Getting there, slowly though – Charles Wyplosz / voxeu.org
The night of Thursday 8 December saw a meeting to save the euro. Judging by reactions Friday morning, there is some way yet to go, but this column argues that Europe is getting there, slowly. The principles are there but the details are missing.
No rave reviews – Buttonwood’s / The Economist
So to sum up, if the analysts are right, the leaders are tackling the problems in the wrong way, won't get enough support from the ECB, won't prevent downgrades from the rating agencies and won't stop Greece leaving. Oh dear.
EU summit: extend and pretend continues – Saxo Bank
Steen Jakobsen: Despite it being the 17th meeting (yes 17th!) the stakes have increased but the Grand Plan is still not in place. Now we have a new deadline in March which happens to be right in the middle of Italy and Spain trying to raise 300-500 bln. EUR for their debt refinancing!
Wall Street's Response: The Summit Is A Failure – ZH
The summary of various Wall Street expert opinions is compiled and presented below from Bloomberg. It is not pretty.
The summary of various Wall Street expert opinions is compiled and presented below from Bloomberg. It is not pretty.
Put Some Lipstick On This Pig And Sell It – The EU Statement – TF Market Advisors
I cannot imagine we are going to get any new support from the ECB on the back of this. I don’t think this is enough to get the rating agencies to take the countries off of watch. Nothing has been really agreed to. I’m not even sure that if everything is implemented it is enough to avoid some countries getting downgraded.
So two decades to the day after the Maastricht Treaty was concluded, launching the process towards the single European currency, the EU's tectonic plates have slipped momentously along same the fault line that has always divided it—the English Channel.
Take any of the list of prescriptions of the minimum necessary right now — from Münchau, from Larry Summers, from Mohamed El-Erian — and the one thing that jumps out at you, especially in light of the most recent news, is that if you look at anybody’s list, there’s an enormous number of items which has zero chance of actually happening.
Euro-Zone More Break than Make? – Satyajit Das / The Big Picture
There was no attempt to tackle the real issues with the seriousness and sheer financial strength required. But perhaps the reality is that the solution is now beyond Europe’a ability and there is simple not enough money – Euro 2.5 to 3.0 trillion would be required. Instead, European leaders seem content to discuss long term lifestyle changes with the near death patient in ER.
EU Summit Results: Analysts React – MarketBeat / WSJ
The walkup to and aftermath of the summit has been a lot like corporate earnings season: Markets have lowered their expectations gradually, and then the actual results have barely cleared those lowered expectations, giving everybody a warm sense of accomplishment.
Word of the Day: Brinkmanship – The View from the Blue Ridge