While the EU/IMF/ECB continuing to work towards an agreement on Greece, my thoughts turn to the voting that will occur next week in Germany. As most know, the German voter is not happy with having to support Greek pensions that start 2 years before Germans can retire. This is why PM Merkel wanted to delay voting on a debt plan until after the May 9th North Rhine-Westphalia state elections. She also didn’t want to have voters confront the issue that Germany has not reduced their own spending as she promised. As a matter of fact, the German government in March … …READ MORE
Tag Archives: IMF
G20 What You Need To Know
Here are the major points of interest on the G20 as the details leak out on what will be in the communiqué.
1. There will be broad agreement on the need to reign in bankers pay. They will attempt to provide rules to tie compensation to risk. and to tighten/capital requirements.
2. There will be broad agreement on financial regulatory reform with the specific plank of tightening/increasing bank capital requirements.
3. There will be broad agreement to be deliberate on withdrawing stimulus to their economies and to cooperate/coordinate the exits.
4. There will be broad agreement to increase the participation … …READ MORE
Posted in Front Page Also tagged currency, financial regulatory reform, g20, monetary policy Leave a comment
G20 Surprise
On CBS, Geithner says “Of Course” when asked if he would oust CEO’s from TARP banks that are non-performing. This is precisely what I warned about yesterday.
The draft G20 statement apparently has everything for everyone and the euphoria in the markets is palpable with equity markets rallying strongly, bond yields are higher, and the US dollar is lower. There even appears to be an agreement between Medvedev and Obama for a one third cut in strategic arms without having to look into each other’s soul. (Which is probably a good thing for both of them.) Details on the G20 … …READ MORE
