Insuring euro debt leaps to record highs November 25, 2010 THE cost of insuring Spanish, Portuguese and Belgian debt is at or close to record highs, with Ireland’s bailout crisis spilling into the bond markets of other peripheral Eurozone countries. Ten-year credit default swaps (CDS) on Spanish government debt are at record highs, reaching 312 basis points (bps) yesterday. That means that it costs €312,000 [...]
IRELAND BETS ALL ON DRASTIC CUTS November 24, 2010 THE Irish government today released a four-year austerity plan described as “draconian” and “staggeringly austere” by analysts, with €15bn (£12.6bn) of budget cuts planned by 2014. But the measures failed to placate the markets, where Irish bond yields continued to rise on fears that the government will be unable to get the cuts through parliament: [...]
Irish political turmoil feeds market nerves November 24, 2010 MARKETS remain unconvinced that the Irish government will be able to pass the €15bn (£12.6bn) cuts programme it unveiled yesterday, with Prime Minister Brian Cowen lacking the votes needed to get the measures through parliament. Cowen’s government is already teetering, with the Green Party this week demanding an immediate election once the emergency budget is [...]
Bailout chaos fails to cheer markets November 23, 2010 MARKETS continued to tumble and peripheral Eurozone gilt yields jumped yesterday as Ireland’s political turmoil added to the uncertainty surrounding its bailout. The Eurostoxx 50 saw 1.5 per cent wiped off its value, sliding to 2,745 while the Irish ISEQ 20 index lost two per cent to close at 432. In a sign of contagion [...]
CONTAGION IS STILL A RISK FOR THE EURO November 23, 2010 BORIS SCHLOSSBERG DIRECTOR OF CURRENCY RESEARCH, GFT AFter several weeks of tense negotiations and turbulence in the credit markets, Ireland accepted a financial aid package from EU and the IMF. Although the size of the deal will not be known for days, analysts put the total at about €100bn – 40 per cent of the [...]
IRISH BAILOUT FAILS TO CHEER INVESTORS November 22, 2010 Markets fall and bond yields continue to rise Cowen resists snap election call ahead of budget UK confirms intention to offer £7bn in loans MARKET turmoil failed to subside yesterday in spite of the announcement of a multi-billion euro Irish bailout. As the Irish governing coalition threatened to fall apart and independent MPs said they [...]
Eurozone dominoes teeter on the brink November 22, 2010 PORTUGAL’S future was hanging by a thread last night as ministers desperately tried to deflect fears it will be the next Eurozone domino to fall. Portugal’s Prime Minister Jose Socrates was defiant, claiming: “The country does not need any help… What the country needs is to do what is necessary, to approve the budget, and [...]
Bailout fails to bring calm to markets November 22, 2010 THE announcement of an international bailout for Ireland failed to enforce calm on the markets yesterday as political turmoil and ongoing insolvency issues stoked fears. After initially gaining, the Eurostoxx 50 fell two per cent to close at 2,811, tracing a pattern seen also on the FTSE 100, which closed down 1.7 per cent at [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS November 22, 2010 Matrix Group Matrix, the financial services firm, has announced the appointment of a new chief operating officer for asset management: Paul Bramley. Bramley has worked in financial services for more than 20 years, including occupying previous COO and chief financial officer roles. He is also a qualified chartered accountant and has worked at NatWest Markets, [...]
Japan’s Marubeni enters bidding in Kwik-Fit auction November 22, 2010 TYRE firm Kwik-Fit may be snapped up by Japanese giant Marubeni. Marubeni, which employs 29,000 people and is one of the largest general trading companies in Japan, was previously keen to acquire the tyre wholesaler Micheldever. But exclusive talks with Graphite Capital broke down after Marubeni dropped its offer from the agreed £200m. Now it [...]