Posted on 09/02/2011 7:02:24 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
As if collateral problems were not enough to freak out investors, now there's more bad news to destroy any semblance of confidence building in European markets this week.
The DAX is down 3.24%, the FTSE 100 is down 2.28%, Italian FTSE MIB is down 3.29%, and Athens is down 3.49%. Bond spreads are sharply increasing between Germany and the periphery, and Greek yields are going nuts.
Bad employment numbers and new impediments to the Greek bailout package (it's not just collateral anymore, folks) top the list of bad headlines today.
Let's summarize:
- Greece has paused negotiations with the EU/ECB/IMF to do technical investigations on its data. Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos says this break is "scheduled," but if follows closely a report that Greece will not meet its deficit-cutting and privatization goals.
- The EU is no closer to any solution on the collateral agreement Finland wants to participate in the Greek bailout. This could jeopardize the success of the bailout in two different ways. Dutch, German, and Finnish finance ministers will meet Tuesday to discuss.
- Unemployment in Spain is still on the rise, with 51,185 more people out of work in August, according to Spanish newspaper ABC.
- German daily Bild (via Der Spiegel) reports that German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble wants to propose a new EU treaty that would strengthen the monetary-policy powers of the EU to combat the sovereign debt crisis. German MPs have become increasingly isolationist of late -- not to mention critical of PM Angela Merkel late -- meaning Merkel's coalition is teetering on the brink. This also suggests that even highly powerful policymakers are freaking out about the euro crisis.
- Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi just can't get a break.
(Excerpt) Read more at businessinsider.com ...
Either the “can” is too big to be kicked anymore, or they’ve run out of road...but it sounds like the game’s all but over....over there..
DOW is down more than 200 on the market open..
Next week should be interesting - the German Constitutional Court will rule on the constitutionality of Germany’s participation in bailouts. It is expected the court will go along - BUT with conditions. What might those conditions be?
These bailouts are already a finger-in-the-dike situation. If Germany wobbles at all - watch out!
GimmegimmegimmegimmegimmeOpa!Opa!Opa!justafewmoremarksgimmegimmegimmegimmegimme
Just wait until the Europeans hear what Premier Hussein has to say next week. At least he isn’t speaking while our markets are open.....
Off topic response: I want to know where and when the photo was taken.
If you go to the article, someone in the comments tells all about the plane crash.
Thanks, it is a most striking photojournalism shot. My first thought was to wonder if the photographer survived, but from the description, it sounds like the greatest lost of lifer was not at the initial point of contact, but after the plane had skidded some distance into another plane and into a crowd out of the frame.
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