EU
More Help for Wounded Greece Creates More Trouble for Other EMU Members
June 26, 2011
An axiom among economists and investors is that the if the symptoms but not the causes of structural problems are addressed, the ultimate cost of repairing the problem will rise proportionately with the length of time that policymakers do not fix the real problem. Weekend press of the EU/IMF/ECB’s approach to Greece, providing aid in […] More
Focus this Monday on Geopolitics, Not Data
March 28, 2011
Chancellor Merkel of Germany suffered key state election defeats over the weekend. Key issue was nuclear power. The summit of EU leaders in Brussels failed to finalize an agreement on funding for the European Stability Mechanism. Such hopes ended when Portugal’s government collapsed. There appears to have been a partial reactor meltdown at Fukushima. Tepco […] More
Less Anxiety Than on Monday
March 8, 2011
Maybe because its Mardi Gras time, there’s less angst in the air. Share prices, the dollar, and sovereign debt yields are up. Focus of investor worry has swung somewhat back toward Europe’s debt problems from fear about the impact of elevated oil prices. Investors believe Qaddafi will be gone when the fighting stops. Ahead of […] More
Markets React Sharply to EUR 750 Billion EU/IMF Sovereign Debt Rescue Package
May 10, 2010
European currencies and commodity sensitive currencies advanced strongly against the yen and dollar. Stocks are much higher. Gold is lower, but oil and other commodities have risen. Sovereign bond yields dropped. The dollar recovered 1.9% against the yen but declined by 2.0% against the euro, 1.7% relative to the Canadian dollar, 1.5% versus the Australian […] More
