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Irish Occupation of Empty Offices Escalates Fight Over Boom-to-Bust Legacy - (www.bloomberg.com) A new front in the battle for Ireland’s empty properties has opened up. Before dawn on Christmas Day, activists took control of an unfinished six-story glass-fronted building in the city of Cork called Stapleton House. Instead of using the 25,000 square feet (2,300 square meters) for offices and stores, they plan to create a cafe, creche, library and music school for community groups. They already hosted a ceili, a traditional Irish dance. “We are taking it back for the people of Cork,” Liam Mullaney, a 35-year-old spokesman for the group of about a dozen protesters that seized the government-controlled building, said in an interview at the site. “It belongs to the taxpayers.” Mullaney and his group are putting an Irish twist on the Occupy Wall Street movement, which began in New York and has spread to cities around the world, and highlighting Ireland’s record number of empty properties, or so-called ghost estates and orphan sites.
Spain Offers Aid to Cash-Starved Regions - (www.bloomberg.com) Spain’s central government will provide a credit line and other liquidity measures to ease pressure on cash-strapped regions while demanding tighter deficits in return, Budget Minister Cristobal Montoro said. The central government in the coming weeks will pay the regions an 8 billion-euro ($10 billion) transfer that had initially been scheduled for July, Montoro told radio station Cadena Ser in an interview today. It will also offer loans via the Official Credit Institute to help regions settle bills for suppliers in a couple of months, he said. “We are submitting these mechanisms on the condition that the regions present fiscally viable plans,” said Montoro. He first announced the measures yesterday after meeting with regional finance chiefs following a pledge by Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy to “rescue” regions with liquidity problems.
Hungary faces ruin as EU loses patience - (www.telegraph.co.uk) The European Commission has launched legal action against Hungary's Fidesz government for violations of European Union treaty law and erosion of democracy, marking a dramatic escalation in the war of words with the EU's enfant terrible. Hungary's defiant premier Viktor Orbán has no hope of securing vital funding from the EU and the International Monetary Fund until the dispute is resolved, leaving him a stark choice of either bowing to EU demands or letting his country slide into bankruptcy. Yields on Hungary's two-year debt jumped to 9.17pc on Tuesday, an unsustainable level for an economy in recession with public debt of near 80pc of GDP. Hungary's debt was cut to junk status by rating agencies last week. Capital Economics said Hungary must repay €5.9bn (£4.9bn) in EU-IMF loans and raise external funds equal to 18pc of GDP this year, the highest in Eastern Europe. Two-thirds of household debt is in Swiss francs, leading to a lethal currency mismatch as capital flight weakens the forint.
The euro is pushing Italy into depression - (www.telegraph.co.uk) Here is the latest money supply chart from the Banca d'Italia. Just look at M3. Horrendous. See page 7 of this report. This speaks for itself. There is no clearer indictment of the dysfunctional nature of monetary union. Italy is being pushed into depression. Criminal. Obviously, Italy and Germany can no longer share the same monetary policy. Ergo, Germany should leave EMU, pronto. The Banca said Italy's economy contracted by 0.5pc in the last quarter of 2011. It will shrink by a further 1.5pc this year, with no growth in 2013. This is a direct result of the misguided pro-cyclical austerity polices imposed by Angela Merkel and the ECB – the infamous Trichet letter – without offsetting monetary and exchange stimulus.
Inside the Fed in 2006: A Coming Crisis and Banter - (www.nytimes.com)
Housings potential 'Death Spiral' - (money.cnn.com)
Germany Cuts 2012 Economic Growth Forecast as Crisis Dims Export Outlook - (www.bloomberg.com)
U.K. Jobless Rate Rises to 16-Year High of 8.4% - (www.bloomberg.com)
China Said to Warn Banks as Local Officials Seek New Loans - (www.bloomberg.com)
Fed Officials Open to Additional Easing as They Monitor Risks to Economy - (www.bloomberg.com)
World Bank slashes global GDP forecasts, outlook grim - (www.reuters.com)
Wholesale Prices in U.S. Unexpectedly Decline - (www.bloomberg.com)
World Bank warns emerging nations - (www.ft.com)
Confidence Among U.S. Homebuilders Climbs to Highest Since 2007 - (www.bloomberg.com)
Analysis: China's housing slowdown to cut a big hole in GDP - (www.reuters.com)
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