Tag Archives: European debt crisis

European Yield Barometer Tainted by ECB

Posted on August 16, 2012 by

Over the past week, the yield on ten-year Spanish debt dropped from over 7.00% to a low of 6.60%.  The yield on Italy’s debt dropped from over 6.00% to 5.78%.   That is great news, right?  It means that Europe … Continue reading →

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Jobs Report: Good News and Bad News

Posted on August 5, 2012 by

The market was clearly thrilled with the +163K non-farm payroll (NFP) number on Friday morning.  Equity markets were up worldwide, as were most commodities.  The NFP number was much better than the consensus estimate of +100K, although the estimate of … Continue reading →

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Vote of No Confidence for Draghi

Posted on August 2, 2012 by

After Mario Draghi’s impassioned guarantee to do “whatever it takes to save the euro,” equity markets around the globe initially rose in eager anticipation of the breathtaking new plan to rescue the troubled European sovereign debt markets. Unfortunately, today’s announcement … Continue reading →

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Prices and Earnings Diverge

Posted on July 29, 2012 by

According to FactSet, since June 1, the price of the S&P 500 index has increased by 6.4%, while the year-over-year earnings growth rate for Q3 has declined from +3.5% to -1.6%.  In other words, while analysts were reducing their earnings … Continue reading →

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Yields Soar in Italy and Spain

Posted on July 23, 2012 by

Borrowing costs in Italy and Spain continue to be reliable barometers for the status of the European Debt Crisis.  If Italy and Spain lose access to the credit markets, the house of cards would finally come tumbling down.  As I … Continue reading →

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Housing Starts Only Bright Spot This Week

Posted on July 20, 2012 by

Housing starts were the only bright spot in another dismal week of economic data in the U.S. The following post provides an overview of the major economic releases from this week as well as an update on market conditions, including … Continue reading →

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Spain: More Debt Equals Increased Risk of Default

Posted on June 12, 2012 by

After insisting a week ago that they did not need a bailout, Spain asked for $125 billion to shore up its crumbling banking system. World equity markets initially rallied on the news. Spain’s IBEX 35 index was up a remarkable … Continue reading →

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