Belgium

There have been several important developments over the weekend which are likely to support the euro at the start of the week, after falling for the past four consecutive weeks and recording a 7-week low before the weekend. However, I…

Foreign-language economic and finance links for 26 November

Here is the second version of this foreign news links post that I am starting. The feedback yesterday was good. You all said it makes sense to see what the press in country are saying in Europe since that is the locus of the sovereign debt…

Downgrade watch begins as debt panel concedes defeat - The Hill's On The Money Credit rating agencies reiterated Monday that the U.S. is at risk of a downgrade following the announcement that the supercommittee has failed.…

And the crisis continues in Belgium ... The acting Belgian Prime Minister Elio Di Rupo officially resigned on Monday night. He has been trying to form a government. But after a serious step forward in October, stalled negotiations have led…

Belgian newspaper De Standarad reports that the folks at twice bailed out Franco-Belgian bank Dexia are looking for a new name for the company. Apparently, the Dexia brand has been tarnished. Dexia is Belgium’s version of NCNB, now Bank…

Look at these charts that Win Thin has crafted on sovereign bond spreads. this is what I want to discuss.

Here are a few charts from the credit default swaps market based on 5-year CDS. Here’s what I see.

These governments have to know that these bailouts are going to affect their credit ratings. They need to steer clear of worsening that credit profile in a panic environment. The only way they can do so is by clipping bondholders instead of…

If you recall Global Macro Monitor’s post on Europe's Bank Problem last week, the IMF chart showed very well how banks were struggling to wean themselves from short-term funding sources and increase tangible common equity. The Belgians had…