The Euro zone took one step closer in deciding what it wants to be when it grows up as the German Parliament expectedly passed their vote on the expanded EFSF. We still await a few more country votes in the next few weeks but the moment of truth is quickly arriving on what the EU/IMF plan is for Greece past the next Bailout 1 payment to them. As Eminem wrote, “Look, if you had one shot, or one opportunity to seize everything you ever wanted in one moment, would you capture it or just let it slip?” If the EU lets Greece default and write off a substantial amount of their debt, they would have seized the moment and forcibly dealt with the problem of too much debt. If the EU continues on the fantasy track of thinking Greece can get by with the buying of more time, the Euro zone experiment will ultimately fail. Economic confidence in the Euro region fell to the weakest since Dec ’09 in Sept at 95 vs expectations of 96. Italy sold a total of 7.9b euros of debt at various maturities reaching out 10 1/2 yrs, below the 9b they desired but Italian bonds are little changed today. US$ 3 month LIBOR rose for a 47th straight day and the euro basis swap remained above 100 bps for a 6th straight day. The Shanghai index fell to the lowest since July ’10 and is just 2 pts from the lowest since Apr ’09 on continued growth concerns.
What's been said:
Discussions found on the web: