The Portuguese government finally caved in on April 6 and requested a European Union (EU) bailout. This was effectively a non-event, however. My colleagues and I had long expected the Portuguese to seek external assistance in Q2 2011, and judging by the muted reaction in the euro and bond spreads, the market had already priced… [Read more]
It is now over 9 months since Greece’s sovereign debt crisis brought the Eurozone’s stability to the forefront of investor concerns. With a trillion dollar bailout fund in place, and the recent bounce in the euro (some 5% against the US dollar), can we assume that the worst is now behind us. Justin Patrie, Head… [Read more]
On this week’s podcast, we interview Business Monitor Chief Economist Tim Cooper, who gives his analysis on the global outlook for 2010. Highlighted themes include relative performance of emerging markets versus developed economies, the inflation outlook, potential for ‘double dips’ in the US and China, asset allocation strategies and the risks to recovery.
Japanese Government Bond (JGB) yields have been testing key technical levels over the past day or so. On Tuesday, the 10-year yield hit a five-month high of 1.48%, up sharply from 1.25% at the beginning of October. The yield failed to break higher on Wednesday, but I am watching resistance (or support in price terms)… [Read more]
