Temat: Przeglad Prasy Swiatowej

Tutaj zamieszczac mozemy ciekawe art, newsy,komentarze ,etc.....

Temat: Przeglad Prasy Swiatowej

Wall Street gains as Greek worry eases, S&P level eyed

(Reuters) - Stocks advanced on Monday, as the S&P 500 bounced off a key support level and Greece was given an ultimatum by euro-zone ministers in an effort to deal with its debt crisis.

Euro-zone finance ministers gave Greece two weeks from Monday to approve stricter austerity measures in return for another 12 billion euros in emergency loans, piling pressure on Athens to get its ragged finances in order.

"The sense is that Greece is going to get their money -- there is going to be a little bit of a fight, but the sense is the European Union is not going to let Greece default. They are not going to let them go under, so therefore that is holding the market," said Ken Polcari, managing director at ICAP Equities in New York.

Wall Street opened lower, but erased losses as the S&P 500 dipped toward 1,259.78, its 200-day moving average, encouraging buyers. A drop below that level would be the first since September 2010.

"The fact we bounced off the 200-day (moving average) and we are moving higher, and the VIX is kind of coming off a little bit, so that fear in the market seems to be subsiding. It's all a positive thing, in terms of technically for the market," Polcari said.

"But you get a really negative headline out of Europe, and it all goes away."

The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI gained 70.35 points, or 0.59 percent, to 12,074.71.The Standard & Poor's 500 Index .SPX rose 5.42 points, or 0.43 percent, to 1,276.92. The Nasdaq Composite Index .IXIC added 5.65 points, or 0.22 percent, to 2,622.26.

The CBOE Volatility Index .VIX, known as the VIX, shed 4.1 percent to 20.96.

The euro-zone finance ministers expect the money, the next tranche in a 110-billion-euro bailout of Greece by the European Union and the International Monetary Fund, to be paid by mid-July. Greece needs the loans by then to avoid a debt default.

In company news, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved a tamper-resistant pain drug from Pfizer Inc (PFE.N) and Acura Pharmaceuticals Inc (ACUR.O). Acura shares jumped 28.9 percent to $4.99, while shares of Pfizer, a Dow component, slipped 0.3 percent to $20.20.

Wal-Mart Stores Incx (WMT.N) gained 1 percent to $53.35 after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled for the retail giant in the largest sex-discrimination lawsuit in history, saying class-action status for female employees seeking billions of dollars had been improperly granted

Temat: Przeglad Prasy Swiatowej

Oil falls as Greek concerns weigh on prices

(Reuters) - Oil fell on Monday, dragged down by uncertainty about the approval of austerity measure by Greece and the potential impact on the wider economy and demand.

Euro zone finance ministers gave Greece two weeks to approve stricter austerity measures in return for another 12 billion euros ($17 billion) in emergency loans, piling pressure on Athens to get its ragged finances in order.

The concerns pushed Brent crude down by nearly $1 a barrel, while U.S. crude found some support ahead of the July contract expiry on Tuesday, narrowing the spread between the two contracts to below $19 a barrel.

"The expiration of NYMEX July crude tomorrow and some late rollovers are adding to volatility, but the market is down as the resolution of the Greek debt crisis is still up in the air," analysts Phil Flynn of PFGBest Research said.

Brent crude for August traded down $1.19 to $112.12 a barrel by 12:17 p.m. EDT. U.S. oil crude futures dipped 11 cents to $92.89 a barrel after briefly turning positive as the dollar slipped.

U.S. crude pared most of its early losses, having received support after testing its 200-day moving average of $92.30.

The dollar index .DXY also pared its early gains in seesaw trading, lending slight support to the prices.

(Additional reporting by Gene Ramos in New York, Zaida Espana in London and Manash Goswami in Singapore; Editing by Marguerita Choy)

Temat: Przeglad Prasy Swiatowej

Gold gives up gains, euro zone crisis lingers

(Reuters) - Gold gave up early gains on Monday but was still supported by euro zone debt woes after ministers delayed a decision on emergency loans to Greece, while bullion priced in sterling struck a lifetime high.

Euro zone finance ministers postponed to July a final decision on extending a further 12 billion euros in emergency loans to Greece, saying Athens would first have to introduce harsh austerity measures.

Spot gold was at $1,537.21 by 0930 GMT (5:30 a.m. ET) compared with $1,538.40 a tonne late in New York on Friday, having risen above $1,541 on Friday -- its biggest one-day gain since May. Gold is still below a lifetime high around $1,575 touched in early May.

"It's treading water, you're not going to get too much movement either way until we get more clarification as to what happens on Greece," Credit Agricole analyst Robin Bhar said.

"The market is hungry for an actual agreement to be signed, sealed and dusted ... equities have come off this morning, the dollar is probably better bid than it was and markets are just starting the week slightly risk averse having had a good bounce on Friday."

The euro dropped toward recent lows, as a delay to the next tranche of Greek bailout funds undermined confidence in the common currency, with the options market and technical charts suggesting more losses.

