New ECB president cuts rates November 3, 2011 MARIO Draghi, the new president of the European Central Bank, cut interest rates at his first meeting in charge yesterday in an effort to head off a “mild recession” in the Eurozone. The benchmark interest rate was cut from 1.5 per cent to 1.25 per cent in a move that surprised markets, who had expected [...]
Planning for Greek euro exit kicks off November 3, 2011 THE PROSPECT of a Greek exit from the euro moved from the realm of theory into practice yesterday as G20 leaders began to examine how it could be achieved if Athens refuses to implement its austerity package. The shift follows a change in rhetoric from German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy on [...]
Eurozone’s growing crisis threatens to derail UK’s coalition November 3, 2011 WHAT a tale of incompetence, mad chutzpah, bullying and stupidity. The tragi-comedy that is the Eurozone’s crisis, and especially the farcical going-ons in Greece, ought at some point to be turned into a Hollywood movie. All the ingredients are present for a blockbuster, from cartoonish figures such as Nicolas Sarkozy or Silvio Berlusconi to the [...]
Q&A: WHAT’S LIKELY TO HAPPEN IN THE EUROZONE? November 3, 2011 Q. IS GREECE GOING TO LEAVE THE SINGLE CURRENCY? A. Possibly, although it no longer looks likely that the Greek people will have the chance to vote in a referendum. The government faces a confidence vote in parliament today, with the word being that Prime Minister George Papandreou will step down no matter what the [...]
PM faces fresh Europe rebellion November 3, 2011 PRIME Minister David Cameron last night called for national governments, including Britain’s, to bolster the funds available to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Yet any move to raise the UK’s contribution to the Eurozone bailout via the IMF could be shot down by a combination of Tory rebels and opposition MPs. “There is a big [...]
Risk appetite sees German Bunds decline November 3, 2011 GERMAN Bunds fell yesterday as Greek politicians backtracked on the call for a referendum on the latest bailout package, reducing the chances of a disorderly default, while an ECB rate cut took the market by surprise and improved the outlook for risk. The yield spread of Italian and Spanish government bonds over German benchmarks narrowed [...]
Rebellion threatens to topple besieged leader Berlusconi November 3, 2011 PRESSURE rose on Italy’s besieged Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi to quit yesterday, as six former parliamentary loyalists called for a new government and the squabbling cabinet failed to agree an urgent economic reform programme. European leaders have tried to push Berlusconi into bringing the country’s finances under control to avoid exacerbating the euro crisis. The [...]
Jefferies says EU exposure is only $38m November 3, 2011 JEFFERIES insisted it had no meaningful net exposure to European sovereign debt yesterday, as it sought to allay investor fears that had caused its shares to plunge and brought trading to a standstill. Shares in the US investment bank fell as much as 20 per cent yesterday to $10, their lowest since March 2009, prompting [...]
UK services slows in October increasing fears of recession November 3, 2011 THE SLOWDOWN in the UK economy has spread to the service sector, data from Markit revealed yesterday, adding to worries that the next two quarters will register contraction in GDP – an official recession. The purchasing managers’ index (PMI) fell from 51.5 in September to 51, indicating slowing growth. Numbers over 50 represent expansion. However, [...]
Bank of America mulls swapping preferred stock for new shares November 3, 2011 BANK of America, the second-biggest US bank, said it was considering swapping preferred stock for common shares or senior debt yesterday to cut its expenses and boost earnings. BofA said market instability linked to the Eurozone had reduced the value of its preferred stock, which has a higher claim on its assets and earnings and [...]
