While the mainstream media desires to fill time it seems that Iowa has become less important this year as a barometer of the national mood. The agrarian sector of the economy is very healthy and with their stomachs full, the people of Iowa can ponder and think and be much more philosophical in terms of candidate selection. Rick Santorum can play to the high-mindedness of the social conservative agenda because in Iowa those voters have two loaves of bread under each arm. It is much tougher to be concerned about the ideological nature of life when you are fighting in a line to pick up an unemployment check or applying for a job.
Posts Tagged ‘Sarkozy’
Notes From Underground: Oh Where Oh Where Can Tim Geithner Be, Oh Where Oh Where Can He Be?
December 12, 2011Last week, Secretary Geithner was in Europe prior to the SUMMIT in an effort to influence European policy makers. The Obama administration has been trying to impress upon Europe’s key planners that it was of the utmost importance to get ahead of the CREDIT CRISIS and stop solely reacting. It seems that the U.S. Treasury Secretary failed miserably to convince Merkel and the others that the BIG BAZOOKA needed to be fired. As usual, the EUROCRATS tried to FOOL the financial markets they disdain. Chancellor Merkel has openly stated that she will not be coerced by an UNELECTED FORCE CALLED THE MARKET.
Notes From Underground: In the Battle of the European Balance Sheet Bulges, Cameron Says “NUTS”
December 11, 2011Almost 67 years ago, U.S. General McAuliffe told the German command that the U.S. forces at Bastogne would not surrender and actually said it in a one-word response: NUTS. In a parallel response to German/Franco demands that all European nations surrender their sovereignty by succumbing to a “FISCAL COMPACT”, British Prime Minister David Cameron basically said the same as the U.K. moved to cast a veto vote on the proposals that resulted from the European Summit.
Notes From Underground: A Little Austerity Goes a Long Way
December 5, 2011The new autocratic regime in Italy has agreed to a ramped up AUSTERITY BUDGET in which an extra 30 BILLION EUROS will have to be found and then cut from the public arena. Being that Mario Monti was the Eurocrats’ choice to head the Italian government, it seems that PM MONTI is only concerned about meeting the desires of the powers that insisted on his taking the reins of governance. ITALIAN BOND FUTURES staged a very impressive rally as the BTP (10-year note) dropped 71 basis points to close under 6%. Also, the 2/10 year curve in Italy also steepened to +52 basis points from Friday’s close of +38 points. Spain and the other PERIPHERALS also performed well and the FRENCH/GERMAN 10-year differential closed at a mere 92 basis points. As the BTP futures rallied 500+ points, the EURO actually underperformed and by the close the EURO currency was basically unchanged .
Notes From Underground: Unemployment Numbers Tell Us the Economy is a PERFECT TEMPERATURE?
December 4, 2011As the news came out on Friday morning, the headline reported that the unemployment rate dropped to 8.6% from 9%–at first glance, the rate looked like 98.6 on the economic thermometer. The analysts are still arguing over the meaning of this data, but for traders and investors the real outcome is meaningless. It may lead to foreign investors purchasing U.S. equities as America is seen to be a relatively stronger economy, especially when compared with the EUROPEAN CREDIT-STRESSED environment.
Notes From Underground: “Everybody’s Talking At Me I Can’t Hear A Word They’re Saying…”
December 1, 2011It was a day of dueling flapjawing as the European elite was out talking about everything that needs to be done to save the EURO and Sarkozy promising that there would not be any European defaults. Again to paraphrase Jimmy Breslin: Sarkozy is a little man in search of a balcony. The time for public orations is past and the call to action is immediate and real. Global investors don’t want any more rhetoric. Next Friday is considered the day of reckoning but if the EUROCRATS have any sense all the needed policy will have been put in place by the December 9th meeting so that the markets will have absorbed the “shock and awe” and there will be no disappointment.
Notes From Underground: Is This a One-Act Play or Will There Be More Theatrics?
November 30, 2011Today was the day the world’s major central banks decided to “shock” the markets and provide a coordinated intervention to help ease the pressure in the Global bank lending markets. LED BY THE U.S. FEDERAL RESERVE, the OVERNIGHT INDEXED SWAP +100 WAS LOWERED BY THE FED AND OTHERS TO +50 POINTS, AS WELL AS THE MARGIN REQUIRED FOR ECB LENDING TO BANKS WAS DROPPED TO 12% FROM 20%. This is a technical move by the world’s banks to try to ease the pressure in the interbank lending market. I believe this is the first act in a concerted attempt to shift market psychology.
Notes From Underground: A Spectre of Arrogance Chains Europe to Its Past
November 25, 2011In reviewing past works and our coverage of Europe, we are RE-RELEASING some earlier pieces to reflect the merry-go-round of European policy making. Nothing like seeing the GHOSTS of CHRISTMAS PAST.
AXEL IS ARMED AND DANGEROUS (February 21, 2011)
WHILE EUROPE SLEPT (December 19, 2010)
JUNCKER BONDS, EUROSPEAK FOR JUNK BONDS (December 9, 2010)
THE EUROPEAN “CRISIS,” A STUDY IN POLITICAL ECONOMY (November 17, 2010)
Notes From Underground: Sarkozy Has Overplayed a Bad Hand and It Has Cost Europe
November 16, 2011It has been the best of times. It has been the worst of times. President Sarkozy began the year with such high hopes and aspirations as he desired to raise his stature on the world stage. He won his early skirmishes against Chancellor Angela Merkel by first defeating Germany’s desire for Axel Weber to attain the ECB Presidency and then forcing the German Chancellor’s hand for a larger pool of capital for the European Financial Stability Facility. But the taste of victory has now faded as the FRENCH BOND MARKET is suffering under the weight of its deeply troubled banks and the GERMAN/FRENCH 10-YEAR BOND SPREAD CONTINUES TO WIDEN. France is deemed to be very vulnerable for its banks own so much EURO SOVEREIGN DEBT that of course is deemed to be riskless and require no haircut or capital to support it.
Notes From Underground: Bini Smaghi Resigns From ECB Executive Board … What’s It All About?
November 10, 2011The global markets were on the verge of a failed rally when a news story broke about the resignation of Bini Smaghi. In my mind this is a very significant event as it portends the beginning of a major deal on EFSF funding in the works. WHY? Two weeks ago it appeared that Mr. Berlusconi had castrated President Sarkozy by reneging on an agreement for Mr. Bini Smaghi to resign his ECB position once Mario Draghi assumed the Presidency of the ECB. If SMAGHI retained his seat it meant Italy would occupy two key positions in the ECB and France would have none. Sarkozy supported Draghi only on that basis that the Bini Smaghi seat would go to a Frenchman.