Investors await the U.S. Fed's Open Market Committee's announcement on interest rates on June 22, which could squeeze the dollar.

Financial markets are bracing for the conclusion at the end of June of the Fed's quantitative easing, a cheap-money policy credited with boosting stocks but blamed for sky-high commodities prices and a weak dollar.

"Investors will be trying to see how far or how high the bar for the next round of quantitative easing will be. If this bar is actually lowered, then I think it will be beneficial for gold," said Ong Yi Ling, investment analyst at Phillip Futures.

"If it is high, then I think gold will still remain in its current range bounds that we are seeing. I don't think they will do QE3 now."

Gold priced in sterling hit a record high at 954.63 pounds, tracking early gains in spot gold.

IMF WARNING

Recent gains in gold were driven by debt problems in Europe, inflation fears in China following strong economic data and worries about a U.S. economic slowdown.

The International Monetary Fund cut its forecast for U.S. economic growth and warned Washington and debt-ridden European countries that they are "playing with fire" unless they take immediate steps to reduce their budget deficits.

Money managers cut their bullish bets in COMEX gold futures and options after raising them in the past three weeks, as bullion prices fell during the period, futures regulator Commodity Futures Trading Commission data showed.

Silver hardly moved at $35.53 an ounce, below a record at $49.51 an ounce in April. Platinum was at $1,740.99 from $1,750.65 an ounce. Palladium, which has been losing ground in the last few sessions, was little changed at $740.47 an ounce after hitting a four-week low at $737.13.

Temat: Przeglad Prasy Swiatowej

Exclusive: China quietly tightening grip on offshore yuan market

(Reuters) - China is working quietly behind the scenes to tighten its control of the rapidly growing offshore yuan market, and risks turning off some investors from participating in the market and slowing use of the renminbi in global trade.

Chinese regulators are making bankers uneasy by systematically shaping the structure of the so-called CNH market through derivatives regulation and financial bureaucracy, banking and regulatory sources said.

China's offshore yuan market, originally meant to be an experiment to help internationalize the yuan, has grown at a dizzying pace, with investors hungry for exposure to the strengthening but still non-convertible currency.

Beijing, which has made currency reforms in fits and starts, has been trying to ensure a CNH derivatives market follows the mainland market's rules, not international standards.

Bankers and investors, meanwhile, have been trying to push it in a more sophisticated direction by kick starting an offshore yuan derivatives market to hedge the interest rate risk on their bonds.

On May 17, the head of China's National Association of Financial Market Institutional Investors (NAFMII), the country's interbank association, visited several banks in Hong Kong, trying to persuade them to use mainland China's legal documentation for their trades in CNH-denominated derivatives.

Bankers in the NAFMII meetings were reluctant to agree to the rules because it could make derivatives trading more expensive and legally cumbersome, but also fear rejecting them may hurt their chances of expanding their businesses on the mainland, sources familiar with the discussions said.

"Chinese regulators tend to hold out carrots for people who toe the line. All the banks like to think they have special relationships with the Chinese regulator, when at the end of the day it is a divide and conquer strategy by the regulator to fragment the industry," said a Hong Kong derivatives market banker with knowledge of the discussions.

WHOSE RULES?

Yuan deposits in Hong Kong as of April climbed six-fold to 511 billion yuan ($79 billion) from a year ago, and outstanding renminbi-denominated assets, mostly bonds, have expanded to around 130 billion yuan.

NAFMII has various regulatory functions bestowed on it by the People's Bank of China, the country's central bank, and can grant foreign banks key licenses for some mainland activities including underwriting corporate debt.

NAFMII's secretary general Shi Wenchao visited several banks in the city and held discussions with front and back office staff, including some at Bank of China (Hong Kong), HSBC and Standard Chartered, according to two sources at one of banks involved who declined to be named because negotiations were still under way.

While the meetings were friendly, NAFMII were persistent with their suggestions. NAFMII's proposal would mean banks trading over-the-counter derivatives denominated in CNH would have to use NAFMII's legal documentation to bind that trade rather than the International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA)'s Master Agreement, which is used for the vast majority of derivatives traded in global markets.

NAFMII told people at the meeting they had even been hoping to call a press conference that day to announce Hong Kong banks were amenable to using their legal documentation.

NAFMII did not respond to questions from Reuters about the issue.

Bankers said its proposal was unsuitable for the CNH market because it is not set up to handle cross-border transactions and currently requires disputes over issues such as changes to margin requirements be settled in a mainland arbitration tribunal or court.

"We would take a very negative view on this, we use NAFMII's agreement in China because we have to, but no one is interested in using it where we don't have to," said a senior lawyer at a bank active in the CNH market.

A key benefit for banks in having a one-size fits all document, such as ISDA's Master Agreement, is that it is easier for banks to arrange how to offset exposures to various trades because they are all bound by the same rules.

