W/E: Weekly Support (updated!)
EUROPE
Former Czech President delivers damning verdict on EU * Klaus warns Europe in 'blind alley'
towards disaster * Euro 'one-size fits all' could never work
Dutch Foreign
Minister: There is no EU without the member states – Netherlands
The EU needs to be modest and understand that there is no Union without the member
states…The EU exists by the grace of the member states and their democratic
institutions.
The Troika and
financial assistance in the euro area: successes and failures – Bruegel
A systematic evaluation of financial assistance for Greece, Ireland, Portugal and Cyprus. All four
programmes, and in particular the Greek one, are very large financially
compared to previous international programmes because macroeconomic imbalances
and the loss of price competitiveness that accumulated prior to the programmes
were exceptional. Yet programmes were based on far too optimistic assumptions
about adjustment and recovery in Greece and Portugal.
Greece should get a new €40 billion bailout and the euro zone should be
prepared to forego interest payments from the government if if the
country’s debt remains too high, economists at a Brussels think tank argued on Thursday.
MACRO NUMBERS
Euro PMIs disappoint - more pressure on the ECB – Danske
Bank
European PMIs: growth ahead, despite a negative surprise – Danske
Bank
Euro-Area Recovery Loses Pace as Manufacturing Weakens – BB
German headache for the ECB? – Merkelnomics
Euro zone business recovery eases despite price cutting – Reuters
Downbeat activity data pushes global shares lower – Reuters
Flash Consumer Confidence February – European
Commission
European Consumer Confidence Plunges; Misses By Most In 30 Months – ZH
UNITED STATES
The subprime
education crisis – Pieria
That’s a good thing, isn’t it? It shows that lots of young people are
signing up for college instead of sitting around at home doing nothing or doing
dead-end jobs. But all is not well.......
FOMC MINUTES
Beneath Fed’s United Front, Points of Dissension Emerge – WSJ
Little guidance on the eventual new guidance – alphaville
/ FT
Minutes and Thoughts on Forward Guidance – Marc
to Market
Fed Taper Continuing But Forward Guidance Confusion – ZH
"A clear presumption in favor" of Additional Tapering – Calculated
Risk
The Key Passages – WSJ
Minutes Spark Un-Taper Unwind – ZH
MACRO NUMBERS
What Weather? US PMI Explodes To Highs – ZH
Factory activity growth hits nearly four-year high in February: Markit –
Reuters
Philly Fed factory activity unexpectedly contracts in February – Reuters
ASIA
Over the last two weeks, several major investment houses have published
reports exploring the idea of a hard economic landing in China. They include “We
don’t expect it to happen” caveats. But what if it did happen? Would the rest
of the world tank as well?
MACRO NUMBERS
HSBC PMI dropped markedly in February – Danske
Bank
China Manufacturing PMI
Misses, Tumbles To 7-Month Low – ZH
G20 / EMERGING / FED TAPER
IMF Note on Global
Prospects and Policy Challenges – IMF
Note by the Staff prepared for the Feb 22-23 G-20 Meeting in Sydney.
IMF Warns G-20 of
Deflation Risk, Emerging-Market Turmoil – Businessweek
Yellen Leads Fed
Damned Every Way by Emerging Market Angst – BB
G-20 Meeting Guide
From Emerging-Market Gripes to Currencies – BB
OTHER
Quant Funds Feel
Investor Bite After Underperforming – BB
Investors pull $4.9 billion in the last three months of 2013, the most
in five years, according to Chicago-based data provider Hedge Fund Research
Inc. That followed outflows of $1.1 billion in the second quarter and $668
million in the third, HFR said. It was the largest quarterly outflows for the
quant funds since the first three months of 2009
FINNISH
Tavoitteena Euroopan Yhdysvallat – IL
Komission
varapuheenjohtaja näkee euroalueen liittovaltion alkiona.
Haaveilijoille puuhamaa – Eija-Riitta
Korhola / US