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Euro Crisis Deeper With Moody’s Downgrading Spain, Cyprus -
(www.bloomberg.com) The European debt crisis deepened as the
credit ratings of Spain and Cyprus were downgraded by Moody’s Investors
Service.
Moody’s
yesterday cut Spain’s rating three steps to Baa3, one level above junk, from
A3, citing the nation’s increased debt burden, weakening economy and limited
access to capital markets. Moody’s also lowered
Cyprus’s bond rating to Ba3 from Ba1, attributing the downgrade to the material
increase in the likelihood of a Greek exit from the euro area, and the
resulting increase in the probable amount of support that the government may
have to extend to Cypriot banks. Moody’s is following the sentiment of
financial markets that weren’t calmed by Europe’s 100 billion-euro ($126
billion) weekend bailout of Spanish banks, said Clay Lowery, a vice president
at Washington-based Rock Creek Global Advisors LLC and former assistant
Treasury secretary for international affairs.
A
New Credit Crisis? What This Bank's Stock Is Telling Markets - (www.cnbc.com) Shares of Credit Suisse fell below
levels the multinational banking giant hit during the U.S. housing
crisis, signaling an even deeper and broader credit crisis may be awaiting global
markets, many investors said. Credit Suisse, the
second-largest Swiss bank, with offices in 46 countries, plunged nearly
10 percent in U.S. trading Thursday to below the $18 level hit in 2008 and then
again in 2009. “Most market participants I talk to continue to underestimate
the importance of the European banking system to global asset markets,” said
Enis Taner, global macro editor at RiskReversal.com. “European bank
balance sheets are more than twice the size of U.S. bank balance sheets and
given that the current crisis in Europe is at its root a banking crisis, the
situation is potentially more concerning than 2008.”
Depositors Fleeing Greek Banks - (www.bloomberg.com) Greek deposit outflows have
accelerated before this weekend’s elections, two bankers familiar with the
situation said, on concern the nation may move closer to abandoning the euro. Daily
withdrawals have increased to the upper end of a 100 million-euro ($125
million) to 500 million-euro range this month, one banker said, asking not to
be identified because the figures aren’t public. A second banker said the
drawdown may have exceeded 700 million euros yesterday. An official for the Bank of Greece (TELL), the Athens-based
central bank, declined to comment. Greek banks are under strain after
individuals and companies withdrew about 72 billion euros since the nation
triggered a region-wide sovereign-debt crisis in October 2009. While lenders
have access to European Central Bank funding, an exit from the euro would cut
them off. Depositors are seeking to preserve their cash on concern Greece may
adopt a new currency that would immediately drop in value.
Stocks Edging Closer to Financial Cliff - (www.youtube.com) TrimTabs President and CEO
Charles Biderman explains why there is little hope for growth any time in the
near future.
Greek
Workers Keep Working Without Pay - (www.cnbc.com)
The stereotype of the lazy
Greek worker, putting in long hours but not producing much, and not declaring
everything to the taxman, has dogged the country’s efforts to get international
sympathy. And this cliché has permeated public opinion elsewhere. Greece is
perceived as the least hard-working country in Europe by
the British, the Germans, the Spanish, Poles and Czechs, according to a recent
survey by Pew. Greeks who were surveyed pointed the finger at Italy as the
laziest country. Yet the picture is far from clear-cut. Greeks have less
vacation time, and their retirement age is rising from the current average of
61 under the terms of the bailout.
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