"There could be difficulties with netting arrangements in terms of how to bridge the two documents so that banks can get the full netting benefits of different trades," said Chin Chong Liew, a partner at law firm Linklaters in Hong Kong who specializes in handling derivatives law.

HSBC and Deutsche Bank traded the first CNH interest rate swap in October 2010, but the swap market has failed to take off, forcing banks to resort to other creative methods to hedge their risks.

"Currently, it is not a deal breaker as people are using the cross-currency swap market to hedge their risk exposure but we do need a more stronger form of risk management for this market to take off," Linan Liu, a strategist at Deutsche Bank in Hong Kong, said.

"I hope that something is done about this quickly to let the IRS market grow."

WAITING FOR THE PBOC

In addition to rules surrounding CNH derivatives, banks in Hong Kong are also concerned about the slowgoing, murky process to set up fiduciary accounts with the PBOC.

Authorities in China and Hong Kong allowed banks to set up special accounts with the PBOC in April, in response to concerns of Hong Kong-based banks that placing more of their yuan deposits with the Bank of China Hong Kong -- which remains the sole clearer for the CNH market -- raised counterparty credit risks.

Banks participating in the CNH market are required to invest a quarter of their yuan deposits with the Bank of China Hong Kong (BOCHK), but the proportion has been usually larger because of the lack of yuan investment avenues in the territory.

In addition, BOCHK itself said that acting as a yuan depository was eating into its margins.

In response, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), the territory's de-facto central bank, and the PBOC launched a scheme whereby banks could instead place the yuan funds in fiduciary accounts at the PBOC with BOCHK acting as the custodian in the middle.

The fiduciary accounts structure immediately ran into controversy, and only a handful of banks out of the 121 involved in offshore yuan trading have secured approval for these accounts.

The biggest concern is that the PBOC is placing all yuan deposits from foreign banks into one large pool of liquidity, rather than keeping each bank's deposits separately.

This has fueled fears that in the event of a liquidity crunch, banks would find it difficult to withdraw their yuan deposits all at once, said the head of capital markets at a foreign bank who was not authorized to speak to media.

Lack of clarity about the fiduciary accounts has been a factor weighing on interbank deposit rates in recent weeks. Banks sitting on excess deposits have been forced to scour the money market to invest the funds, pushing down deposit rates to as low as 20 to 30 basis points from around 60 basis points, which is what China offers to Hong Kong banks for their yuan deposits.

By comparison, the mainland's one-year onshore deposit rate is 3.25 percent.

The HKMA dismisses criticisms that the fiduciary arrangement is not functioning properly.

"The arrangement was launched in March 2011 and is now fully operational. Banks requiring such services have already opened a fiduciary account with the Bank of China (Hong Kong), the Clearing Bank for RMB business in Hong Kong," they said in an emailed statement.

Banks disagree.

"This was unlike what we had seen in clearing and settlement agreements before," said the capital markets banker.

($1 = 6.471 Chinese Renminbi)

Temat: Przeglad Prasy Swiatowej

The Greek collapse ought to destroy reputations around Europe, but it won't

(The Telegraph)- A number of commentators are belatedly coming around to the view that bailing out Greece was useless. They are wrong. The bailouts, far from being ineffective, have been actively harmful. Greece is deeper in debt today than it was a year ago, and the losses when it defaults will now be felt, not by a small number of bankers and bondholders, but by all of us.

The dégringolade ought to destroy careers across the EU. Ministers, central bank governors, economists, columnists: there are hundreds of guilty men who supported a policy which they knew to be illegal, even if they didn’t understand quite how destructive it would be. Not that this will happen, of course. Just as those who got it wrong on the euro are still deferred to on the BBC as impartial experts, so those who were wrong about the bailouts (usually the same people) will emerge from the present catastrophe with their reputations intact. It is usually better, in public life, to be part of a mistaken Establishment than to be wise too early.

There is, I’m afraid, no way of putting this modestly, so here goes. This blog has been consistently acurate about Greece since the possibility of a bailout was first officially denied in February of last year. During Britain’s general election campaign, I wondered at the failure of the MSM to cover the issue that would surely be the first test of the new government. Last March, using the same Sophoclean metaphor that Boris uses today, I predicted that, instead of allowing Greece to decouple, devalue and default, the EU would be drawn into successive bailouts:

If we must labour the “Greek tragedy” theme, let’s do it properly. We’ve had the hubris bit: the artificial boom, when the markets persuaded themselves that Greek and German debt were interchangeable. Now we’re getting the nemesis. But the catharsis is being artificially stayed. Instead of a market correction, a fall in the exchange rate and an overhaul of the economy, we shall have another bailout.

Why is the EU so determined to do the wrong thing? After all, Greece accounts for less than three per cent of its economy. The answer is the one that Dr Zhivago gives Gromeko when he asks, wretchedly, why the Bolsheviks had to shoot the Tsar: “It’s to show there’s no going back”. The EU depends, to a far greater degree than is usually acknowledged, on a sense of inevitability. Once people get used to the idea that you can pull out of aspects of European integration that you don’t like, the whole system might start to unravel. Thus have the suffering people of Greece been condemned to a generation of poverty and emigration in order to sustain the euro.

