(BN) Merkel, Sarkozy Propose Tighter Budget Rules in EU

Posted by on Dec 7, 2011 in Uncategorized | No Comments

“Reaffirm their inflexible determination to honor fully their own individual sovereign signature” Something seems to have been lost in translation, or the market is about to be disappointed.  +——————————————————————————+ Merkel, Sarkozy Propose Tighter Budget Rules in EU Overhaul 2011-12-07 14:18:39.873 GMT By Gregory Viscusi Dec. 7 (Bloomberg) — French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor […]

(BN) ECB Said to Consider Extra Measures to Stimulate Bank Lending

Posted by on Dec 7, 2011 in Uncategorized | No Comments

Disappointing. Yes we will get a 50 bp rate cut tomorrow, but this is NOT what the market was looking for. Also, how does this really help lending to anything other than sovereigns and other banks (if it even does that). Remember way back when we all used to complain about how Japan was creating […]

Europe Doesn’t Get It

Posted by on Dec 7, 2011 in Uncategorized | No Comments

I still think the most likely scenario is that some agreement to agree is made at the summit, which is then followed up by increased printing from the ECB, coupled with new Fed policies and fresh IMF money.  Although that still seems the most likely, I am getting concerned that Europe is once again missing […]

No Private Losses And EFSF * 2

Posted by on Dec 6, 2011 in Uncategorized | No Comments

I would like to start mine, mine, mine, buy ’em, take em, mine, mine, mine, lift the offer, mine, mine, and get me some more desk at a bank. If I understand the concept correctly, I could buy sovereign debt and be “promised” that it will never default.  And if I’m a bank, I can […]

The End Of Act I

Posted by on Dec 6, 2011 in Uncategorized | No Comments

So Act I has played out and to be honest, has left the audience feeling a bit underwhelmed.  While no one expected it to be easy, a couple of additional scenes have not helped the mood. The “squeeze” effect is over.  On Friday we really liked the possible squeeze names – those that had been […]

The Fed – Independence, Yes, But Accountability And Limits

Posted by on Dec 6, 2011 in Uncategorized | No Comments

At this point it is clear that there is no single person in America, and possibly the planet who can influence markets as much as the Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board. The president may have more overall power (possibly) but in terms of moving markets for weeks at a time, that power primarily belongs […]

So Why Did They Forget To Put EFSF On Watch Yesterday?

Posted by on Dec 6, 2011 in Uncategorized | No Comments

My guess is that EFSF is rated by the structured credit group and not the sovereign debt group (imagine the fights over fees on that potential behemoth). So when the press leaked the downgrades, the sovereign group rushed to get the details out, but the structured people in Europe had already gone home, so couldn’t […]

S&P Statement On EFSF – Oct 28th

Posted by on Dec 6, 2011 in Uncategorized | No Comments

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/sp-issues-statement-efsf-says-almost-certain-european-governments-would-support-cdo That is the statement from S&P from October 28th.  They made it clear that EFSF depends on the ratings of the countries.  Guess they forgot that when they sent out the release last night. Is EIB at risk?  They have a very different structure than EFSF but not sure they would be immune from the downgrades.  EIB […]

The Show Must Go On

Posted by on Dec 6, 2011 in Uncategorized | No Comments

It looked like S&P had gone off script. They slapped a negative watch on any euro country that didn’t have it already. They even came out with details about which countries faced 1 notch and which faced 2 notches. I’m glad I didn’t have this information on Friday as I wouldn’t have bet we would […]

What The TF!

Posted by on Dec 5, 2011 in Uncategorized | No Comments

S&P AAA SDR IMF ECB Fed CDS   The fact that the global financial system hinges on these 7 sets of 3 letters is appalling and amazing. If GS is the best and brightest the rating agencies are close to the opposite, yet somehow regulators let them set a ceiling on bank capital and now […]