ShareOne of the larger problems in the unfolding meltdown in Greece is the fraud apparently perpetrated by past Greek governments to conceal their true levels of debt. This is having a very adverse effect on Greek credit spreads to (German) Bunds. 
10-year Greek bonds are trading at 6.67%, while German 10-years are at 3.14%, a [...]

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Well, as reported over the weekend on this blog, the EU Commission did in fact demand “more sacrifices” from the Greek people, and in the end Prime Minister Papandreou had to make a last minute TV appearance to explain to his incredulous listeners that the time [...]

ShareMarc Chandler, Global Head of Currency Strategy at Brown Brothers Harriman has an alarming note out this morning on economic policy.  I take notice because Chandler usually writes in more nuanced and non-apocalyptic tones.  For example, he begins:
The risks are asymmetrical.  Many of the world’s national economies, in various stages of recovery, are still highly [...]

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José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, Spain’s prime minister, said in Davos this week: “We are a serious country and we will fulfil our promises.”

With these words Spain’s Prime Minister sought, during [...]

ShareThe Absolute Return Letter, February 2010
“A democracy is always temporary in nature; it simply cannot exist as a permanent form of government. A democracy will continue to exist up until the time that voters discover that they can vote themselves generous gifts from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for [...]

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“British or German taxpayers cannot finance the failures of others,” German Economy Minister Rainer Bruederle said at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, according to the Associated Press. “Solidarity also means everybody adheres to common rules.”

France is not working with Germany [...]

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Well there certainly is a lot happening out there at the moment. And Monday’s successful bond sale which left the Greek government triumphantly proclaiming they could comfortably meet their 2010 borrowing program now seem to belong to a lifetime ago. The bond raised [...]

ShareBill Gross is out with his latest monthly investment outlook. He is taking on the issue of sovereign debt. This is an issue that has moved center stage, especially in the wake of the surprise Thanksgiving debt moratorium announcement in Dubai.
What caught my eye was this chart below.
 

The obvious implication of the chart is [...]

ShareMarshall Auerback here with a commentary on Robert Rubin’s recent Newsweek article on getting the economy back on track.
As we all know, during his tenure as Treasury Secretary, Robert Rubin laid the groundwork for today’s crisis through his aggressive championing of financial deregulation.  Had he at least acknowledged some remorse or recognition of error, he [...]

ShareThe New York Times points out that zero percent interest rates are not designed for savers. They are a tax on savers, especially the elderly living on a fixed income.
Millions of Americans are paying a high price for a safe place to put their money: extremely low interest rates on savings accounts and certificates of [...]