Our generation thinks it extraordinary that, in ancien régime Europe, the nobility had exemption from taxes. How, we ask ourselves, could a system have been designed in which the fiscal burden fell only on the poor? Yet we have now come up with precisely the same racket, as European bankers and bondholders shuffle off their liabilities on to the taxpayer.

The only way out is for Greece to leave the euro, price itself back into the market and start exporting its way back to growth. A default is going to happen sooner or later. Deferring it serves only to make the eventual reckoning heavier.

Temat: Przeglad Prasy Swiatowej

Eurozone delay over Greek rescue risks spooking markets

(The Telegraph)- Eurozone finance ministers have postponed a final decision on extending €12bn in emergency loans to Greece, saying Athens would first have to introduce harsh austerity measures.

The ministers said they expected the money, the next tranche in a €110bn bailout of Greece by the European Union and the International Monetary Fund, to be paid by mid-July. Greece has said it needs the loans by then to avoid defaulting on its debt.

But keeping up their pressure on Athens, where public opposition to austerity has been growing, the ministers insisted that disbursement would depend on the Greek parliament first passing laws on fiscal reforms and selling off state assets.

"To move to the payment of the next tranche, we need to be sure that the Greek parliament will approve the confidence vote and support the programme, so the decision will be taken at the start of the month of July," said Belgian Finance Minister Didier Reynders.

News of the delay saw the euro slip against the dollar in early Asian trade on Monday.

In a statement issued after a seven-hour meeting in Luxembourg that ended in the early hours of Monday morning, the ministers also announced they would put together a second bailout of Greece, which missed debt targets in the first rescue plan by big margins.

The new plan, to be outlined by early July, will include more official loans and, for the first time, a contribution by private investors, who will be expected to maintain their exposure to Greece through voluntary purchases of new bonds as existing ones mature.

The statement did not say how large the new bailout would be, or give details of the private sector contribution beyond describing it as "substantial".

Fears of a Greek default have have heightened fears of a Lehman-style collapse as led British banks to withdraw billions of pounds of liquidity from the eurozone.

On Friday, financial markets steadied after Angela Merkel abandoned Germany's tough stance on Greek debt amid warnings a failure to yield would trigger the eurozone's first-ever default.

Traders said they expected a decison on aid for Greece to be made over the weekend, but the lack of a package could reignite jitters when markets open on Monday.

German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble told German television on Sunday that eurozone nations should give private creditors an incentive to take part in a new Greek rescue and as long as it is voluntary and does not trigger a credit event.

He told broadcaster ARD: "Banks and financial investors have an interest in the problem being solved properly. We need a voluntary solution, but that does not mean that we don't need incentive - sticks and carrots as one would say.

"It must be voluntary so that we do not trigger a credit event on financial markets."

Germany sees a plan - based on the 2009 Vienna Initiative by banks to voluntarily maintain exposures in Eastern Europe at the height of the financial crisis - as a good foundation for a Greek deal.

Many economists doubt that Greece can ever repay its debts, which have reached €340bn (£300bn) or 150pc of the country's annual economic output.

Any Greek debt rollover would be complex and controversial, financially and legally, and key details have not been worked out. Eurozone finance ministers aim to find a solution, a temporary one at least, at the Luxembourg meeting.

As eurozone finance ministers met, the Greek parliament was discussing whether to back Prime Minister George Papandreou and his new austerity package.

Mr Papanderou urged political parties to forge a "national accord" and back him in a confidence vote in order to overcome the economic crisis at a "crucial" time at the start of the three-day debate. .

He asked Greeks to support the austerity steps and avoid a "catastrophic" default, appealling for the nation to accept deeply unpopular tax hikes, spending cuts and privatisation plans.

"The consequences of a violent bankruptcy or exit from the euro would be immediately catastrophic for households, the banks and the country's credibility," he told parliament as protests against austerity measures continued outside the building.

Temat: Przeglad Prasy Swiatowej

Wall Street ends higher, but weak volume a warning sign

(Reuters) - Stocks rose on Monday, as the latest development to reduce Greece's debt helped draw buyers and the S&P 500 touched a key support level, but anemic volume signaled the recent weakness may not be over.

Stocks erased early losses as the S&P 500 dipped toward 1,259.78, its 200-day moving average, which is often viewed as a pivotal point in determining the market's direction. A drop below that level would be the first since September 2010.

"When you're in the midst of a bullish trend since July of last year -- that's when the bottom was -- I think people tend to look for places to buy dips, and this is just an obvious place to expect some buying to come into the market," said John Kosar, director of research at Asbury Research in Chicago.

