This positive effect hidden by the rise in interest rates

2023-05-13 09:00:00

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CHRONIC. For many, the rise in central bank interest rates is bad news. With one exception: companies in the euro zone.

By Patrick Artus*

By building up large cash reserves, companies in the euro zone have sheltered themselves. But the rise in interest rates will force them to invest more.
© ANDREAS ARNOLD / DPA / dpa Picture-Alliance via AFP

Published on 05/13/2023 at 09:00

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Lhe central bank interest rates have increased considerably in the recent period: from 0% to 4.75% in the United States, from 0% to 3.5% today in the euro zone. This short-term rise is generally perceived as bad news: it increases the financing costs of companies and States; it leads to a very significant fall in housing purchases and real estate prices; it leads to very heavy losses for bond investors who had not hedged their portfolios against interest rate risk (we have seen, in particular, several regional banks in the United States suffered heavy losses and, in consequence, a flight of depositors).

But we must take into consideration a positive effect: the slightest attraction…