Category Archives: PIIGS

Sovereign Debt and Geriatric Deadbeats

Posted on July 18, 2011 by macromon

In the spirit of our earlier post, The Clash of Generations, we point you to an interesting piece, Geiatric Deadbeats, written by Ali Alichi of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).   He argues the age of a country’s population is inversely … Continue reading →

Posted in Black Swan Watch, Demographics, PIIGS, Sovereign Debt, Sovereign Risk, State and Local Government | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

Quote of the Day: Brussels, We Have a Problem

Posted on July 11, 2011 by macromon

According to current banking regulations, sovereign credits are considered “risk-free.”   This means that banks can take on as much sovereign credit risk as they like without setting aside any capital.  Under such a structure, selling short CDS protection is akin … Continue reading →

Posted in PIIGS, Policy, Quote of the Day, Sovereign Debt, Sovereign Risk | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Why Europe Can’t Afford a Greek Haircut

Posted on June 29, 2011 by macromon

If a picture is worth a thousand words, the following chart from the IMF encapsulates all the analysis one needs to understand why Mr. Trichet and the rest of the Eurozone bureaucracy are so adamant about not letting Greece restructure … Continue reading →

Posted in Black Swan Watch, Bonds, Budget Deficit, Charts, Euro, PIIGS, Policy, Politics, Sovereign Debt, Sovereign Risk | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Chart of the Day: Greek Parliament

Posted on June 27, 2011 by macromon

(click here if chart is not observable)

Posted in Chart of the Day, PIIGS, Sovereign Debt, Sovereign Risk | Tagged | 1 Comment

Merkel Hammers Greece on Retirement Age and Vacation

Posted on May 19, 2011 by macromon

The European election cycle is kicking into high gear as the German chancellor had some tough words for Greece,  Spain, and Portugal.  Spiegel ONLINE reports, “It is also important that people in countries like Greece, Spain and Portugal are not … Continue reading →

Posted in Euro, PIIGS, Politics, Sovereign Debt, Sovereign Risk | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

The New (La)Garde at the IMF?

Posted on May 19, 2011 by macromon

That’s our bet.    Also check out the WashPost piece, Why Christine Lagarde should run the IMF.    (click here if video is not observable)

Posted in General Interest, PIIGS, Sovereign Debt, Sovereign Risk, Video | Tagged , | 1 Comment

A Credible & Comprehensive Plan for Europe’s Debt Crisis

Posted on April 25, 2011 by macromon

The following is the Executive Summary of a longer article that offers up a credible and comprehensive plan for the European Debt Crisis, which deals with the periphery debt overhang  and weak balance sheets of Europe’s commercial banks.  It has … Continue reading →

Posted in Black Swan Watch, Bonds, Currency, Euro, Geopolitical, PIIGS, Sovereign Debt, Sovereign Risk | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Euro Fracture: Foreign Bank Exposure to GIPs

Posted on April 15, 2011 by macromon

Great chart from the Economist of foreign bank exposure to Greece, Ireland, and Portugal (GIP) and explains why “restructuring” is so taboo with European policymakers. The Greek sovereign credit curve is inverted with the 2-year now yielding around 18 percent … Continue reading →

Posted in Euro, Fiscal Policy, PIIGS, Sovereign Debt, Sovereign Risk | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Euro Fracture: Greek Restructuring? – German FinMin

Posted on April 14, 2011 by macromon

German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble raised the specter of a Greece restructuring in an interview with German newspaper Die Welt.   Yields on Greek 10-year bonds jumped to 13.26 percent and the two-year note yield surged 103 basis points to 17.96 … Continue reading →

Posted in Euro, PIIGS, Sovereign Debt, Sovereign Risk | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Euro Fracture: A “Tea Party” Revolt?

Posted on March 9, 2011 by macromon

Much has been written about the growing anger and political strife within the highly indebted European periphery.   The FT reports today about the growing anger and resentment in the countries financing the bailouts, Even among Brussels’ tightly-knit cadre of … Continue reading →

Posted in Euro, Fiscal Policy, Geopolitical, Monetary Policy, PIIGS, Sovereign Debt, Sovereign Risk | Tagged , , | 3 Comments