Posts Tagged ‘Ecofin’

Notes From Underground: A Market Pregnant With Fear Suffers A Contraction From A Confusing Headline

October 25, 2011

The global markets are on tenterhooks waiting for the European leaders to come to some definitive plan of action to secure the European banking sector and provide relief to the problem of sovereign solvency issue of the so-called PIIGS. This problem has plagued the financial landscape since January 2010, when the Chinese SWF failed to buy a Greek 25 billion euro bond offering. When China didn’t fund Greece, the spotlight was directed to the European debt markets and the result has been a steady decay in the value of the sovereign debt of the European peripheries. After previous crisis meetings to stem the debt crisis, the time has come for the EUROCRATS and their political leaders to provide a program that has some genuine credibility.

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Notes From Underground: Europe is Scaring The Financial Markets and the World (Obama)

September 27, 2011

In a speech today, President Obama proclaimed that European inaction on its debt crisis was scaring the world, implying that the EUROCRATS were causing global growth to slow by raising fears of the a major credit debacle. It seems that the G-20 was entirely dedicated to bashing the European financial policymakers about the foot-dragging and infighting that is delaying action on the dual problems of sovereign debt and the newly discovered bank solvency issues. Rumors arose Sunday night that a package had been crafted to leverage the EFSF to almost 2 trillion euro from 440 billion euro. However, failure to verify the rumors left the markets moving up and down as confirmation was not forthcoming from European authorities.

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Notes From Underground: The European Union KICKS GEITHNER’S CAN DOWN THE ROAD

September 18, 2011

Friday and Saturday were the days that U.S. Treasury Secretary Geithner was in Poland sitting in on an ECOFIN meeting to try to persuade the financial policy makers of the EU to come to some type of resolution on a bailout of the PIIGS, an increase in the European Financial Stability Facility, and, hopefully, some program of support for the recapitalization of the European banking sector. Geithner pressed the ECB and European Governments to increase the 440 billion EURO EFSF rescue fund by utilizing leverage in its buying of sovereign debt. The tone of Geithner’s message was that the U.S. has woken up to the huge threat the EU debt crisis poses for the American economy, and, of course, President Obama’s election chances. Mr. Geithner warned that the EU crisis was a “CATASTROPHIC RISK TO FINANCIAL MARKETS.” He advised that the conflict between European governments and its central bank must end.

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Notes From Underground: The Use of Swap Lines … HMMMM

September 15, 2011

After Secretary Geithner told the CNBC audience that he was going to Poland as an observer of the ECOFIN meeting on Friday, it seems he changed his mind. U.S. policymakers have woken up to the fact that the European credit crisis is the real deal and risks sending the entire global financial system into a period vicious cycle of asset liquidation. The Obama administration has come to realize that a severe credit crisis can certainly undermine the JOBS PROGRAM AND ANY OTHER STIMULUS PROGRAMS IN THE WORKS. If the world frets of a U.S. renewed recession, then imagine the global trepidation of a simultaneous credit crunch in Europe. A EUROPEAN MELTDOWN WOULD BRING THE U.S. TO INCREASED UNEMPLOYMENT AND A CERTAIN DEFEAT FOR THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION.

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