The moves higher may have been slightly exaggerated due to thin volume. Just 5.66 billion shares traded on the New York, Nasdaq and NYSE Amex exchanges, compared with a daily average of 7.58 billion.

Euro-zone finance ministers gave Greece two weeks from Monday to approve stricter austerity measures in return for another 12 billion euros in emergency loans, piling pressure on Athens to get its ragged finances in order.

The euro-zone finance ministers expect the money, the next tranche in a 110-billion-euro bailout of Greece by the European Union and the International Monetary Fund, to be paid by mid-July. Greece needs the loans by then to avoid a debt default.

Despite the development, financials were the S&P 500's weakest sector. Shares declined after Citigroup cut price targets on a number of banks, including Goldman Sachs (GS.N), citing a tough regulatory environment. Goldman's shares slipped 1.5 percent to $135.14, while Morgan Stanley (MS.N) shares dropped 1.9 percent to $22.39.

The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI climbed 76.02 points, or 0.63 percent, to end at 12,080.38. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index .SPX rose 6.86 points, or 0.54 percent, to 1,278.36. The Nasdaq Composite Index .IXIC gained 13.18 points, or 0.50 percent, to 2,629.66 at the close.

The S&P 500 is up about 22 percent since the end of August, but has pulled back in recent weeks amid signs that the U.S. economic recovery is faltering.

The CBOE Volatility Index .VIX, known as the VIX, lost 8.5 percent, its biggest daily percentage drop since March 21.

"I think the (economic) soft patch is already priced into the market, but we're only three or four weeks away from the heart of earnings reporting, and that should be the catalyst that turns the pullback into a correction or ends the pullback," said Hank Smith, chief investment officer at Haverford Trust Co. in Philadelphia.

Some see the latest downward trend for stocks as intact for now.

"We continue to see the intermediate-term indicators in a negative state, while short-term oversold conditions increase," said Larry McMillan, president of McMillan Analysis Corp., in Morristown, New Jersey.

The S&P health-care index .GSPA rose 1 percent and ranked among the session's top-performing sectors.

The Food and Drug Administration approved a tamper-resistant pain drug from Pfizer Inc (PFE.N) and Acura Pharmaceuticals Inc (ACUR.O). Acura shares jumped 16.3 percent to $4.50, while shares of Pfizer, a Dow component, rose 0.05 percent to $20.27.

In the consumer discretionary sector, which was also among the top-performing groups, Wal-Mart Stores Inc (WMT.N) gained 0.4 percent to $53.04. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled for the retail giant in the largest sex-discrimination lawsuit in history, saying class-action status for female employees seeking billions of dollars had been improperly granted.

Advancing stocks outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by about 2 to 1. On the Nasdaq, advancers beat decliners by about 15 to 11.

Temat: Przeglad Prasy Swiatowej

Cabinet vote nears as EU/IMF team heads to Greece

(Reuters) - Prime Minister George Papandreou's cabinet faces a confidence vote late on Tuesday, the first of three tests the Greek government must survive to avert the euro zone's first sovereign debt default.

The vote follows a euro zone ultimatum that the debt-choked Mediterranean state must approve a new five-year package of painful economic reforms in two weeks or miss out on a 12-billion-euro aid tranche that it needs to avoid bankruptcy.

While parliament debates the confidence vote against a backdrop of deep public anger over the pain of the austerity measures, IMF and European inspectors arrived in Athens to discuss changes requested by Greece to the reform package.

Unions and grassroots activists will protest at parliament ahead of the vote, building on more than three weeks of demonstrations that erupted into violence last week and split the ruling PASOK party.

Papandreou stifled dissent by replacing some unpopular government figures with critics of the plan. Now, with 155 of the chamber's 300 seats, the party is expected to win the confidence motion in a vote due around 2100 GMT (5 p.m. ET) but which could slip into the early hours of Wednesday.

Assuming it survives the vote, the government must hammer through the five-year package of 28 billion euro ($39.84 billion) in tax hikes and spending cuts by June 28.

It must then push through laws implementing the package -- potentially more difficult as it will tackle individual privatizations, tax measures and spending cuts -- in time for an extraordinary meeting of euro zone finance ministers on July 3.

"Tonight is just the beginning of what is still a long and protracted process," said Gavin Friend, a strategist at National Australia Bank.

"We've got to get through the parliamentary approval of June 28th, and an even tougher act to follow on July 3rd, which is how are they going to meet these targets. There are still a lot of hoops to jump through."

Pundits say it is very unlikely the cabinet will fail to muster all its parliamentarians to pass the confidence vote, as this would lead to political chaos and early elections which PASOK would likely lose.

It would also push the country even closer to default, escalating the risk of destabilizing global financial markets.

The euro inched up in choppy trading on Tuesday on hopes the squabbling policymakers would come up with a solution to avoid a Greek default.

BAILOUT INSPECTORS

Greek state power utility PPC continued a 48-hour strike started at midnight on Sunday in protest of government plans to sell the company. The strike has resulted in rolling power outages on the outskirts of Athens and elsewhere.

