Reuters – U.S. lets China bypass Wall Street for Treasury orders China can now bypass Wall Street when buying U.S. government debt and go straight to the U.S. Treasury, in what is the Treasury’s first-ever direct relationship with a foreign government, according to documents viewed by Reuters. The relationship means the People’s Bank of China… Continue reading Chinese Purchases Of U.S. Treasuries
The Wall Street Journal – Rivals Go to Lunch on J.P. Morgan’s Losses The trading blunders that have cost J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. at least $2 billion are shaping up as a boon for some of the bank’s biggest rivals. A group of about a dozen banks, including Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Bank… Continue reading J.P. Morgan’s Losses
The Financial Times – France to push for eurozone bonds France is determined to push the idea of jointly guaranteed bonds as a new form of borrowing for eurozone countries despite Germany’s opposition, Pierre Moscovici, finance minister, said in Berlin on Monday. Speaking after a first intensive meeting with Wolfgang Schäuble, his German counterpart, Mr… Continue reading Can The Euro Be Saved?
The Financial Times – Madrid is failing to grasp bearish views Spain’s government still feels horribly ill-treated. Even after part-nationalising Bankia, the country’s biggest problem lender, announcing tough new bad loan provisioning rules for all banks and drafting in independent loan book assessors, investors don’t believe the property risks inside Spanish banks have been defused.… Continue reading Spain
Bloomberg.com – Hedge Funds Circle as Japan’s Asset Bubble Grows What if the BOJ isn’t just setting Japan up for the mother of all crises, but holding the economy back? It’s financial blasphemy even to ask this question in Tokyo. Here, the dogma is that Governor Masaaki Shirakawa is too stingy and must churn out… Continue reading Are Low Rates Hurting Japan?
Real Time Economics (WSJ Blog) – Structural Unemployment Would Affect Both Sides of Fed Mandate Over the past few months, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and other Fed officials have wondered how many of the millions who lost their jobs during the Great Recession are morphing into structural unemployed. The discussion has policy implications —… Continue reading Cyclical Unemployment vs. Structural Unemployment
The Financial Times – Secret €100bn aid props up Greek banks There has been no official announcement. No terms or conditions have been disclosed. But Greece’s banking system is being propped up by an estimated €100bn or so of emergency liquidity provided by the country’s central bank – approved secretly by the European Central Bank… Continue reading A Secret Greek Bailout
The Wall Street Journal – Calm Seas Can Mask Market Risks That Remain Whether you are a whale, a squid or one of the smaller fish swimming in the investing sea, “yield” has been hard bait to find. The hunt for the elusive return that can vault fund managers above rivals and benchmarks as well… Continue reading Risk vs. Reward
None Today
<Click on chart for larger image> Bloomberg.com – TIPS Giving Bernanke Green Light to Ease Amid Record Yields Bond traders are cutting expectations for U.S. inflation by the most since December, providing Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke the scope for additional stimulus as the central bank’s current effort winds down. With six weeks left… Continue reading TIPS And Federal Reserve Policy
The Wall Street Journal – Santander UK Depositors Pull $316 Million Banco Santander SA’s U.K. unit lost about £200 million of deposits on Friday as jittery customers worried about the lender’s financial health, according to a senior executive. The deposit outflows on Friday, amounting to about $316 million, represented roughly 0.2% of Santander UK PLC’s… Continue reading More On Bank Runs
The Associated Press – Spain may have to revise its 2011 budget deficit The Spanish government says it may have to revise its 2011 budget deficit upwards for a second time after spending by regional governments exceeded forecasts. The Finance Ministry said in a statement the deficit could reach 8.9 percent of GDP after four… Continue reading Spain