supply chains, why German industrial stocks are getting hammered, and what the fragile recovery means for European ETF investors. With fresh data on VGK and E...

Lucas and Luna examine how last week's U.S.-Iran deal and the fragile Strait of Hormuz reopening are reshaping trade dynamics for the Eurozone. With the euro dipping to $1.15 and the trade-weighted dollar index hitting 120.4, they drill into which European economies are most exposed—Germany's energy-intensive manufacturers, southern ports handling alternative routes, and the quiet decoupling of eu...

Episode 78 of The European Economy Podcast examines the growing tension between the EU's strict fiscal rules and the urgent need for higher defense spending across the bloc. Lucas and Luna break down the numbers: with the trade-weighted dollar at 120.4 and the euro slipping to $1.15, German exporters are already squeezed, while countries like Italy and Spain face tough choices between deficit limi...

The strong dollar is reshaping Eurozone trade in unexpected ways. While German exporters struggle with a weak euro that raises import costs, southern European service economies like Spain and Italy are benefiting from a surge in American tourists. This episode examines the real GDP growth divergence, the trade-weighted dollar index at 120.4, and how Eurozone nominal GDP has grown to $31.87 trillio...

In this episode of The European Economy Podcast, Lucas and Luna examine the sharp selloff in European equity ETFs during late June 2026. With the VGK down 1.3% and the EZU losing 2.4% in five days, they trace the culprit to a surging US dollar—the trade-weighted index hitting 120.4—and the euro slipping to 1.15. They break down why dollar strength is a double blow for European stocks: it squeezes...

Episode 75 of The European Economy Podcast with Fexingo examines an overlooked cost of the euro's recent weakness: while a weaker euro should help exporters in theory, Germany's export-heavy industrial base is actually being squeezed by rising input costs and sluggish demand from China. Lucas and Luna break down the divergence between France's services-driven economy and Germany's manufacturing sl...

Episode 74 of The European Economy Podcast with Fexingo examines the growing divergence in Eurozone government bond yields, with German bunds and Italian BTPs moving in opposite directions. Lucas and Luna dig into the drivers: ECB policy expectations, fiscal discipline concerns, and the impact on sovereign debt markets. They reference the latest data on the EUR/USD rate and the trade-weighted doll...

In this episode, Lucas and Luna examine a subtle but worrying signal from the Eurozone's equity ETF data for late June 2026. While headline GDP growth has ticked up to 1.6 percent, broad-based ETFs like VGK and EZU have dropped 1.2 and 2.1 percent respectively over five days. The hosts dig into why Spain-focused ETFs (EWP down only 0.8 percent) are holding up better than Italy-focused ETFs (EWI do...

In this episode of The European Economy Podcast, Lucas and Luna dig into the sharp divergence in Eurozone factory output—why Germany's industrial production is faltering while Spain's is surging. They anchor the discussion on live data from June 24, 2026, showing the EWG (Germany ETF) down 2% in five days versus EWI (Italy) down 2.3% and EWP (Spain) down only 0.9%. They explore structural factors:...

In this episode of The European Economy Podcast, Lucas and Luna examine the widening divide in Eurozone factory output, using June 2026 data showing Spanish manufacturing surprising to the upside while German industrial production stalls. They explore structural factors: Spain's reshoring gains in automotive and renewable energy components versus Germany's export dependence on China and energy-int...

Eurozone manufacturing is splitting into two speeds. Germany's factory output is contracting at its fastest pace since 2020, while Spain and Italy are seeing modest expansion. Lucas and Luna break down the data from the latest PMIs, discuss how energy costs and export demand are driving the divergence, and explore what it means for European Central Bank policy going into the second half of 2026. T...

In episode 69 of The European Economy Podcast, Lucas and Luna drill into a surprising pattern in mid-2026: while German and French export-oriented stocks lag, Italian and Spanish dividend-heavy indexes are outperforming. Using live data from June 23 — including the EWI ETF up 1% in five days and the EWG down 0.7% — they explore why defensive sectors like utilities and telecoms are drawing capital....

In this episode of The European Economy Podcast, Lucas and Luna examine the surprising divergence in Eurozone equity markets as of June 2026. While German and French ETFs have slipped over the past week, Italian and Spanish funds are up. They drill into the data: Italy's FTSE MIB has rallied 18% year-to-date, outpacing the Euro Stoxx 50 by over 10 percentage points. The key driver is a structural...

