Keynesian purists are all clutching their foreheads, but actually it’s pretty fabulous that Australia’s politicians are competing with each other to promise budget surpluses.
European central bank
Kohler: carried away in an Aussie dollar dance
Global hedge funds are starting to make big returns from borrowing in euros and investing in higher-yielding currencies such as the Australian dollar.
What not to expect from the euro summit: a solution
Expectations are low for tonight’s make-or-break summit in Brussels. Europe might reform itself, but fail to address the immediate crisis it faces, write Glenn Dyer and Bernard Keane.
Why the US Fed is still the kingpin of banks
Shades of 2008, and why the US Federal Reserve is still the banker to the world: much to the chagrin and humiliation of Europe.
EU crisis: something has to give (and give) … and soon
Let’s hope the stoic optimism about Europe from groups such as the OECD overnight proves to be right and governments do manage to scrape together a last-minute deal to backstop the eurozone.
Maley: euro bonds at breaking point
The dangerous game between European leaders and bond markets is entering a brutal new phase, with investors dumping Italian and Spanish bonds.
Italy defaults on debt and sends lenders broke? So be it
Australia should not give a cent more money to the IMF, writes Adam Creighton, a research fellow at The Centre For Independent Studies.
Maley: ducking Merkozy’s heavy hand
Is Europe getting fed up with Merkozy — as the cosy duo of French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel has come to be known?
Ferrari chief turns up the heat on Berlusconi
Luca Cordero di Montezemolo, chairman of the luxury sports car maker, Ferrari, has openly called for Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi to resign, writes Jo McKenna, a freelance journalist in Rome.
Eurozone’s Halloween treat: a confection of silver linings and hot air
The markets have seized on the latest European deal with relief. But it’s another confection, and a humiliating one at that, write Glenn Dyer and Bernard Keane.
Maley: no more Italian dolce vita
As European leaders gathered in Brussels overnight in yet another attempt to stem the region’s worsening debt crisis, attention was focused on the key role that two Italians are now playing.
€360b souvlaki in the back of the room refuses to go away
Europe should be preparing for an orderly default for Greece, with money to backstop banks and countries such as Spain, Italy, Belgium and even France. No other path of action is realistic any more.
Maley: the EU debt clock ticks down
With time fast running out, German chancellor Angela Merkel and French president Nicolas Sarkozy again held emergency talks overnight in an attempt to settle their differences before Sunday’s crucial summit of European political chiefs.
Kohler: surrounded by Europe’s standing armies
Thomas Jefferson definitely got it right 200 years ago when he warned that banks are more dangerous than standing armies.
Maley: a Greek default in the frame
German Chancellor Angela Merkel tried to calm markets by dismissing speculation about an imminent Greek debt default, writes Karen Maley, of Business Spectator
Maley: EU banks to the slaughter
European bank stocks were hammered overnight, as investors worried about the hefty losses they would suffer in the increasingly likely event of a Greek debt default, writes Karen Maley, of Business Spectator.
Maley: Europe’s bank fears blow out
European bank shares were pummelled overnight, while the cost of insuring bank and government debt hit record highs, writes Karen Maley, of Business Spectator.
The fear infecting global markets
Crikey media wrap: If you were unsure of the magnitude of the current markets crash and downgrade of the US credit rating, the weekend’s newspaper front pages from around the world drill the message home pretty quickly.
Maley: prelude to a global share sell-off …
Could this week’s move by global central banks to nudge up interest rates be the prelude to a global sharemarket sell-off?, writes Karen Maley, of Business Spectator.
Buying time for Portugal and the Euro
The efforts of the European Central Bank in buying Portuguese bonds this week enabled a successful auction yesterday of a new issue by the Lisbon Government. Yields on the 10 year bonds sold averaged 6.716 percent down from 6.806 percent at its last auction, reports Richard Farmer.
Maley: an Iberian debt time-bomb
Global financial markets continued to struggle overnight as investors fretted that the borrowings of debt-soaked eurozone countries won’t be permanently underwritten by Germany, writes Karen Maley.
Good news from the OECD, not so bright in Europe
The European Central Bank injected a note of sobering reality into the lighter tone set by the OECD overnight, writes Glenn Dyer.
G8 does little to address the ills of Europe’s banks
There is growing concern — for growing reason — over the health of Europe’s banks.
Doom and gloom wrap: Wall Street whacked again
Wall Street was whacked overnight, and for the second week in a row, enthusiastic Aussie punters paid a heavy price for plunging into a Monday market boosted by US gains the preceding Friday, writes Glenn Dyer.