The euro zone's effective ultimatum was intended to ratchet up pressure on Greek lawmakers to both support the new cabinet and push through the reforms.

Having already missed targets agreed in its first, year-old bailout, the package is required if Athens wants to both receive the next tranche of those funds and secure a second bailout worth an estimated 120 billion euros.

The new mid-term plan envisions raising 50 billion euros by selling off state firms and includes 6.5 billion in 2011 fiscal consolidation, almost doubling existing measures that have helped extend a deep recession into its third year.

Most analysts expect the package to pass, but many are skeptical that Greece will be able to reduce its vast sovereign debt pile of 340 billion euros, or more than 30,000 euros per head of its 11.3 million population.

The inspectors' visit follows a request by newly appointed Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos for changes to the mid-term plan. Greece's government has said the lenders' inspectors would discuss changes "at a technical level."

The government has not given any details, although Venizelos's predecessor had proposed dropping a tax hike on heating oil and raising the tax-free threshold on property.

Citing unnamed sources, daily Eleftherotypia reported on Tuesday the team may discuss income taxes and a levy on soft drinks, as well as the planned sale of majority stakes in Greek utilities PPC, EYDAP and Thessaloniki Water.

Those sales, extremely contentious among the tens of thousands of workers at the companies, have drawn criticism from some ruling party deputies but are a crucial part of the EU and IMF mandated push to raise budget revenues.

Euro zone officials have told Reuters the plan for the new bailout, meant to extend Greece's year-old 110-billion-euro deal and fund it into late 2014, would feature up to 60 billion euros of fresh official loans, 30 billion euros from the private sector and 30 billion euros from privatizations.

Despite deep concern about contagion from Greece infecting bigger euro zone peripheral economies like Spain and Italy, some analysts say too much is at stake to allow this to happen.

"In the big scheme of things, market players are starting to believe that euro zone policymakers, especially German policymakers, will try to avoid a hard landing in Greece," said Makoto Noji, senior strategist at SMBC Nikko Securities.

Temat: Przeglad Prasy Swiatowej

World stocks off 3-week low, focus on Greece


(Reuters) - World stocks and the euro rose from last week's three-week lows on Tuesday as expectations that the euro zone will avoid a messy default of Greek sovereign debt attracted investors back into risky assets.



Investors are awaiting a parliamentary confidence vote for Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou, a step toward the passage of more spending cuts in exchange for foreign loans.

World stocks are down nearly 8 percent from their three-year high set in May as investors grew worried disorderly restructuring of Greek debt would cause ructions in the market and hit the region's banking sector.

Similarly, the euro has fallen 3.7 percent from its 2-1/2 year peak against the dollar set in May.

"Going into the confidence vote people are thinking the Greek government will win and they don't want to be short of euros going into it," said Adrian Schmidt, currency strategist at Lloyds.

"But there is a danger that there will be a knee-jerk positive reaction after the vote but then people will not want to be long of euros with the austerity vote coming up." MSCI world equity index .MIWD00000PUS was up 0.6 percent on the day while the FTSEurofirst 300 index .FTEU3 rose 0.8 percent.

Emerging stocks .MSCIEF rose 1.1 percent. Shanghai stocks .SSEC -- which have been under pressure on concerns about more credit tightening -- rose 1 percent to move away from the previous day's 9-month low.

"Certainly valuations are more attractive than they were. We have seen some selective bargain hunting here and there," said Keith Bowman, equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown.

The bund futures fell 21 ticks.

If the confidence vote is passed, the Greek parliament will vote on the austerity measures by June 28. Euro zone finance ministers gave debt-crippled Greece two weeks from Monday to approve further spending cuts and tax rises in return for another 12 billion euros in emergency loans.

Credit rating agency Fitch said on Tuesday it would regard both a Greek sovereign debt swap and a rollover of maturities, even a voluntary one, as a default.

U.S. crude oil rose 1.4 percent to $94.56 a barrel, helped by the dollar which fell 0.3 percent against a basket of major currencies .DXY.

The Federal Reserve starts its two-day meeting later on Tuesday. Since their last meeting in April, U.S. economic data has taken a decisively weak tone but the central bank has set the bar very high for any more monetary stimulus after its $600 billion bond buying program that ends this month.

Temat: Przeglad Prasy Swiatowej

JPMorgan to pay $153.6 million in SEC fraud case

(Reuters) - JPMorgan Chase & Co agreed to pay $153.6 million to settle U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission charges that it defrauded investors who bought mortgage securities it helped sell just before the nation's housing market collapsed.

The SEC also filed civil charges accusing Edward Steffelin, a former managing director at GSC Capital Corp, of failing to reveal in marketing materials for the transaction, Squared CDO 2007-1, that the Magnetar Capital LLC hedge fund helped choose the underlying securities -- and bet that they would lose value.

Tuesday's announcement marks one of the most significant legal settlements arising out of allegations of Wall Street's role in fueling the 2008 global financial crisis.

