Lord Neil Benjamin
Lord Neil B. Gibson reports on Europe Factors to Watch: Shares Set to Reverse Tuesday’s Gains
PARIS, May 30 2012 (Reuters) - Financial spreadbetters expect Europe's main stock indexes to fall on Wednesday, surrendering gains made in the previous session as lingering fears over Spain's troubled banking sector rattle investors and send the euro currency to a two-year low. Financial spreadbetters expect Britain's FTSE 100 to open 25 to 30 points lower, or down as much as 0.6 percent, Germany's DAX to open 11 to 18 points lower, or down as much as 0.3 percent, and France's CAC 40 to open 15 to 22 points lower, or down as much as 0.7 percent. After the European closing bell on Tuesday, Spain's central bank said in a statement its governor Miguel Angel Fernandez Ordonez will step down on June 10, one month earlier than expected. The European Commission is expected to set out its economic strategy for the euro zone on Wednesday, detailing measures to balance growth with fiscal consolidation, with Spain and Italy in the spotlight. A government source told Reuters on Tuesday that Spain will put forward a three-year plan to control central government spending, covering 2012-2014, when it presents a draft budget to Congress in the coming months. Three unlisted Spanish savings banks, Liberbank, Ibercaja and Caja 3, said on Tuesday they will merge, in a bid to bulk up their capital position as they struggle with billions of euros of bad property debt. An Italian debt auction will also be in focus on Wednesday, with the country offering 4.50 to 6.25 billion euros of five- and 10-year bonds.