I wonder if they have any roller coasters in Greece. Judging by the ebb and flow of the ongoing debt swap and aid package negotiations, one might conclude they clearly enjoy the thrill of a wild ride.
U.S. earnings season kicked into high gear last week, and with many of the U.S. investment banks reporting weak results, Wall Street is wondering if this is a temporary slump or if they will soon get back to their high flying days.
Investors’ luck seemed to turn bad on Friday as the European debt problems of 2011 resurfaced again. At the end of the day, Standard & Poor’s downgraded several Euro zone members, including both France and Italy.
Expectations for last week’s European Summit ran the gamut from cautious optimism to cynical pessimism regarding the future of the Eurozone’s single currency experiment.
On the surface, it was yet another week of wrangling over the European debt situation and this time we witnessed a covert, well orchestrated intervention by the world’s most influential central bankers.
Despite the growing problems of the euro-zone’s southern and peripheral economies, the markets had been showing remarkable faith in the future of the single currency bloc. Investors had been moving their money into the “safety” of the core economies as bond yields rose in the more economically challenged ones.
Travelling by rail throughout Europe is considered by many to be a safe, predictable, and efficient way to get from where you are to where you want to be.
Admittedly, it's a bit of stretch to make the connection between baseball's World Series (Go Cards Go!) and the European debt crisis. However, Europe's politicians turned the proverbial 'triple play' as they announced their plan to solve the sovereign debt crisis.
Whoa. It seems a three-day Thanksgiving weekend was all it took for investors' sentiment to shift dramatically from pessimism to optimism. When sentiment shifts it usually does so in a hurry. A generally positive start to corporate earnings season coupled with positive news out of Europe pushed bond yields higher and helped stocks extend their rally to three consecutive weeks.
Following last week’s substantial market selloff, investors were on the hunt for some good news heading into the final week of what has been a remarkably miserable quarter. Lacking any significant catalyst, investment markets continue to take their cues from the ebb and flow of the macro headlines and the flurry of economic data releases.