Italian debt
Italian Sovereign Debt Rating Downgraded by S&P
September 20, 2011
European equities rebounded after Monday’s drop despite more unsettling news from the region. S&P downgraded Italian long-term sovereign debt to a rating of A from A+. A reassessment by Moody’s is thought also to be likely. Press reports surfaced that the German industrial company Siemens withdrew half a trillion euros recently from one of the […] More
Lasting Damage from the U.S. Debt Debacle
August 2, 2011
The U.S. House of Representatives approved the deficit ceiling increase Monday. The Senate is expected to do so this afternoon in time for President Obama to sign the bill before today’s deadline. But all is not clearly well. Risk aversion is manifest in the marketplace today. Many consider the compromise a poor bill, and the […] More
Calmer Conditions but Situation Still Fragile
July 13, 2011
The market’s angina of Tuesday has faded somewhat. The strength of Chinese data including second-quarter GDP surpassed expectations, and Italy’s lawmakers appear poised to approve austerity by the end of this week. More hope exists that the U.S. debt ceiling will be lifted before August 2. The Bank of Japan’s monthly assessment accentuated positive developments […] More
Tsunami of Risk Aversion
July 12, 2011
Stocks fell by 3.1% in Hong Kong, 2.2% in South Korea, 2.0% in Taiwan, 1.9% in Australia, 1.8% in China, 1.5% in Sri Lanka, 1.7% in India, 1.4% in Thailand, Japan, and Indonesia, and 1.3% in Singapore. In Europe, the Paris Cac, German Dax and British Ftse have so far lost 2.4%, 1.9%, and 1.3%. […] More
Now Italy’s in the Cross-Hairs
July 11, 2011
As European Finance Ministers meet, contagion fears have turned to Italy. While estimates released in late April put the third largest Euroland economy’s fiscal deficit-to-GDP at 4.6% in 2010, less than half the relative size the Portuguese, Greek, Irish or Spanish imbalances, Italy’s massive debt-to-GDP ratio climbed from 103.6% in 2007 to 119.0% in 2010. […] More
