Tag Archives: PIIGS

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

Irish Opposition Balks At Bank Bailout, Moody’s Downgrades

Posted on February 11, 2011 by macromon

The Irish Times is reporting this morning that the two main opposition parties, Fine Gael and Labour, want to delay the banking system’s recapitilasation until April, when the stress testing of lenders is complete. The Labour Party is taking an … Continue reading →

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

PBS: How Severe Is Europe’s Intertwined Debt Crisis?

Posted on January 24, 2011 by macromon

The PBS NewsHour ran this piece tonight titled, How Severe Is Europe’s Intertwined Debt Crisis? Note how Iceland is rising as the model debtor and listen carefully for the “politics of bailouts,” “Germany does not have pockets deep enough to … Continue reading →

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

European Commission: The U.S. is Worse

Posted on January 11, 2011 by macromon

Here is a European Commission chart that appeared in the online version of Der Spiegel.  It could be a decoy to deflect the markets attention off Europe and push back to what they may perceive as America’s wallowing in schadenfreude … Continue reading →

Posted in Black Swan Watch, Fiscal Policy, Sovereign Debt, Sovereign Risk, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

A spectre is haunting Europe

Posted on December 22, 2010 by macromon

This is what’s  going to blow up the Europe.   All the cash and backstopping in the world is not going to solve the political problem.   Jim Corr, a member of one of our favorite Irish bands, The Corrs,  nails … Continue reading →

Posted in Black Swan Watch, Bonds, Budget Deficit, Euro, PIIGS, Sovereign Debt, Sovereign Risk, Video | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Euro Fracture: Germany’s House Party Revolt

Posted on December 15, 2010 by macromon

Go no further than the chart below to understand the resentment and anger among the German taxpayers who are being asked to clean-up the “House Party” of fellow EU members.   The chart shows the housing bubbles of Ireland and Spain … Continue reading →

Posted in Black Swan Watch, Bonds, Budget Deficit, Economics, Euro, Fiscal Policy, Sovereign Debt, Sovereign Risk, Video | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Europe’s Big Fail…

Posted on December 15, 2010 by macromon

One lesson we have learned during the financial crisis is that a country’s banking system is an indirect liability of the sovereign.  That is, unless the government is willing to allow banks to fail and let the domestic financial sector … Continue reading →

Posted in Black Swan Watch, Budget Deficit, Euro, Fiscal Policy, PIIGS, Policy, Sovereign Debt, Sovereign Risk | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Rollover Risk: Moody’s Warns on Spain

Posted on December 15, 2010 by macromon

“Rollover risk” will be a major theme in 2011 and Moody’s is getting an early start.  Bloomberg writes, Spain had its Aa1 local and foreign currency government bond ratings placed on review for possible downgrade by Moody’s Investors Service. The … Continue reading →

Posted in Bonds, Budget Deficit, Euro, Fiscal Policy, PIIGS, Sovereign Risk | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Chart of the Day: Euro’s Dead Cat Bounce

Posted on December 1, 2010 by macromon

Our Chart of the Day is the Dead Cat Bounce in the Euro.  The currency rallied on rumors of massive QE by the ECB to support the bonds of the PIIGS?  Come on!  QE of such size would drive the … Continue reading →

Posted in Black Swan Watch, Bonds, PIIGS, Sovereign Debt, Sovereign Risk | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Where is Gold Headed?

Posted on November 30, 2010 by macromon

In 1996, we visited the Bulgarian central bank at a time when the country was experiencing economic turmoil and a loss of confidence that the government could rollover its maturing debt.  After a long discussion on the domestic economy and … Continue reading →

Posted in Black Swan Watch, Commodities, Currency, Euro, Fiscal Policy, Gold, PIIGS, Policy, Politics, Sovereign Debt, Sovereign Risk | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment