Tuesday, October 7, 2014

WHAT IS THERE TO SAY?

Look, this is getting impossible.  I am totally out of material unless i become dumb enough to jump in with a comment about the AIG trial in New York which is understood by practically no one…and that might be an overstatement.  So, I'm forced to write about the only financial newsworthy event of the day which is the IMF and world growth.  With the possible exception of the United States, it stinks.

Moving right along, the result was equity markets crashing all over the place and bond yields heading south.  The ten year wound up at 2.34%   while the Bund dropped below .90%--I don't know where it closed.  The real fear is Europe and it is on two levels; political and economic.  The latter is lousy with no real growth anywhere except for England and how much of that is fueled by the housing bubble is anybody's guess.  The political situation might even be shaping up to be worse.  There is a clear and growing divide between the Germans and damn near everyone else, especially in the southern tier, with the gauntlet being thrown down by the French who have made it crystal clear that deficit rules be damned and have opened begun an open recruiting period to enlist the support of a coalition of the willing. Things got worse today as Angie's guys stated that any thoughts of Quantitative Easing by the ECB were not on and the purchase of corporate debt was definitely verboten.  Over to you Fritz.  What gets this thing moving?

Now this had been hinted before but today's statement was definitive…until the next statement…which certainly puts a whole, new shine on things.  Whether the last thought on the subject or not,  either way we have a pretty good game of financial and political chicken going on with, again, the overhang of British elections and the threat that with the continued conflict among member states, Cameron will pledge, as a campaign ploy, to take the Brits out of the EU…full stop.  It would be a winner and as I have suggested, a killer for the Union.  So much for what was a pretty lousy day.


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