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Wednesday, May 15

15th May - US Close: EZ GDP, Cyprus leak, Greek collateral deal...



A lot of stuff, sorry about late coverage. First, the IMF board’s confidential memo on Cyprus has been leaked – interesting, might be slightly scandalous, but nothing the eurocrats couldn’t handle. In Finland, the damage from the court order to release the secret documents on the Greek collateral deal are causing minor headaches. While this will surely make further “integration” (read: participating in bailing out other countries’ banking systems), it will not stop participation, as the parliament has tied its hands with the ESM – majority rulings force Finland to participate, like it or not. Next step will be the release of the gruesome Spanish collateral agreements.

In Europe, terrible GDP numbers have pointed out that the economy is contracting, monetary policy is too tight, and austerity is not working. While this is hardly news, for the eurocrats it is. They have hard time arguing with real data, so what has been obvious to everyone for a long time, is about to be admitted soon. Voices from the editorial teams of Bloomberg and The Economist suggest the euro is a failure. Again, no news there. The Bank of England released its inflation report, and it is widely expected that BoE will turn into a US-style QE-program soon.

Elsewhere, the budget forecasts by the US Congressional Budget Office still cause some talk, and the Abenomics is still going strong: Nikkei keeps rising and bond yields have broken through an important resistance level.

It is as complicated as it sounds and was designed to make Finland's demand so expensive that no other euro zone country would ask for the same. To that extent, it has worked…. EU's economy commissioner Olli Rehn on Monday joked that Klaus Regling, the head of EFSF, should be given the Nobel prize for economics or Nobel peace prize for preparing the complicated deal. 4-Oct-2012 Reuters

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Roundups & Commentary
Markets – Between The Hedges
Daily Interest Rate Monitor – Global Macro Monitor
The Closer – alphaville / FT
US: Final Hour Ramp Closes Stocks At All Time Highs – ZH

EUROPE
Save Europe: Split the EuroView / Bloomberg
France should champion a new strategy under the banner not of nationalism but of European solidarity. A splitting of the euro system would be in the best interests of both France and Europe because it would speed the EU’s return to economic growth -- the only sure guarantee of European stability and unity.

What the euro has meantFree exchange / The Economist
Most of the euro area would have been better off being Britain or America over this time, even in per capita terms, and Britain and America have hardly had outstanding performances. The remarkable thing to me is that no euro-area economy is rushing for the exit, despite the fact that real output per person has fallen 15% in Greece and is lower in Italy and Portugal than it was 13 years ago. Perhaps the periphery imagines that they would have done worse without the euro.

The People Of The EU Support Euro For The Very Reason It Is Destroying ThemForbes
Money, whether its form is gold, sea shells, dollars, or Euros has potentially devastating effects precisely because folks are reluctant to give it up.

Europe's Economies and Markets Have DivorcedView / BB
Growth is absolutely key to debt sustainability, yet markets in Europe don't seem to care

Broken transmission mechanismsFree exchange / The Economist
The need for a targeted lending scheme in the euro areaFree exchange / The Economist
New figures from Europe reveal that both GDP and inflation in the euro area are falling, while unemployment is steadily rising. The mix of pain calls for monetary easing (We are inviting experts in the field to comment on the piece and related research.)

Some of Eurozone's troubles can be traced to its paralyzed banking systemSober Look
And just like in Japan in the 90s, not addressing the bad loan problem quickly generates prolonged periods of contraction.

Sour on EuropeCFR
Support for the European integration project is dropping: Growth matters * A disillusioned France should matter to markets * Will a single chart damage Europe’s efforts to resolve the crisis? *

The Tories publish their EU Referendum BillOpen Europe
"Do you think that the United Kingdom should remain a member of the European Union?”

There is no sovereign debt crisis in EuropeMacroScope / Reuters
It is merely a sequel to the U.S. financial meltdown that started, like its American counterpart, with dangerously-indebted risk-taking on the part of a super-sized banking sector.

The EU’s AIFMD and Your Road ShowAll About Alpha
Shane Brett, of Global Perspectives, makes the point that the "non-European world" is in no position to ignore the implementation of AIFMD. Although the implementation will be gradual, by 2018 any manager from anywhere who wants to bring his road show to a European city will have to be fully compliant.

  CYPRUS
“Something to ponder while hoping for the best”: Cyprus and the IMFalphaville / FT
It looks like Stockwatch in Cyprus has obtained a copy of the (IMF executive board) members’ comments on the Cypriot bailout — a rather high-level internal document to find its way to the public… and it makes for fascinating reading.

Cyprus portrayed as Russia's favorite havenReuters
Documents seen by Reuters show that as Cyprus headed towards financial meltdown in March, most notable among companies transferring money from the country's two main banks were Russians and East Europeans.

