The Independent – Eurozone members look at ‘big bang’ plan to overcome debt crisis The EFSF was conceived as a fund to channel bailout money to eurozone countries that were having trouble servicing government debt, but its ability to fully contain the sovereign debt crisis has been in doubt almost since its inception. Contributors have… Continue reading Europe’s Latest Bailout Plan
The Wall Street Journal – Europe’s Banks Face New Funding Squeeze An extraordinary dry spell in the market for long-term European bank funding is amplifying pressure on policy makers to devise a solution to the Continent’s banking crisis. For the past three months, European banks have been largely unable to sell debt at affordable prices… Continue reading European Banking
<Click on chart for larger image> The Financial Times – Gold falls victim to market volatility Gold’s low of $1,534 an ounce on Monday represents the biggest four-day drop since 1983, and the precious metal has slid 20 per cent from its record high of $1,920 an ounce earlier this month. The trigger has been… Continue reading Gold’s Freefall
The Wall Street Journal – Error of Margin in Precious Metal Theories Gold and silver attract conspiracy theories like JFK and Roswell. The theory-du-jour concerns exchanges supposedly driving down prices by raising the amount of margin investors must post to open and maintain futures positions. Late on Friday, after gold and silver had fallen by… Continue reading Metals’ Margin Calls
The Big Picture (Blog) – Read It Here First: MS Earnings Concerns Morgan Stanley Research channels our prior discussion on earnings during recessions: “We have heard investors suggest $80 in EPS was a fair bear case for 2012. We decided to look at history as a guide in assessing the bear case EPS. The 2001… Continue reading Earnings
<Click on chart for larger image> The Wall Street Journal – Stopgap Fix Ends Budget Impasse A budget deadlock that had raised the risk of a federal government shutdown was broken Monday, as the Senate approved a short-term funding measure and the House appeared likely to follow suit. The Senate, on a 79-12 vote, approved… Continue reading The Debt Ceiling
Business Insider – Paul Tudor Jones: There’s A Decent Probability The U.S. Will Experience A Sovereign Credit Crisis Similar To Europe’s The economic future is “going to be bleak for some period of time, unfortunately.” “We are at the beginning of a major deleveraging process when it comes to all types of credit – private,… Continue reading Paul Tudor Jones Speaks
The Wall Street Journal – Focus Goes to New Hazards From Copper to Chinese Stocks to Junk Bonds, Signals Point to a Slowdown For months it has been all about Europe and the U.S. Suddenly, investors have reasons to worry about the rest of the world. Last week, the Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbled 6.4%,… Continue reading Credit And Stocks
<Click on chart for larger image> The Wall Street Journal – Market Rout Claims New Victim Investors Dump Gold, Silver to Pay for Losses; All Eyes on IMF This Weekend The wave of selling that has washed over financial markets in recent weeks swamped precious metals on Friday, sending gold and silver prices plummeting and… Continue reading Gold Gets Crushed
The Wall Street Journal – Europe Split on Rescue Plan World Urges Swift Action; Germany Opposes Expanded Bailout; Anxiety at IMF European officials are debating ways to boost the firepower of their financial-bailout fund after the world’s finance ministers, worried about the potential for a market meltdown, ratcheted up pressure on euro-zone officials to act.… Continue reading Europe
Zero Hedge (blog) – Five Banks Account For 96% Of The $250 Trillion In Outstanding US Derivative Exposure; Is Morgan Stanley Sitting On An FX Derivative Time Bomb? The latest quarterly report from the Office Of the Currency Comptroller is out and as usual it presents in a crisp, clear and very much glaring format… Continue reading Derivatives