you saw the bottom last night 118.77 approximately, at least near-term, ecb meeting thursday, wed night watch out shorts.
Yep, everything's just peachy over in the EMU. It's all sunshine and blue skies. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/d18ce9d4-7226-11df-a0fd-00144feabdc0.html Political uncertainty disrupts Belgian debt sale ByDavid Oakley, Capital Markets Correspondent Published: June 7 2010 13:54 | Last updated: June 7 2010 13:54 Belgium struggled to raise debt in auctions on Monday as political uncertainty and economic problems deterred investors from buying the countryâs bonds. Investors demanded almost a percentage point more in yields to hold Belgian 10-year bonds instead of German bunds. This is half a percentage point more than just a week ago and the widest spread since March 2009. Belgian 10-year bonds fell for the fifth day in a row as worries rose that politicians were failing to grasp the need to cut the countryâs high debt levels. Belgiumâs debt stands at 99 per cent of its gross domestic product, the highest in the eurozone after Greece and Italy, and is forecast to exceed GDP by the end of the year. However, no political party is campaigning for an explicit belt-tightening mandate ahead of national elections next Sunday.
Move along now, nothing to see here ... http://www.france24.com/en/20100607-sarkozy-merkel-talks-cancelled-french-embassy Sarkozy-Merkel talks cancelled: French embassy AFP - Talks between French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel scheduled for Monday in Berlin have been cancelled, the French embassy said, without offering further details. The pair had been due to hold preparatory talks for a summit of European Union leaders on June 17 in Brussels, focusing mainly on the topic of European economic coordination. The run-up to the planned talks had been marked by disagreements between the two European allies, following frequent clashes over multi-billion-euro (dollar) bailout packages for Greece and then the wider eurozone. Paris had blamed Berlin for dragging its feet over a near trillion-dollar plan drawn up to prevent Greece's fiscal woes from spreading to other vulnerable countries, saying that it pushed up the price of the package. French officials grumbled that in January, the rescue plan would have cost 15 billion euros versus the around 750 billion euros that were ultimately earmarked. Moreover, when the plan was eventually agreed, Sarkozy announced to the press that it was "95 percent French," a claim that set off gnashing of teeth in Berlin. Other rows over economic policy, notably a plea by French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde for Germany to reduce its reliance on exports and boost domestic demand to help the rest of the euro area, added to the tensions.
Yield spreads of PIIGS' bonds (compared to the 10yr Bund) are starting to blow out again - Portugal, Italy, Spain spreads at all time highs since the EUR came into existance. Uh oh. And then there's this: http://www.businessweek.com/news/20...t-effort-may-not-save-euro-area-rbs-says.html âHerculeanâ Europe Debt Effort May Not Save Euro Area, RBS Says June 08, 2010, 2:54 AM EDT By Katrina Nicholas June 8 (Bloomberg) -- Europeâs 750 billion euro ($900 billion) aid package might fail to save the 11-year-old monetary union and usher in an âextended periodâ of market stress and disorder, according to Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc. âMaybe we reach the point where this Herculean effort works and enough policy stimulus is provided so countries can fly again,â David Simmonds, global head of research and strategy at RBS, said in Singapore today. âHowever I do not subscribe to this view because one cannot treat a debt-fuelled over-consumption problem with a lot more debt.â European finance ministers yesterday put the finishing touches on a rescue fund designed to combat the regionâs fiscal woes and end speculation the euro area might break apart. The crisis is threatening to slow global economic growth, pushing the euro down 17 percent against the dollar this year. The benchmark Stoxx Europe 600 Index has retreated 11 percent from this yearâs high on April 15 as Spain, Portugal and Greece had their credit ratings downgraded. The regionâs economy expanded 0.2 percent in the first quarter, strained by the highest unemployment in the euroâs history, and spending cuts. âThe buck stops with the sovereign,â said Simmonds, who is based in London and is visiting the city-state to meet with clients. âThere isnât going to be some intergalactic force that comes to bail out sovereigns, and that nervousness will weigh on the market for some time.â Financial institutions globally have combined exposure to Portugal, Spain and Greece of more than 2 trillion euros, about half taken up by banks, Simmonds said. âAbout 500 billion euros or so is held by French and German banks, so the point to stress is there will be a Herculean effort to hold this thing together,â he said.