In episode 67 of The European Economy Podcast, Lucas and Luna explore how the post-pandemic tourism boom is structurally reshaping southern Eurozone economies. With Italy's EWI ETF up 1.9% in a week and Spain's EWP up 2.1%, they drill into how tourism-driven services exports are narrowing the competitiveness gap with Germany. They reference new ECB data showing services export revenue growing 8% y...

Eurozone services inflation hit 5.2% in May 2026 — and a surprising share of that comes from hotels and package holidays. Lucas and Luna dig into the latest ECB data showing accommodation prices surging 14% year-over-year in Southern Europe, while German hotel rates barely budge. They explore why this split matters for interest rate policy, how the post-pandemic travel rebound is still reshaping p...

Lucas and Luna dive into a quiet but powerful shift in the Eurozone economy: the rising services trade surplus, now at €45 billion for 2026. They explore how Germany's export machine is ceding ground to a new wave of high-value service exports from France, Spain, and the Netherlands—from digital platforms to specialized engineering. The data shows a structural change in European competitiveness, w...

Eurozone house prices are defying expectations with a faster-than-anticipated rebound in 2026. In this episode, Lucas and Luna examine the drivers behind the recovery, from falling mortgage rates to tight supply in major markets like Germany and Spain. They discuss how the ECB's rate cuts are shifting affordability calculations, why some countries are seeing double-digit gains while others lag, an...

In this episode, Lucas and Luna examine a surprisingly powerful driver of Eurozone economic divergence: the cross-border trade in services. While goods trade gets the headlines — Germany's factory slump, Southern Europe's export stagnation — services trade has quietly become a competitive fault line. Ireland's surplus with the rest of the Eurozone reached 4.2 percent of its GDP last year, mostly i...

In this episode of The European Economy Podcast, Lucas and Luna drill into the single biggest headache for the ECB in mid-2026: services inflation. Even as energy prices stabilise and goods inflation fades, services prices are running at 4.8% year-over-year in the Eurozone as of May 2026. They break down why this is happening — from the labour cost passthrough in Germany's hospitality sector to It...

In June 2026, Eurozone bank lending to businesses is growing at its fastest pace in three years, even as the ECB cuts its deposit rate. Lucas and Luna unpack the paradox: why lower rates are actually widening bank margins, how Southern European banks are leading the charge, and what this means for the economy. With the ECB's rate at 3.25% and lending up 4.2% year-over-year, they explore the shifti...

Lucas and Luna examine a widening divergence in Eurozone labour costs as of June 2026. With German unit labour costs rising at 4.2% annually while Italian and Spanish costs lag near 1.8%, the gap threatens competitiveness and complicates ECB policy. They drill into sectoral data—manufacturing vs. services—and what it means for inflation persistence, using new Eurostat figures and the ECB's latest...

In this episode of The European Economy Podcast, Lucas and Luna examine the surprising resilience of Eurozone consumer confidence in June 2026 despite the Iran conflict, UK economic contraction, and global uncertainty. Using fresh data from the European Commission and recent headlines, they unpack why sentiment has held up, how Southern European countries like Spain and Italy are outperforming Ger...

Episode 58 of The European Economy Podcast: Lucas and Luna dig into an under-covered story shaping European markets in June 2026: the widening gap in inflation rates across Eurozone countries. With German headline inflation at 2.1% and Spanish at 3.8%, the one-size-fits-all ECB policy is showing strain. They examine the role of energy subsidies expiring, services inflation stickiness, and what thi...

In this episode of The European Economy Podcast, Lucas and Luna examine the surprising rally in Eurozone equity ETFs in mid-June 2026. With the EWQ (France) up 4.4% in five days, the EWI (Italy) up 5.6%, and the EWP (Spain) up 6.3%, they drill into the drivers: a weakening US dollar, rising euro, and a shift in global investor sentiment toward European assets. They discuss how the trade-weighted d...

Lucas and Luna examine the surprising outperformance of Eurozone technology stocks in 2026, with the EZU ETF up nearly 5% in a week and Spanish stocks jumping over 6%. They trace the rally to a combination of ECB rate hikes that boosted the euro, a rotation from US mega-cap tech into European value, and structural factors like the EU's Chips Act and green tech investment. Specific examples include...