<Click on chart for larger image> The Financial Times – French and Spanish auctions calm nerves Peripheral eurozone debt yields are falling sharply, with benchmark Italian yields well below 7 per cent after successful Spanish and French bond auctions. The rally in eurozone bond markets, which have been a prime target for bearish investors in… Continue reading European Yields
The Wall Street Journal – Wall Street Pushed Federal Reserve for Europe Action Committee members also said they believed a default by Greece would lead to increased pressure on the already weak position of French banks and create funding strains for European banks, according to the minutes. The group suggested a number of ways to… Continue reading Did Wall Street Pressure The Federal Reserve?
Bloomberg.com – Fed Lays Trap for Itself With Bank Stress Tests The most severe stress-test scenarios outlined by the Fed include an unemployment rate of as much as 13 percent and an 8 percent drop in gross domestic product. There will be plenty of other benchmarks available for investors to gauge the tests’ credibility, too.… Continue reading U.S. Bank Stress Tests
Slate – A Secret Scandal The government and the big banks deceived the public about their $7 trillion secret loan program. They should be punished.Imagine you walked into a bank, applied for a personal line of credit, and filled out all the paperwork claiming to have no debts and an income of $200,000 per year.… Continue reading Eliot Spitzer (Remember Him?) Speaks About A Scandal
The Federal Reserve – Press Release The Bank of Canada, the Bank of England, the Bank of Japan, the European Central Bank, the Federal Reserve, and the Swiss National Bank are today announcing coordinated actions to enhance their capacity to provide liquidity support to the global financial system. The purpose of these actions is to… Continue reading Central Banks Intervene
The Wall Street Journal – Scanning the Horizon for the Ship ‘QE3’ The Federal Reserve has already completed two large-scale asset-purchase programs, and its latest “Operation Twist” maneuver to push down long-term interest rates hasn’t ended. Yet officials are already hinting another round of quantitative easing, or QE, may be forthcoming. “The scope remains to… Continue reading QE3
MarketBeat (WSJ Blog) – Euro Zone 0-For-3 So Far in Enacting Its Grand Plan The market’s oversold bounce is probably not being driven by serious hopes that policy makers are close to solving the euro zone’s problems. But if it is, then traders making that bet are in for some disappointment, judging by the last… Continue reading Lots Of Unfulfilled Promises From The Euro Zone
Slate – Eurodoom The severity of the ongoing economic crisis in the Eurozone is perhaps best brought home by a striking statement made Monday by conservative Polish politician Radek Sikorski. “I will probably be the first Polish foreign minister in history to say this,” he said, “but here it is: I fear German power less… Continue reading EU Contagion
The Financial Times – Moral hazard will result from ECB bond buying In providing advances to the banking system to stay a panic, a central bank should follow two rules. “First. That these loans should only be made at a very high rate of interest. This will operate as a heavy fine on unreasonable timidity,… Continue reading ECB Bond Purchases
MarketBeat (WSJ Blog) – S&P Hits Biggest US Banks With Credit Rating Downgrades S&P has reviewed its credit ratings for 37 of the world’s biggest banks, cutting the ratings of several, including all of the Big Six. This is not the most shocking news in the world, but it is not good news. Bank of… Continue reading Downgrades For Everyone!
The Financial Times – Businesses plan for possible end of euro International companies are preparing contingency plans for a possible break-up of the eurozone, according to interviews with dozens of multinational executives. Concerned that Europe’s political leaders are failing to control the spreading sovereign debt crisis, business executives say they feel compelled to protect their… Continue reading Contingency Plans In The Event Of A Euro Break-up