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Friday, February 28

28th Feb - EZ inflation leaves room for ECB, US GDP



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EUROPE
Whither the Euro?IMF
Kevin O’Rourke: The solutions to the euro crisis are not attainable (meaningful banking union, fiscal union, eurozone bonds). A break-up of the eurozone while not desirable, may be inevitable, thus it would be right to prepare for it.

Will Britain and Germany Get a Divorce? View / BB

  EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK
The ECB’s French Headache WSJ
France’s deeper problems are structural. There’s nothing the ECB can do about France’s excessively high tax rates, overly large government, surfeit of interventionist policies and red tape. But as long as the French economy remains weak, it will generate downward pressure on euro-zone prices.

The ECB receives another disinflationary warning Sober Look
The German CPI rate came in below expectations. The disinflationary pressures are no longer just about the Eurozone periphery.

Draghi Wins Over the Dinosaurs on OMTWSJ

Mario Draghi: The path to recovery and the ECB’s roleECB

Euro zone banks buy govt bonds in January -ECB dataReuters

Jens Weidmann: All for one and one for all?BIS
The roles of microprudential, macroprudential, and monetary policy in safeguarding financial stability

  UKRAINE
Yanukovych to Appear in Russia Tomorrow as Swiss Freeze Assets – BB
Ukraine's currency in free fall – Sober Look
Ukraine struggling to hold the hryvnia – FT
A Short History of Ukraine and CrimeaMarc to Market
Why Germany’s Ukraine Reform Refrain Sounds Familiar – WSJ

  MACRO NUMBERS
Euro area annual inflation stable at 0.8% - Eurostat
Euro-Area Inflation Stuck at Less Than Half ECB Ceiling – BB
German Bonds Drop as Euro-Area Inflation Beats Analyst Estimates – BB
Euro area unemployment rate at 12.0% - Eurostat
Euro zone inflation stabilizes in 'danger zone', unemployment stays high – Reuters
Euro inflation unchanged at 0.8% - ECB will still ease in March – Danske Bank

Swedish fourth-quarter GDP expands at fastest pace in three years – Reuters

German retail sales rise at fastest rate in seven years – Reuters
UK house prices show biggest annual increase in nearly four years in Feb – Reuters

UNITED STATES
The incredible stock-picking ability of SEC employeesWaPo

Part-time problems FT
The most obvious question, and easily the most debated, is whether discouraged workers who have dropped out of the labour force will return in an accelerating recovery — keeping a lid on wage growth and core inflation.

  FEDERAL RESERVE
Will Fed rate rises cause a financial crisis? WSJ
Last Year’s Taper Tantrum May Have Been Taste of the Future, Paper Says WSJ
Why the Fed’s taper could still cause a market meltdown WaPo
Economists warn of more market 'tantrums' as U.S. Fed tightensReuters
The paper points to a negative feedback loop between some types of bond market investors and the Fed. Investor expectations of tighter policy push up borrowing costs in a way that wounds growth, which in turn forces the Fed to back off of the move toward tighter policy.

Do we even need a Fed balance-sheet reduction?FT

Fed Stays the Course: 5 Key Takeaways from Yellen's TestimonyWSJ
Here’s the most important thing Janet Yellen said WaPo

Fed’s Plosser, Bullard Optimistic on Economic ProspectsWSJ
Fed’s Kocherlakota: Market Volatility May Attend TighteningWSJ

  MACRO NUMBERS
GDP Tumbles To 2.4%; Personal Consumption Hit – ZH
Economists React: ‘Uneven Momentum’ in Economy After Weaker Year End – WSJ
Vital Signs: GDP Growth Slowdown Is Just More of the Same – WSJ
Second Estimate at 2.4%, Down from the 3.2% Advance Estimate – dshort
Fourth-quarter growth cut, but outlook improving – Reuters

Michigan Consumer Sentiment: A Modest Increase Despite Bad Weather – dshort
Final Feb Consumer Sentiment at 81.6, Chicago PMI at 59.8 – Calculated Risk
Consumer sentiment inches up in February – Reuters
Consumer Sentiment in U.S. Increases on Outlook for Economy – BB

EMERGING
China’s Growth PuzzleProject Syndicate
Stephen S. Roach: Though China’s economy is now slowing, the significance of this is not well understood. The downturn has nothing to do with problems in other emerging economies; in fact, it is a welcome development.

China Must End Its GDP WorshipView / BB
Markets bear some responsibility for trapping China into reckless borrowing and lending. Just yesterday, Templeton Emerging Markets Group warned of civil unrest in China should GDP slow to below 6 percent. These kinds of scare statements box investors into a mind-set that China is just a percentage point or two away from becoming Ukraine.

Charts point to more downside for emerging marketsMarketWatch

Emerging-Market Outflows Top $11 Billion as Growth SlowsBB

FINNISH
Populistin EU-vaihtoehtoSampo Terho
Tänään julkaistiin pamflettini ”Kohti parempaa Eurooppaa”. Kirjanen on tiivis esitys siitä, mikä EU:ssa on vialla ja miten ongelmat voitaisiin korjata. Voit ladata kirjan tästä.

Mepit tukkanuottasilla pankkiunionista – "Heti kun sä olet hiljaa" Verkkouutiset
Sampo Terho jarruttaisi pankkiunionin perustamista. Sirpa Pietikäinen vastaa, että siinä menetettäisiin tärkeitä vuosia.

Ukrainan suurvaltapelissä Suomi on tarjolla vaihtorahaksiHS

EU:n taloussanktiot uhkaavat Suomea – lisää leikkauksia jo tänä vuonna?Verkkouutiset
Suomi välttänee täpärästi EU-komission talouskuriarvioinnin tänä keväänä, mutta vuoden päästä tilanne näyttää huonommalta.

Asuntojen hinnat laskuun myös pk-seudullaKL
Osakeasuntojen hinnat laskivat hieman tammikuussaTilastokeskus
Neliöhinnat pääkaupunkiseudulla 3 541 euroa - muualla Suomessa 1 657 euroaVerkkouutiset

Saksa ja Suomi hermostuivat: Miksi EU löysäilee säästövaatimuksissa?TE