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.
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 OMT – WSJ
Mario Draghi: The
path to recovery and the ECB’s role – ECB
Euro zone banks buy
govt bonds in January -ECB data – Reuters
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
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 employees – WaPo
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 tightens – Reuters
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 Testimony – WSJ
Here’s the most
important thing Janet Yellen said – WaPo
Fed’s Plosser,
Bullard Optimistic on Economic Prospects – WSJ
Fed’s Kocherlakota:
Market Volatility May Attend Tightening – WSJ
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
Consumer sentiment inches up in February – Reuters
EMERGING
China’s Growth Puzzle – Project
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 Worship – View
/ 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 markets – MarketWatch
Emerging-Market
Outflows Top $11 Billion as Growth Slows – BB
FINNISH
Populistin EU-vaihtoehto – Sampo 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
vaihtorahaksi – HS
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-seudulla – KL
Osakeasuntojen hinnat laskivat hieman
tammikuussa – Tilastokeskus
Neliöhinnat pääkaupunkiseudulla 3 541 euroa -
muualla Suomessa 1 657 euroa – Verkkouutiset
Saksa ja Suomi hermostuivat: Miksi EU
löysäilee säästövaatimuksissa? – TE