On Tuesday afternoon the Fitch Ratings assigned a AAA rating for U.S. sovereign debt. This is about as good as rating subprime mortgages AAA up until the housing market crashed, giving way to the financial crisis. The statement acknowledged that the U.S. deficit was 4 percent of GDP this year based on IMF measures, with general government debt reaching 98.9 percent of GDP. Fitch also said by 2028 general government debt could reach 120 percent of GDP.
Posts Tagged ‘Jean-Claude Juncker’
Notes From Underground: It’s So Simple … NOW YOU CAN’T LEAVE
July 5, 2016I am posting today’s story on the Santelli Exchange I taped today. Rick and I were back on the most important topic facing the world: THE ECB’s ROLE IN CREATING A SITUATION THAT MAKES GERMANY LIABLE FOR THE DEBT OF THE ENTIRE EUROPEAN UNION. The world is still abuzz about the BREXIT referendum and its implications for the U.K.. There’s also chatter about what it might mean for other EU nations contemplating STAYING OR GOING in terms of subjecting their citizens to the capriciousness of Eurocratic regulation. The question for me (and will continue to be): WHO GUARANTEES THE ECB, AND, OF COURSE, THE COROLLARY QUESTION, SHOULD ALL SOVEREIGN DEBT BE A ZERO WEIGHTED RISK ASSET CLASS?
Notes From Underground: Three Cheers For the Fed (They Kept Out of the Fray)
June 29, 2016It has become standard operating procedure for the FED to enter the market in an effort to minimize the impact of any low probability event with market disrupting outcomes.The BREXIT vote surprised the markets but the FED allowed investors to absorb the financial pain and stayed in the watchtower.
Notes From Underground: The only TRU-MAN about the DOLLAR is ex-CEA head Christina Romer
May 23, 2011In an effort to stay abreast of news and markets while in Boston, the two most interesting items on the global financial stage are causing a push/pull in the market. The Spanish elections certainly impacted the markets. Weakness in the EURO began on Friday as Bloomberg ran a story about the sad state of municipal finances in Spain that would be revealed after the Socialists lost most previously held local governments. It seems that the Spanish authorities have been fudging their local municipal finances and this will put more pressure on Spain to enact austerity budgets even with an unemployment rate above 21%.
Notes From Underground: Juncker Bonds, Eurospeak for Junk Bonds
December 9, 2010The biggest story making the rounds is the op-ed in Wednesday’s Financial Times by two European heavyweights: Finance Ministers Giulio Tremonti of Italy and Jean-Claude Juncker of Luxembourg. In the FT piece, they argue for the ECB and Ecofin to get behind a push for a EUROBOND that is backed by the entire Eurozone and guaranteed by its coffers. While a good idea in theory, the Germans immediately said NEIN to the idea as they realized that they would be the one holding the bag for the entire project.