While expected, the 6am release that the German lower house of parliament (upper votes later) voted overwhelmingly for the Greek aid package has helped the European and US futures bounce off previous levels. European debt however is again trading lower, particularly Greece and Portugal but 5 yr CDS is little changed after the widening yesterday. The possibility of a hung parliament in the UK after the election which will make spending cuts more difficult to pass is sending the pound to the lowest level vs the US$ since Apr ’09 and 10 yr Gilt yields are up by 11 bps. The panic in global markets was reflected in interbank rates as US$ 3 mo LIBOR rose 5.5 bps to the highest since Aug ’09 at .428%. Canada’s Apr job report was a huge blowout, seeing its biggest gain since at least 1976 at 109k, equivalent to a US job gain of 988k if adjusted for population size. US payrolls today are expected to total 190k, 90k of which is expected to be in government.
