Tag Archives: Spain

Spaniards and Italians Will Never Accept Greece’s Fate

The markets have been transfixed by the ECB’s plan for unlimited purchases of bonds - or outright monetary transactions, as they are to be called. But the ECB’s implicit deal with Germany, to link any bond purchases to the European rescue funds’ strict fiscal conditions, has tied its hands. Saving the euro now depends on proud nations like Spain and Italy being willing to kowtow to their new masters in Berlin. Judging by the mood of the Spanish people, it’s more likely that Spain will call Germany’s bluff and threaten to leave the euro forthwith, unless it is given unconditional support.
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Is Spain’s Check in the Mail?

It’s a big mystery where Spain will get the money for its so-called bailout, given how urgently its banks need a life supporting transfusion. The European Financial Stability Facility or the European Stability Mechanism are mooted, but no-one yet knows which Spain will have to rely on. My suspicion is that the check is “in the mail.”
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Germany’s Best Option is to Leave the Euro, Says JPMorgan

As the cost of a euro-zone break-up continues to rise exponentially, JPMorgan has concluded that Germany’s best option is to leave the euro. With German taxpayers outraged by the dangerous rise in credit risk resulting from a plethora of backdoor bail-out schemes, carrying on regardless now looks politically suicidal for Chancellor Merkel in the wake her party’s worst state election result in Nordrhein Westfallen since the second world war.
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Eyes Wide Shut as Spain’s Banking System Collapses

As Spain collapses into depression, its banks are holed below the waterline and sinking rapidly, because they are the only remaining buyers of Spain’s sovereign debt. The government, unable to provide state aid to its banks, is desperately bending over backwards to hide the true state of its financial sector.
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Germany’s Approaching Götterdämmerung

Germany has been viewed as a safe haven by investors, until now. After all, its export sector has been booming. But investors are beginning to bet against Germany and its manufacturing firms, as a break-up of the euro-zone creeps ever closer. This is because the cost of failure for Germany is growing fast, and the Bundesbank may be trying to force the government’s hand before it digs itself a deeper hole.
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Eurozone Governments May Need To Bail Out Municipalities

A lot has already been written about the risk to municipal bond holders in the U.S., as a growing number of states face severe fiscal problems. But local government debt is an even bigger threat in Europe - where it could force governments to assume the debt, putting further pressure on sovereign bond spreads.
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When Green Doesn’t Mean Green: Obama is Backtracking on Clean Energy

Environmentalists seized upon President Obama’s stimulus plan as a means to turn America into a low-carbon economy by pouring massive amounts of money into clean energy and green transportation. But in these tough economic times, taxpayers are not prepared to keep footing the subsidy bill. Belatedly, there is now recognition at the highest levels of government that a green industrial revolution is no longer realistic, economically or politically.
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Unduly Rosy Indicators Disguise Real Slowdown Headed Germany’s way

Investors, and Germany’s central bank, need to be wary about jumping to the conclusion that the strong growth in the second quarter will continue.  The fiscal austerity being implemented in Greece and the other Club Med countries is not yet reflected in the expectations that leading indicators measure, and contrary to media reports, exports to [...]
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