Taking a step back from the awful tragedy that Japan is dealing with, the economic/market reaction will be characterized by a few common words over the weeks to come such as volatility, uncertainty, and disruption. Most importantly for Japan and analyzing what comes next is stabilization in their nuclear plants. After that occurs, we can better assess. The other market moving news obviously on a different human level is what came out of the EU summit. Both stock and bond markets are rallying sharply particularly in Greece but also in Portugal, Ireland, Spain and Italy. Greece now has 7.5 years to pay back the bailout funds (initially a 3 yr term) and at a rate of 100 bps less than before. The EFSF will also have the full 440b euros to utilize for what countries need it next and the facility will be able to buy bonds in the primary market with austerity strings attached. Bank stress tests come next.
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