The German High Court sustained the ESM but laid out that the BAILOUT FUND had to stick to its agreed cap (EU190 BILLION) and that as suspected any further moves to enhance the bond buying program would have to be decided by the BUNDESTAG. It sustained the position of Chancellor Merkel for the time being, thus it makes President Draghi’s move to keep the period of financing to the short-term (LTRO FOREVER) a wise strategic move. The BUNDESTAG will be under pressure to adhere to the concept of “STRICT CONDITIONALITY” as Merkel and Schaeuble will have to be very attuned to the mood of the German citizenry as the Merkel government faces national elections in 2013.
Posts Tagged ‘soybeans’
Notes From Underground: In the Spring OLD GLOBAL MACRO TRADERS’ THOUGHTS TURN TO GRAIN REPORTS
March 30, 2011Thursday brings the Department of Agriculture report on the prospective plantings for the new crop year and the quarterly grain storage report. In today’s WSJ, there was a piece titled, “U.S. Ethanol Industry May Pare Fuel-Blending Credit.” The readers of NOTES FROM UNDERGROUND know that the ETHANOL SUBSIDIES AND TARIFFS have been a major point of contention for me as I believe that the ethanol price supports have driven global grain prices higher and made a mockery of U.S. trade policy. The article said, “U.S. farmers are poised to increase plantings to take advantage of corn prices.” This is what I have been arguing: The higher corn prices go, the more land farmers take from growing other grains, thus driving beans and wheat and others higher as well. The ETHANOL LOBBY has argued that corn for ethanol is a benign effect … WRONG.