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Greek PM says new austerity round will be the last - (finance.yahoo.com)
Greece's prime minister
promised his austerity-weary countrymen on Thursday that new spending cuts
planned for 2013-14 would be the last major austerity package, but insisted it
was vital to remain in the euro. Antonis Samaras, who is struggling to get his
uneasy coalition partners' full support for the €11.5 billion ($14.4 billion)
in cutbacks, argued that economic reforms and privatizations would restore
growth after four years of deep recession. "This is the last such package
of spending cuts," Samaras told a meeting of his conservative party's
officials. "The Greek economy can take no more."
JONATHAN
MILLER: Don't Buy The Hype About A Housing Recovery - (www.businessinsider.com) "When you say 'recovery'
you're implying that things are going to go up," Samuel continued.
"In certain markets you might see that, but in some you won't." So
what does the seasoned appraiser think consumers will see in the market over
the next five years? "A sideways orientation," he said.
"For now, it may make lenders more comfortable and help turn prices
around, but I guess I take offense to it because I think when people hear it,
deep down they don't trust the message either. All it does is create more
confusion."
ECB bankers toil over bond-buying plan - (www.ft.com) When the world’s central bankers make their
annual trip to Jackson Hole it often makes news. But seldom has a central
banker’s non-attendance at the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City’s symposium
grabbed so many headlines as ECB president Mario Draghi’s decision this week to
pull out. Other members of the ECB’s executive board, made up of the
central bank’s top six officials, have also cancelled their plans to travel to
Wyoming. The board’s decision to remain in Frankfurt indicates much remains to
be done before next Thursday’s meeting of the governing council, immediately
after which the bank is expected to unveil the details of its revamped
bond-buying programme.
September Offers 15 Days to Cement Crisis Solutions: Euro
Credit - (www.bloomberg.com) European policy makers end August with 15 days
to justify bondholder optimism that they can deliver lasting solutions to the
debt turmoil. September offers a microcosm of three years of crisis- fighting.
The next two weeks may feature fresh anti-contagion measures from the European Central Bank, a possible aid
request from Spain and insight into whether
creditors will easeGreece’s bailout terms. German judges and
Dutch voters also get to proclaim on the euro’s future. At stake is whether
politicians and the ECB can extend a summertime shift in borrowing costs by
convincing investors Spain and Italy are protected from the rot and
the euro is secure. Since ECB President Mario
Draghi’s July 26 vow to do “whatever it takes” to defend the
currency, Spain’s 10-year bond yield has
fallen about half a point to 6.52 percent, while that of Italy has declined by
a quarter-point to 5.81 percent.
At pivotal moment, Bernanke low on economic ammo - (www.washingtonpost.com) This is not the situation Ben
S. Bernanke wanted to be in. When he took the stage for his annual address in
Jackson Hole, Wyo., four years ago, the Federal Reserve chairman had a broad
arsenal of weapons that he would soon use to rescue the U.S. financial system
from collapse. On Friday, he returns to the yearly economic conference still
facing huge economic challenges, but now he’s far more constrained by both politics
and limitations on what the Fed can do to help the economy. With his speech
sandwiched between the national political conventions, there is more political
pressure on Bernanke than perhaps ever before.
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