It comes less than a year after Goldman Sachs Group Inc agreed to pay $550 million to settle SEC charges over another collateralized debt obligation, Abacus. The SEC said Goldman had failed to reveal that hedge fund investor John Paulson had helped choose and bet against the underlying securities.

SEC enforcement chief Robert Khuzami told reporters that the cases are "generally similar" because "there was an undisclosed party who was involved in selecting assets for a CDO that the investors were unaware of."

No JPMorgan executives were charged, and Khuzami said he did not expect any such charges.

"Cases arising out of the credit crisis remain a high priority for the SEC," he added.

Fabrice Tourre, a Goldman vice president, was the only individual charged by the SEC over Abacus and has not settled.

Critics say CDOs such as Squared and Abacus worsened the housing bubble by fueling investors' insatiable demand for debt bearing risks they did not understand, and by causing pain as defaults mounted and the debt lost value or became illiquid.

STEFFELIN LAWYER "BAFFLED"

The JPMorgan settlement calls for the second-largest U.S. bank to pay a $133 million fine and $20.6 million reflecting improper profits plus interest.

Of the total, $125.9 million will go to Squared CDO investors, covering all their losses, and $27.7 million will go to the U.S. Treasury.

JPMorgan also voluntarily agreed to pay $56.8 million to investors in a separate CDO, Tahoma CDO I.

The bank did not admit wrongdoing, and in a statement said it lost nearly $900 million on Squared notes. It said the SEC took the Tahoma payment into account in assessing a penalty.

Alex Lipman, a partner at Nixon Peabody who represents Steffelin, criticized the SEC's actions against his client.

"We are baffled by the SEC's decision to proceed against an individual in a contested proceeding on a negligence theory, especially in a case where Mr. Steffelin did not work for the underwriter and had no responsibility for the contents of the offering memorandum," Lipman said in an interview.

In January, the SEC had sent a "Wells notice" indicating possible civil charges against Steffelin over the Squared CDO. It also sent a similar notice to Michael Llodra, once global head of structured product collateralized debt obligations at JPMorgan, over the 2007 sale of such a product.

"LET'S SCHEDULE THE CESARIAN"

According to the SEC, JPMorgan in 2007 structured the Squared CDO mainly with credit default swaps tied to other CDO securities whose value reflected the health of the nation's housing market.

Squared CDO sales materials indicated that the underlying investments were chosen by a GSC affiliate, but in fact Magnetar played a significant role and held a nearly $600 million short position, the SEC said.

The complaint quoted excerpts from internal JPMorgan communications indicating that the bank knew of distress in the housing market but still pushed for the CDO to be sold.

"We are soooo pregnant with this deal, we need a wheel-barrel to move around.... Let's schedule the cesarian, please!" wrote the person heading the CDO's distribution to sales staff in a March 22, 2007 email quoted in the complaint.

The SEC also suggested Steffelin, a 41-year-old Manhattan resident, had an undisclosed potential conflict of interest when the CDO was being created because he was looking for employment at Magnetar at the time.

"At no time did Mr. Steffelin seek employment with Magnetar," his lawyer Lipman said. "At all times, Mr. Steffelin's interests were aligned with the interests of investors in the deal."

In afternoon trading, JPMorgan shares were up 47 cents or 1.2 percent at $40.95 in afternoon trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

The cases are SEC v. JPMorgan Securities LLC, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 11-04206; and SEC v. Steffelin in the same court, No. 11-04204.

Temat: Przeglad Prasy Swiatowej

World stocks rally, euro gains on Greece hopes

(Reuters) - Global stocks rallied and the euro jumped on Tuesday on growing expectations that Greece will avoid a debt default after a key late-night vote in the Greek parliament.

Investors bet that Prime Minister George Papandreou would survive a confidence vote, a key hurdle the country must clear to avert a debt default. The vote is due around 5 p.m. New York time (2100 GMT).

The Nasdaq reclaimed positive territory for the year as Wall Street surged in a broad advance. Shares rose by almost 6 to 1 on the New York Stock Exchange.

World stocks have tumbled almost 8 percent from three-year highs set in early May as the threat of a disorderly restructuring of Greek debt roiled global markets and hit banking shares in Europe and elsewhere.


The euro broke through resistance at the 55-day simple moving average against the U.S. dollar, rising as high as 1.44230 on electronic trading platform EBS.

The euro was up 0.8 percent at $1.44225.
In contrast, the U.S. dollar index .DXY shed 0.7 percent.

Euro-zone finance ministers said the Greek government had until July 3 to approve reforms to get the next installment of 110 billion euros in aid from the European Union and International Monetary Fund.

"There is increased optimism that one, the prime minister will survive the confidence motion tonight and two, that will pave the way for austerity measures to be passed," said Nick Stamenkovic, a strategist at RIA Capital Markets in London.

