<Click on chart for larger image> <Click on chart for larger image> Bloomberg.com – Spain’s Record Yields Show Italy Bailout Risk as Crisis Spreads Spain’s benchmark borrowing costs climbed to a record yesterday, raising the specter of sovereign bailouts for the government in Madrid and then Italy that would stretch European Union finances to their… Continue reading Spanish, Italian Yields Remain High
Bloomberg.com – Greeks Continue to Withdraw Deposits in June, Kathimerini Says Greece’s banking system has continued to hemorrhage deposits this month, amid uncertainty over the outcome of elections on June 17, Kathimerini reported, without saying how it got the information. Many people are putting money in shares of mutual funds denominated in dollars because of… Continue reading Deposit runs
The Telegraph – Debt crisis: Bundesbank scuppers all talk of EU banking union Germany’s central bank has shot down EU proposals for a European banking union, warning categorically that eurozone liabilities cannot be shared without a fundamental shift towards fiscal and political union. Andreas Dombret, a key board member of the Bundesbank, said the grand… Continue reading Germany Says No To Banking Union
The Wall Street Journal – Berlin’s Ballooning Bailout Bill A billion here, a billion there, and soon you are talking real money. A true fiscal union may still be a distant prospect. But each round of the European sovereign-debt crisis has seen Germany make financial commitments that have raised the cost it would bear if… Continue reading Germany’s Bailout Costs
<Click on chart for larger image> Bloomberg.com – U.S. Budget Deficit Widened to $124.6 Billion in May The U.S. government budget deficit widened in May, as spending jumped 31.3 percent from the same month a year ago. The deficit expanded to $124.6 billion from a $57.6 billion shortfall in May 2011, according to Treasury Department… Continue reading U.S. Budget Deficit Widens
The Wall Street Journal – Economists Don’t Believe the Headline Wall Street is dissing disinflation. With all due respect, that may be a mistake. Defined as a decelerating rate of price increases, as opposed to price drops, the current dip in headline inflation is seen as a temporary giveback from the commodity-price spike earlier this… Continue reading Inflation
The Wall Street Journal – Seeking a Wizard: Time to Embrace Market Risk, or To Run From It?At present, there are only two types of investments: risky ones (mainly equities, Asian assets, copper, some emerging market currencies) and haven ones (U.S. and German government bonds, the dollar, the highest-rated corporate debt and not much else). Market… Continue reading Return To Risk Assets?
Bloomberg.com – Junk Yields Fail to Deter Investors Seeing No Recession The world’s largest junk-bond market, which lost 26 percent in 2008 as credit froze, is signaling Europe’s debt crisis, China’s slowdown and America’s rising jobless rate don’t add up to another U.S. recession. Returns this year of 5.2 percent on the more than $1… Continue reading Junk Bonds
Bloomberg.com – Libor Traders Said to Avoid Charges in British Probe Traders being investigated by U.K. regulators for the suspected rigging of global interest rates are unlikely to face criminal charges while their firms may suffer record fines, people with knowledge of the probe said. Britain’s Financial Services Authority is scrutinizing evidence of attempted market… Continue reading LIBOR Traders
The New York Times – Parsing Jamie Dimon’s Testimony JPMorgan Chase‘s chief executive, Jamie Dimon, has said a little more about the botched derivatives trade that has led to billions of dollars of losses at the bank. The new utterances, contained in prepared testimony he will give to members of Congress on Wednesday, will likely… Continue reading More On Jamie Dimon
Reuters.com – Exclusive – Syria prints new money as deficit grows – bankers Syria has released new cash into circulation to finance its fiscal deficit, flirting with inflation after violence and sanctions wiped out revenues and led to a severe economic contraction, bankers in Damascus say. Four Damascus-based bankers told Reuters that new banknotes printed… Continue reading Syria Takes A Tip From The U.S.
The Financial Times – Detroit risks default as bond payment looms Detroit’s precarious financial position has prompted growing concerns that the city could default within days, as the mayor warned insolvency is looming and Fitch downgraded the city’s debt rating . As concerns about the city have mounted, the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department delayed… Continue reading Detroit In Trouble