RSS feedThe Juncker statement
“What, you people thought I was joking about the €325 mil and a promise from Samaras not to renegotiate terms later? Then watch this.” – JC
Okay, that’s not what was said in the statement from Jean-Claude Juncker cancelling Wednesday’s meeting of eurozone finance ministers.
On the promise of exports
President Obama’s announcement, in January 2010, of his aim to double US exports in five years had the “benefit” of timing, coming so soon after the historic collapse of worldwide trade had just begun to recover.
Latest eurozone downgrade…
That eurozone finance ministers meeting set for Wednesday…
You know, the one that represented the final, final deadline for Greece, dictating a weekend of rioting and a political crunch in Athens…
A simple, graphic, message of love
FT Alphaville is a fundamentally romantic place, but sometimes we find it hard to give voice to our emotions.
Valentines has been a particularly rough day.
First we found out the average person lavishes $4.52 on their pets and had to spend a few minutes imagining the outliers.
On balkanisation and credit claims
We missed Willem Buiter’s comments on “additional credit claim” ECB collateral when they were published on Monday. But since it’s pretty strong stuff from the Citigroup economist…
(Might need a key.
Markets Live transcript 14 Feb 2012
Markets Live chat transcript for the chat ending at 12:09 on 14 Feb 2012. Participants in this chat were: Paul Murphy Bryce Elder/FT neil collins PMhappy Valentines day PMWelcome to Markets Live
Another piece of the LTRO puzzle
The point has been made before that rising deposits at the ECB do not, (repeat, not) indicate that banks are “hoarding liquidity”.
Here’s Guy Debelle, assistant governor at the Reserve Bank of Australia,
UPDATED: Not German enough
UPDATE: The report is out — click to open the pdf:
We explained earlier that the EU’s first report on economic imbalances (the Alert Mechanism Report) is due to be published later on Tuesday, laying out which countries pass and which fail a scorecard on matters such as current account balance,
From the BoJ with love
From the Bank of Japan on Tuesday, February 14:
At the Monetary Policy Meeting held today, the Policy Board of the Bank of Japan decided to amend the “Principal Terms and Conditions for the Asset Purchase Program”
Further reading
Elsewhere on Tuesday,
- It’s deflation and inflation.
- Why art isn’t a commodity.
- Everyone loves VXX options.
- Understanding the great trade collapse of 2008-2009.
- And about that 1987 myth.
Pink picks
Comment, analysis and other offerings from Tuesday’s FT,
Gideon Rachman: Germany faces a machine from hell
The press review from around Europe does not make pleasant reading for the German foreign ministry these days.
Snap news
Breaking pre-market news on Tuesday,
– Cairn Energy return-of-cash update – statement
– Lloyds’s of London puts Thai flood losses at $2.2bn – statement
– Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton step up investment in Chile’s Escondida copper facility – statement
Corporate:
Who’s the most imbalanced of all (EU members)?
Here’s a graphic designed to give one a headache (click to embiggen)…
To clear things up, it’s a projected scorecard from RBC Capital Markets representing the expected findings of the first EU report on economic imbalances,
Further further reading
For the commute home,
- New report on trade agreements in a post-Doha world.
- Tyler Cowen with more thoughts on banking and shareholder liability.
- The US housing bust in one chart.
- A secretive hedge fund legend prepares to surface.
[AV meets Naked Capitalism] Bankers and bonuses
In the first post about our meeting with Yves Smith, purveyor of the blog Naked Capitalism, we discussed the blogosphere and what prompted her to join it. Here we ask Ms Smith about her involvement with the Occupy movement and her opinions about banking and the contentious topic of bonuses.
Volcker defends Volcker
UPDATE: FT.com has just pubbed a Volcker op-ed, this one directly responding to European critics of his rule. A few lines:
There is a certain irony in what I read. In Europe, there are plans to introduce a financial transaction tax,
The Obama budget
It’s out, and you can find the overview here.
The highlights:
KEY BUDGET FACTS
– In the Budget Control Act, both parties in Congress and the President agreed to tight spending caps that reduce discretionary spending by $1 trillion over 10 years.
Bored of the eurozone crisis?
So too is the ECB, clearly.
Enjoy, or complain to your Euro MP.
c.c. Daily Mail news desk
Abstract:
At the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, many soccer matches were played during stock market trading hours,
LTRO credit claims, not so carry trade
Just as “free lunch” appears in a Bloomberg headline on the ECB’s three-year liquidity…
Here’s a pair of interesting analyst reactions to Friday’s details on eurozone central banks’ rules for accepting additional credit claims.
Bailouts and obsolescing bargains
The central administration lacks the management, oversight and co-ordination structures to support effective implementation and long-term management of policy measures, including structural reforms to support sustained economic growth.
The Roubini-Rosenberg indicator
We missed this on Friday… H/T the delightful Brazilian Bubble.
Further reading:
Hold the presses, Dr Doom is turning bullish – WSJ MarketBeat
A new bull market? Are you out of your mind? – BI
Markets Live transcript 13 Feb 2012
Markets Live chat transcript for the chat ending at 12:01 on 13 Feb 2012. Participants in this chat were: Paul Murphy Bryce Elder/FT
PMMornin’
PMWelcome to Markets Live
PMFT Alphaville’s daily markets kick about
China gets some can-kicking practice
Just last week, Patrick Chovanec was warning about the looming need to roll over debt in China:
Chovanec tells Nouriel Roubini the conflict between driving growth through investment-directed credit,
C&WW&Voda
A major telecom company said it was in the early stages of thinking about euthanising a corporate basket-case on Monday.
Cable & Wireless Worldwide shares were up 28 per cent at pixel time:
FT Alphaville were left scratching their heads about what Vodafone might want.
One Greek hurdle down, but more ahead
A tense Sunday in Athens as the Greek parliament approved an austerity budget amid violence in the streets that included riot police firing tear gas and stun grenades at protesters while buildings throughout the city were firebombed:
Further reading
Elsewhere on Monday,
- Best of the #FedValentines
- Juicy goings-on over at Maiden Lane, Goldman edition.
- ‘A battle of wits with a remarkably poorly-armed man’.
- The number of problem US banks is unchanged.
Pink picks
Comment and analysis from the FT on Monday…
Edward Luce: Recovery, but a cold and grey one
Good times are coming back to America. The Dow is flirting with pre-recession levels. US joblessness has fallen by more than 200,000 in each of the last two months,
Snap news
Breaking pre-market news on Monday,
- Vodafone considering an all-cash offer for Cable & Wireless Worldwide — statement
- Olympus forecasts $412m annual loss, “no concrete talks” on tie-up — statement and report
- Fidessa revenue up six per cent,
FTfm on AV
Some highlights from Monday’s FTfm.
Jittery fund buyers go for brands
Confused fund buyers are looking to trusted brands rather than performance – recent poor performance and the increasing complexity