S&P says Cypriot deposit grab may set euro zone precedentReuters
The grab on bank deposits that accompanied Cyprus's bailout could be repeated elsewhere in the euro zone, and the bloc's banking union may not be strong enough when it is introduced, Standard and Poor's said on Wednesday.

Insight: Bank documents portray Cyprus as Russia's favorite havenReuters
When the Cyprus bank run began earlier this year, Russians set much of the pace. Documents seen by Reuters show that as the Mediterranean island headed towards financial meltdown in March, most notable among companies transferring money from the country's two main banks were Russians and East Europeans.

  BOE INFLATION REPORT
Bank of England’s inflation report in five bitesMoney Supply / FT
Mervyn King’s economic ray of light may be too bright – MacroScope / Reuters
BoE makes rulers redundant – Money Supply / FT
Mark Carney will follow the Fed, not the Bank of JapanGavyn Davies / FT

  GDP DATA
Eurozone recession continues into sixth quarter – BBC
German Economy Barely Expands While France Contracts – BB
Germany can't stop euro zone's longest recession – Reuters
France Slips Into Recession, Adding Pressure on Hollande – BB
Euro-Area Recession Deepens as Slowdown Exceeds Estimates – Businessweek

German GDP in Q1: Weaker than expected, not only due to cold weather – Nordea
France Double-Dips As European Recession Is Now Longest On Record – ZH
Five quick takeaways from the eurozone GDP numbers – Money Supply / FT
Euro area: Less recession but still recession – Nordea

Euro Will Pay the Price for Euro-Zone Recession – WSJ
Europe's endless recession, in one chart – Wonkblog / WP
Euro zone recession worsens as cracks appear in France and GermanyQuartz


UNITED STATES
A Professional Preps for the End of QE Forbes

U.S. Regulators: Mixed Progress on Too-Big International BanksWSJ

CBO Forecasts: Then And NowZH
Have we solved our fiscal problems?Felix Salmon / Reuters

Manufacturing – Some Red Flags – PragCap
Fed: Industrial Production decreased 0.5% in April – Calculated Risk
Industrial Output In April Slumps The Most In Eight Months – The Capital Spectator
Industrial Production, Capacity Utilization Both Miss: Good Weather Blamed – ZH


ASIA
Great Graphic: What Japanese Investors BoughtMarc to Market
JGB yields spike in spite of all the BOJ bond buyingSober Look

Putting the “Collapse” in Japanese Government Bonds in PerspectivePragCap


OTHER
Merrill Lynch: Market Analysis Technical HandbookThe Big Picture

FX Forecast Update - May: Peak in EUR/USD behind usDanske Bank (pdf)

Yield Forecast Update - Back from the lowsDanske Bank (pdf)

Global Economic Recovery is Losing Momentum, Especially in Euro AreaMoody’s
 
Not in the spirit of HayekReuters
Reading Hayek can be uncomfortable for those who are under the impression he would agree with them - including many conservatives today.
  
All up in Bloomberg’s broker-dealer businessalphaville / FT
 
Here are 315 charts on poverty and inequality. Satisfied yet?Wonkblog / WP
The OECD is out with its latest disposable income, poverty and inequality numbers for all its member states. The full data are here, but it’s more fun to play around with the awesome interactive they created for the occasion


FINNISH
KHO 2013:90: Kreikan vakuussopimus julkinenJyrki Virolainen
  
Keisarilla ei ollut vaatteitaHenri Myllyniemi / US Puheenvuoro

Tiilikainen Kreikka-sotkusta: Vakuus ei ole aito – IS
Brittineuvojen tarkka sisältö on hämärän peitossa – TS

Mistä Suomi oikein sopi? Valtiosihteeriltä selitys oudolle Kreikka-sotkulleIS

VM:n Kreikka-salaus perustui ulkomaisten lakitoimistojen arvioon – IS
Brax ihmettelee Urpilaisen puheita – ”Pakko sanoa, että sitä on hyvin vaikea uskoa” – AL
Kreikka-vakuuksien aitoudesta sukeutui sanasota – AL
Sdp:n Kumpula-Natri: Vakuuskeskustelu sivuraiteilla – TS
Oppositio grillasi Urpilaista – "Miksi moinen vaiva?" – Verkkouutiset
"Hallituksen toiminta on naurettavaa, se joskus pistää nauramaan" – Verkkouutiset
Kreikka-sotku pöyristyttää - tässä selitys – IL
Asiantuntijat: Kreikka-salailusta ei Suomelle hyötyä – TalSa
Keskustan Tiilikainen ärähti: "Suomi menetti maineensa" – IL
Laatulehti tyrmää: Onko Suomen Kreikka-vakuuksista mitään hyötyä? – US
Valtiosihteeriltä selitys ihmetyttäneelle Kreikka-sopimukselle – MTV3