Eurosystem claims directly on the Greek banking system are some 130b Euros (open market operation repos, LTROs and ELA lending). These claims are backed by a variety of highly suspect Greek collateral that is all held in custody at the BoG. For ELA borrowing (about...
The German election results in Baden Wurttemberg, the Der Speigel turnaround, and the increasingly supportive comments from nearly every European official on a Greek exit have markets on edge. People are throwing around numbers like 500b in realized losses if (when)...
So this past week the French and the Greeks have made strong political moves towards the anti-austerity left. The Germans have rejected the center right in local elections. And the anti-austerity movement has won the day in Italian regional elections. As discussed in...
Spoos are up 20+ pts from the Sunday evening lows, and they are now above Friday’s close. The Euro is still down from Friday, but Estoxx are zooming - up 40pts from Friday and up nearly 80pts from the morning open. Markets seem to be embracing a renewed optimism for...
Bon Soir!! Kalispera!! Welcome to "The New European Republic" - otherwise known as Den Europeiska Republiken. Forget about the goal of moving towards a "United States of Europe", we are now heading down a decidedly "Swedish" path on the European continent. The move to...
It was a soggy payroll report but certainly not a calamity. With revisions we were actually near the recently lowered expectations. The flat AHE certainly isn't a plus and the further drop in the labor force will get the "structural unemployment" camp hot and...
From Ben's Q&A today on the possibility of more QE – "We have been very accommodative. And we remain prepared to do more as needed to make sure this recovery continues and that inflation stays close to target......so those tools remain very much on the table. We will...
This week is the Milken Global Conference in LA - an event that I very much look forward to each spring. This year I will participate in a panel entitled - "Twist and Shout - the Limits of Monetary Policy". It should be a spirited discussion between Fed policy makers...
This week we will see the release of the FOMC's "Summary of Economic Projections" - the SEP. While there will be the usual focus on GDP, PCE and the U-rate, the key charts for the market will be the newly generated "Appropriate Timing of Policy Firming" and the...
Yes, another line from that song I cannot get out of my head - "Loca People". But I replaced "los DJs" with "los central bankers". It seemed appropriate as they are the ones keeping the beat and making this party lively. If it wasn't for DJ Benny B we would have the...
Yes, another line from that song I cannot get out of my head - "Loca People". But I replaced "los DJs" with "los central bankers". It seemed appropriate as they are the ones keeping the beat and making this party lively. If it wasn't for DJ Benny B we would have the masses listening to […]
