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Tuesday, March 13

13th Mar - Epic Austerity Fail

Lunchtime roundup, enjoy!

EURO CRISIS
Today in the euro zoneMacroScope / Reuters
Good, concise roundup of the EZ events

Oops, German austerity failalphaville / FT
Germany has failed to reach its own austerity goals in 2011. Naturally, this news comes across as a tad hypocritical given Angela Merkel’s own track-record lecturing to the periphery about the importance of austerity.

Fiscal Compact: A joke before it even startedFintag’s Newsletter
The Fiscal Compact was signed with fanfares and belly dancers less than 10 DAYS AGO. It has been breached.
 
New Greek Bonds, Same Old Doubts?Pension Pulse
…the bond market telling European policymakers that austerity in Greece and elsewhere isn't working and will only ensure colossal failure. Moreover, the bond market is growing increasingly restless, telling European leaders they'd better get serious on tackling the debt crisis by adopting the 'Soros solution', namely, creating a eurobond market backed by Germany. Everything else will be met with skepticism and priced accordingly.

Finnish economy at a standstillDanske Bank (pdf)
improved confidence indicators, GDP is now forecast to shrink 0.2% in 2012

OTHER
All Feasts Must Come to an End: China’s Debt & Investment Fuelled Growth, Part 1EconoMonitor
While China’s rise is important, its drivers are frequently misunderstood and poorly analysed. China’s economic structure is deeply flawed and fragile. The Chinese growth story may be ending.

China’s past needs to be rewrittenRachman / FT
How would a Chinese superpower treat the rest of the world? Anyone wanting to peer into the future, could start by looking back at the past – or, at least, at the official version of China’s past. The message is not reassuring.

After Greece, Here Are The Four Things That Keep Bank Of America Up At NightZH
Oil,
Europe, US economy, China, credit supply.

Flash: No real easing from Bank of Japan this timeDanske Bank (pdf)
With growth rebounding, we do not expect the ceiling for asset purchases to be raised further in H1 12 unless JPY for some reason resumes its appreciation path. However, we do expect the ceiling for asset purchases to be raised further in H2 12 to create space for continued asset purchases in 2013.

In defence of Libor manipulationalphaville / FT
So, was collusion by the banks in this instance justified? Did it agruably, in the circumstances, do everyone in the market a favour?

A Conversation with Peter ThielThe American Interest
Francis Fukuyama talks with the renowned entrepreneur.

OFF TOPIC
Disarming Viktor BoutThe New Yorker
The rise and fall of the world’s most notorious weapons trafficker.