2011

Moody's Investors Service has today downgraded Italy's government bond ratings to A2 with a negative outlook from Aa2, while affirming its short-term ratings at Prime-1. The rating action concludes the review for downgrade initiated by…

This fiscal uncertainty may be enough to prevent any ratings upgrades ahead, but we do not think the situation will worsen enough to lead to downgrades. Our sovereign rating model has Russia as a very solid BBB+/Baa1/BBB+ credit compared to…

News links on the ECB, CHina , protectionism, the #OccupyWallStreet movement, the European bank run and much more

The bottom line is this: Forget about Meredith Whitney. State and municipal governments are carrying a load in operating and pension costs that cannot be sustained through downturns in a secular bear market as the US population ages. These…

Just a few moments ago I posted on the fact that the US is officially in bear market territory. On Twitter, I said that “in Fall 2008, 10-year yields went to extreme lows and then the liquidity train went into overdrive. Stocks rallied,…

A little more than a year ago, many investors were worried about the US state and local government finances. There were genuine concerns that what was happening in Greece could very well be the future of numerous US local governments. Yet…

In early trading today, the S&P 500 has dipped deep into the red, with stocks trading off 2%. The S&P 500 at 1076 is down over 20% since its yearly high as predicted. Next stop for support is 900-950.

The “solution” currently on offer – i.e. the talk surrounding the European Financial Stability Fund (EFSF) now includes suggestions of ECB backing. This makes eminent sense. Let’s be honest: the EFSF is a political fig-leaf. If 440…

The statute of limitations is five years for default. That means banks still have until the beginning of 2012 to sue a strategic defaulter from early 2007.

Global stocks continue to show heavy losses in Asia and Europe, oil & copper down; G10 mostly mixed. Euro group meeting injects more uncertainty about Greece; EUR/USD “death cross” on daily chart. RBA strikes dovish tone, AUD/USD down…