<Click on chart for larger image> The Telegraph (UK) – Spain ‘will not apply for international aid’ Spain’s conservative Popular Party which won election victory last Sunday and is due to form a new government by mid-December, has strongly denied reports that it is already considering applying for international aid to shore up Spain’s finances.… Continue reading Spain Says It Is OK
<Click on chart for larger image> Bloomberg.com – IMF Says There Are No Talks Underway With Italy on Rescue Finance Program The International Monetary Fund said it isn’t discussing a rescue package with Italy and Japan said no such talks have occurred within the Group of Seven, amid concern that Italy will struggle to bring… Continue reading Italy
The Financial Times – Greece’s statistics chief faces criminal probe The head of Elstat, Greece’s new independent statistics agency, faces an official criminal investigation for allegedly inflating the scale of the country’s fiscal crisis and acting against the Greek national interest. Andreas Georgiou, who worked at the International Monetary Fund for 20 years, was appointed… Continue reading Greece: Going To Jail For Not Cheating?
Business Insider – This Is The Chart That Makes Germans Seethe With Anger At The Idea Of Bailouts This weekend we explained the real reason Germany isn’t so hot on the ECB bailing out the rest of Europe: It’s done a fantastic job of keeping labor costs contained, with very little wage growth over the… Continue reading Why Germany Is Against Bailouts
<Click on chart for larger image> Bloomberg.com – Schaeuble Says Euro Fund Needs More Work The European Financial Stability Facility recently paid a higher rate of interest on debt than France or the other AAA rated countries that guarantee the EFSF, underscoring the “crisis of confidence” in the euro area, Schaeuble said in an interview… Continue reading The EFSF
CNBC – Greece’s New Debt Proposal Still Leaves Lots of Questions As the Greek-debt drama unfolds, there is a battle brewing over 15 euro cents, according to people familiar with the situation. No official offer has been made to creditors. But one proposal has been floated by Greece that the banks deem far more aggressive… Continue reading Greek Debt Negotiations, What Does A 50% Haircut Mean?
Dow Jones – ICAP Testing Trades In Greek Drachma Against Dollar, Euro – Executives ICAP Plc is preparing its electronic trading platforms for Greece’s potential exit from the euro and a return to the drachma, senior executives at the inter-dealer broker said Sunday. ICAP is the latest firm to disclose such preparations, joining the growing… Continue reading Trading The Greek Drachma Again
Bloomberg.com – Central Banks Ease Most Since 2009 Central banks across five continents are undertaking the broadest reduction in borrowing costs since 2009 to avert a global economic slump stemming from Europe’s sovereign-debt turmoil. The U.S., the U.K. and nine other nations, along with the European Central Bank, have bolstered monetary stimulus in the past… Continue reading Central Banks Ease
The Financial Times – Commerzbank considers sovereign debt spin-off Commerzbank is examining plans to spin off its crisis-hit sovereign bonds into a government-backed “bad bank” as it fights to shore up its capital. Germany’s second-largest bank by assets may have to raise at least €3bn of capital to meet stricter standards set by EU regulators… Continue reading Are European Banks Having Trouble Raising Capital?
The Financial Times – Wolfgang Münchau: The eurozone really has only days to avoid collapse Ms Merkel’s hostility to eurobonds certainly resonates with the public. Newspapers expressed outrage at the commission’s proposal. I thought both the proposal itself and its timing were rather clever. The Commission managed to change the nature of the debate. Ms… Continue reading Scary Talk: Europe Only Has 10 Days To Fix Its Problems!
Bloomberg.com – Stocks: Worst Thanksgiving Drop Since ’32 U.S. stocks fell, capping the worst Thanksgiving-week drop since 1932 in the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index, as S&P cut Belgium’s rating and a report said Greece is demanding private investors accept larger losses on their debt. Financial (S5FINL) stocks in the S&P 500 rose 0.4 percent… Continue reading Last Week’s Stock Market Disaster
The Financial Times – Moody’s warns on eurozone debt The rapidly escalating crisis in the eurozone is threatening the standing of all the region’s governments as their ability to raise capital in the markets is increasingly questioned, Moody’s, the US rating agency, warned on Monday. The agency fears that policymakers will not be able to… Continue reading Scary Talk: Officialdom Warns About Europe