S&P was right to warn the Eurozone December 6, 2011 THERE was anger at Standard and Poor’s, the rating agency, last night, focusing on the timing of its decision to put fifteen Eurozone countries on negative watch. I disagree: for once, the agency demonstrated bravery uncharacteristic of the times we live in. I’m no defender of the rating agencies, who performed appallingly during the bubble [...]
US stocks drop on S&P rate warning December 5, 2011 HOPES that policymakers are working toward a solution to the debt crisis lifted global shares yesterday, but a late-day credit warning from Standard & Poor’s underscored what was at stake. Reports that the warning was coming caused US stocks to cut gains in the afternoon, while the euro retreated. S&P said after the closing bell [...]
Merkel and Sarkozy agree new Eurozone reforms December 5, 2011 France and Germany have agreed on a series of reforms to address the Eurozone sovereign debt crisis, French President Nicolas Sarkozy has said after leaving a meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Sarkozy said the plans will be presented to EU President Herman Van Rompuy on Wednesday. “We want to make sure that the imbalances [...]
WALL STREET WEEK AHEAD December 4, 2011 THE Eurozone will once again serve as the source of Wall Street’s angst, as investors look to a summit of the region’s political leaders for decisive solutions for the ballooning debt crisis. Stocks posted their best week in more than two years last week, driven by central bank efforts to provide cheaper dollar loans to [...]
Sarko pushes for new treaty December 1, 2011 FRENCH President Nicolas Sarkozy, under pressure from a spiralling Eurozone debt crisis five months before a presidential election, told France last night the euro bloc needs closer and stricter coordination of national budgets to survive. Seeking to reassure the public ahead of a Franco-German push to redraw the European Union’s founding treaty, Sarkozy promised that [...]
OSBORNE’S DIPLOMATIC EFFORTS LOSE FRIENDS AT HOME AND ABROAD November 29, 2011 SEEING as its barely a month since French President Nicolas Sarkozy unceremoniously told David Cameron to “shut up” over the euro, Sarko’s finance minister Francois Baroin is unlikely to have taken kindly to chancellor George Osborne’s latest attack on the single currency yesterday. Going only very slightly off script in his Autumn Statement to parliament [...]
Merkozy to seek closer fiscal rules November 24, 2011 LEGAL changes may be on the way to force overspending nations back into line, after crisis talks between German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and new Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti yesterday. The three want to change European treaties to make sure states only run small deficits in future. “Each country has its [...]
Banks and miners stem tide of FTSE losses November 24, 2011 The FTSE 100 was solid this morning as banks and miners stabilized the index which has taken a battering from the confidence sapping Eurozone crisis. Germany – seen as the kingpin in the bloc – yesterday sold just €3.6bn (£3bn) worth of 10-year bonds, from €6bn euros on offer. That sent shockwaves through markets which [...]
A LONG CHAIN OF DISAPPOINTMENT November 20, 2011 I SUPPOSE many would call me a cock-eyed euro-optimist. Certainly I’ve been supportive of the common currency since the early days and had high hopes for the euro – a novel concept in its inception. But I have to admit, I am beginning to lose all hope that the euro, at least the euro we [...]
Eurozone growth just 0.2pc despite stronger France and Germany November 15, 2011 Germany and France posted solid growth in the third quarter but those euro zone countries at the sharp end of the debt crisis dragged the overall figure for the bloc to a meagre 0.2 per cent. The German economy grew 0.5 per cent in July-September, in line with market forecasts, and second quarter growth was [...]