The Telegraph (UK) – Death of a currency as eurogeddon approaches It’s time to think what hitherto markets have regarded as unthinkable – that the euro really is on its last legs The defining moment was the fiasco over Wednesday’s bund auction, reinforced on Thursday by the spectacle of German sovereign bond yields rising above… Continue reading Eurogeddon
Reuters – Dexia using emergency liquidity facilities: source Franco-Belgian bank Dexia is accessing emergency liquidity facilities in Belgium, France, Spain and Italy, a banking source said on Thursday, as analysts described its liquidity situation as “very dramatic.” The source said the bank was making use of the Emergency Liquidity Assistance (ELA) facility of the Belgian… Continue reading Dexia
Bloomberg.com – China Sovereign Fund May Give ‘Indirect’ Support to Europe Via Investment China’s sovereign wealth fund may give “indirect” support to Europe through investments without being the nation’s main route for any aid, said Jesse Wang, the executive vice president of China Investment Corp. The fund “wouldn’t be the main channel” if China helps… Continue reading China Offers More Half-Hearted Support To Europe
Bloomberg.com – Biggest Gold Hoard Ever Bolstering Bullish Bets From Traders: Commodities Gold traders are more bullish after investors accumulated the biggest-ever hoard of the metal, with Europe’s deepening debt crisis driving them to protect their wealth with this year’s second-best performing commodity. Eighteen of 26 surveyed by Bloomberg expect bullion to rise next week.… Continue reading Is Recent Gold Hoarding Bullish?
The Economist – Economics focus: House of horrors, part 2 The bursting of the global housing bubble is only halfway through MANY of the world’s financial and economic woes since 2008 began with the bursting of the biggest bubble in history. Never before had house prices risen so fast, for so long, in so many… Continue reading Are Home Prices Ready For Another Tumble?
CBS News – Gingrich wants Bernanke fired and Chris Dodd and Barney Frank imprisoned “If they want to really change things, the first person to fire is (Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben) Bernanke, who is a disastrous chairman of the Federal Reserve, the second person to fire is (Treasury Secretary Timothy) Geithner,” Gingrich said in… Continue reading Gingrich: Fire Bernanke, Jail Dodd and Frank!
<Click on chart for larger image> Business Insider – TED Spread Keeps Surging Higher As Banks Freak Out About Lending To Each Other As the European crisis gets worse, banks are getting more cautious about lending to one another. The “TED Spread,” which is the difference between Treasury yields and LIBOR (the London Interbank Offered… Continue reading The TED Spread
Reuters – Moody’s warns U.S. not to skimp on deficit cuts Moody’s Investors Service on Wednesday warned that its top credit rating for the United States could be in jeopardy if lawmakers backtrack on $1.2 trillion in deficit cuts planned over 10 years. The ratings firm said the failure of a U.S. congressional committee to… Continue reading Moody’s Warns Again, Do They Mean It Now?
The Wall Street Journal – Investors Finding Little to Feast On Historically, stocks have tended to do well in the fourth week of November, as Americans baste their turkeys and head to the shopping mall. But for the fifth Thanksgiving in six years, the stock market is bringing little joy. Heading into Friday’s half-day session,… Continue reading Stock Performance On Thanksgiving Week
Bloomberg.com – Chinese Banks ‘Built on Quicksand’ With Mounting Bad Loans, Chanos Says Chinese banks are “extremely fragile” because the lenders don’t have enough capital to offset bad loans, said Jim Chanos, president and founder of the $6 billion hedge fund Kynikos Associates Ltd. Chinese lenders are saddled with non-performing loans accumulated in the late… Continue reading Chinese Banks
The Wall Street Journal – Rating Firms’ MF Global Role to Be Explored The House Financial Services Committee announced this week that it had asked Mr. Corzine and regulators to attend a Dec. 15 hearing to “focus on decisions and events leading to the collapse of MF Global” and “the effectiveness of regulators in overseeing… Continue reading The MF Global Mess
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