2011

EuroStoxx 600 is off its lows but still down 0.4%, Asia shares mostly lower; dollar pares back gains. ECB backs a weekly limit of €20bln for SMP purchases; Malaysia reports robust Q3 growth. Looking at the four key drivers of dollar…

I thought I should flag this since it a cornerstone of the present European sovereign debt crisis strategy.

The European sovereign debt crisis is rapidly approaching what could be a significant tipping point as it threatens to spread to the heart of Europe. In recent days Italian 10-year bond yields have soared to 7.22% and today Spain was forced…

European economies are really breaking down and panic has set in. You see pointless proposals to lord over supposed fiscal free riders from Finland and unelected governments lacking in political legitimacy and taking unfavourable economic…

With sovereign interest rates in the euro zone rising, Finland is feeling the contagion effect despite being only country in the euro zone except tiny Luxembourg which is both AAA-rated and meets all of the Maastricht Treaty requirements.…

Central banks have done a great job at driving up the price of gold but a horrible job at creating wage inflation. If it now takes 88 hours to buy an ounce of gold versus 20 hours in 2000, hasn’t that grossly deflated real wages in a…

It is beginning to look like a Greek exit is ever more likely, which means that the end of the EMU could be near. Even if exits and a break-up are not inevitable, countries should have a plan on the shelf. It is clear that Germany is…

The Wall Street Journal's Matt Phillips describes the turmoil in European sovereign bond markets. He says some traders tell him that they now consider countries like France a part of the periphery and are pricing it as such. This risk-off…

2011/11/16 00:43 - Japan's Hidden Jobless Hits 4.69mn, Worse Than After Lehman Shock The number of Japanese that want to work but are not actively seeking employment has surpassed levels from after the global financial crisis…

If you are a debtor who wants to cut your debt load for fear of a liquidity-induced insolvency, there are two ways to make your debt metrics improve. One is to increase revenue and the other is to shrink the debt. Think of it this way:…