All Entries Tagged With: "EU"
German High Court Rules in Favor of Bailouts
On Wednesday morning, in a move widely anticipated, the German high court approved the eurozone bailouts as being consistent with the German constitution. German euro-skeptics had challenged the constitutionality of the bailouts in court, perhaps hoping for a decision that would prevent German lawmakers from continuing to bail out troubled eurozone members. If the high [...]
Swiss National Bank Vows to Defend Exchange Rate
On Tuesday, the Swiss National Bank (SNB) opted to peg its currency to the euro. Vowing to use unlimited currency purchases, the SNB pledged to maintain the franc’s exchange rate against the euro above the value of 1.20 euros for every franc. The currencies had approached parity in recent months. The announcement sent a shockwave [...]
Will The Short Sale Ever Return to Europe?
On Thursday last week, several countries in the European Union (EU) announced that they were extending the ban on the short sales of financial stocks. Belgium, Italy, France and Spain had imposed bans earlier in the month. European markets came under heavy selling pressure late in July. Although many cited the debt ceiling extension as [...]
Germany Struggles Over Euro Bailouts
On Wednesday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel spoke about the future of the eurozone. In her remarks, she spoke about her commitment to keep the eurozone intact, yet, at the same time, she dismissed a major proposed solution. Does Merkel believe that the eurozone’s problems are overstated? Or is she merely playing politics and posturing for [...]
German Economy Grinds To a Halt
On Tuesday, German GDP was reported to have increased by only a paltry 0.1% in the second quarter. Analysts had an anticipated an increase five times greater, expecting GDP growth of 0.5%. This may have come as a shock to Eurozone bulls, many of which may have been banking on a powerful Germany to rescue [...]
Will France’s Short-Selling Ban Only Delay the Inevitable?
On Thursday, after a meeting of European regulators failed to produce a definitive agreement, France opted to unilaterally enforce a ban on the short-sale of its financial stocks. France was not the only country to enact such a ban—Belgium, Italy and Spain also imposed similar measures. However, France is most notable for a number of [...]
The German Public May Decide the Fate of the Euro
The European Union has been under tremendous stress in recent weeks. While the debt problems in Greece have been known for years, the situation has exacerbated as first Spain, and then Italy and now even France have come under fire. As the situation has grown in severity, the proposed solutions have also become more extreme. [...]
Russian Ruble Tumbles
Generally speaking, over the past year, the trend for the Russian ruble has been one of appreciation. At one point, the ruble had appreciated against the U.S. dollar by almost 15%. Yet, in recent days, this trend has begun to reverse, and the ruble has experienced a sharp sell-off. On Tuesday, at one point in [...]
Turkish Central Bank Moves to Defend the Lira
On Friday, the Turkish Central Bank opted to begin selling some of its supply of U.S. dollars in an effort to supports its currency the lira. The lira has been weakening in recent months, as the Turkish Central Bank has held interest rates relatively low, even in the face of a booming economy. Critics of [...]
The Rise of Europe’s Right-Wing Could Foreshadow the Euro’s Future
On Friday, ratings agency Moody’s (NYSE: MCO) placed Spain’s credit rating on review for possible downgrade. Spain currently maintains an AA2 rating at Moody’s, which is far better than other nations like Greece, but is still grouped in the PIIGS moniker. Although probably unrelated, following the announcement by Moody’s, Spain’s President Jose Luis Zapatero called [...]
