Europe

The S&P 500 completes its worst run in a long time returning to levels not last seen since March, when we thought we had to write off the entire Japanese economy as a nuclear wasteland. So, is it all back to square one for the already…

The widening European sovereign debt crisis is a direct result of this dangerous extend and pretend policy. Tomorrow we will see whether the ECB has the temerity to step in and start buying up Belgian, Italian and Spanish debt to stem the…

Euroland is coming apart at the seams. Belgian/Bund spreads are now also over 200bps along with Italy and Spain. Belgium has just entered the periphery and France is not far behind.

US growth concerns and downgrade risk remain in play after budget deal. Euro zone periphery remains under pressure as ECB meets Thursday. SNB takes action against strong CHF; spike in EUR/CHF offers good entry point to go long CHF.

Institutional investors have learned how to create and game self-fulfilling prophecy runs in various asset markets. (George Soros understood this and demonstrated its efficacy with his effort to break the pound in 1992.) Indeed, this is one…

Here is some more color on the Fitch comments on the US. First headline to hit the tapes was that the “deal reached is commensurate with AAA rating.” However, the full statement is that “commensurate with its 'AAA' rating, the risk of…

The Telegraph is reporting that the euro zone sovereign debt crisis has reached such a critical flash point that Italy has called an emergency meeting. In Spain, the Prime Minister has delayed his summer holidays to deal with the fallout.

The Europeans can’t catch a break. The crisis has already flared before they have had a legitimate opportunity to deal with the medium- and longer-term issues. Willem Buiter says the Europeans need a 2.5 trillion euro EFSF to deal with…

After the US GDP revisions we saw on Friday, it is clear that the US economy is at stall speed. But globally, we are seeing a slowdown in Europe and emerging markets too, especially China. And the fact is monetary and fiscal policy are…

US leaders agree on budget deal, but House vote poses event risk ahead of August 2 deadline. Euro zone periphery benefits from improved market sentiment, but remains vulnerable. Equities and EM FX firm today on US news and stronger than…