"As a result, Greece will get the necessary financing to push the debt restructuring further down the road," Stamenkovic said. "But the stakes are high."

European shares rose at their fastest pace in two months, bouncing off three-month closing lows, and benchmark government debt prices on both sides of the Atlantic fell.

Commodities also advanced broadly, with the 19-commodity Reuters-Jefferies CRB index .CRB climbing 0.6 percent after paring early gains.

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial average .DJI was up 121.85 points, or 1.01 percent, at 12,202.23. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index .SPX was up 17.88 points, or 1.40 percent, at 1,296.24. The Nasdaq Composite Index .IXIC was up 55.80 points, or 2.12 percent, at 2,685.46.

The FTSEurofirst 300 index .FTEU3 of top European shares added 1.5 percent to close at 1,096.95, the biggest gain since April 20.

The MSCI world equity index .MIWD00000PUS rose 1.7 percent and an index of emerging market stocks .MSCIEF gained 1.5 percent.


The U.S. Federal Reserve began a two-day meeting that ends on Wednesday, when Fed watchers hope to learn more about U.S. central bank policy to deal with an economy that shows signs of slowing while underlying inflation pressures build.

Traders said the euro's gain sparked a relief rally, although many questioned its strength.

Even if Papandreou's cabinet survives the confidence vote, the euro's gains would be short-lived as it would not necessarily guarantee that Greece will be able to pass new austerity measures on June 28, traders said.

"We should see cautious trading ahead of the Greek vote and if it is passed, euro/dollar should react positively," said Roberto Mialich, currency strategist at Unicredit in Milan. He expected gains to be capped below $1.4450.

"The picture is so uncertain about the euro zone periphery that it will prevent big investors from taking large directional positions," Mialich said.

Oil edged higher.


The July contract for U.S. light crude, which expired on Tuesday, settled up 14 cents at $93.40. The more heavily traded August contract settled up 54 cents at $94.17.

The benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note was down 8/32 in price to yield 2.99 percent.

Gold prices rose slightly, lifted by investors still worried about a possible Greek debt default and financial contagion.

Spot gold was bid at $1,545.80 a troy ounce.

Temat: Przeglad Prasy Swiatowej

Greek government wins vote of confidence

(Reuters) - The Greek government won a vote of confidence early Wednesday, overcoming a first hurdle in winning new financing to avoid bankruptcy.

More than half the deputies in the 300-strong parliament backed the socialist government of Prime Minister George Papandreou, who reshuffled his cabinet last week to stiffen resolve behind a painful new austerity program.

Temat: Przeglad Prasy Swiatowej

Greek government survives vote


(Reuters) - Greece's embattled government on Wednesday survived a confidence vote crucial to avoiding a sovereign default, as thousands of protesters chanted insults outside parliament.



The assembly voted confidence in the government, reshuffled by Prime Minister George Papandreou to stiffen resolve behind a painful new austerity program, by 155 votes to 143 with two abstentions. All Papandreou's Socialist Party deputies voted solidly with the government.

"If we are afraid, if we throw away this opportunity, then history will judge us very harshly," Papandreou said in a final appeal for support before the vote.

The closely watched vote had an immediate impact with the euro making gains, although traders said continuing concerns about implementation of the measures contained the currency's advance.

Protesters besieged parliament in Syntagma square, chanting slogans against the politicians, shining hundreds of green laser lights at the building and into the eyes of riot police outside and pushing their hands forward in a traditional insult.



Papandreou's government must rapidly pass two more tests -- enacting the austerity plan and the laws needed to implement it -- to win a new bailout to avert the euro zone's first sovereign default and possible global economic disaster.

The vote follows a European ultimatum requiring the debt-choked Mediterranean state to implement a new five-year package of deeply unpopular reforms in two weeks or miss out on a 12-billion euro aid tranche and plunge into bankruptcy.

European Commission President Manuel Barroso piled on the pressure before the vote, saying that Greece faced a "moment of truth" and needed to show it was genuinely committed to the reforms.

"No-one can be helped against their will," Barroso said in Brussels, adding that backing from the political opposition -- which has so far rejected the package and called for elections -- was important for success.

Acting IMF chief John Lipsky sent a similar message, saying international lenders were willing to help peripheral euro zone economies as long as they tried to carry out reforms.

He said the Greek fiscal system was broken but could be fixed with the right political will.

PROTESTS INCREASE

As parliament debated the confidence motion, demonstrators stepped up their protests in the square, where hundreds have camped for weeks to show their opposition to more austerity, which has deepened the worst recession for 37 years.

"I believe we should go bankrupt and get it over with. These measures are slowly killing us," said 22-year-old student Efi Koloverou. "We want competent people to take over."

Glykeria Madaraki, a 39-year-old unemployed woman, said: "God help us. There is no way these people are getting us out of the crisis. I feel insecure and I see my country being sold off. They didn't ask what we think about all this. I want elections."

Inside parliament the opposition poured similar disdain on the government. "This is not a program to salvage the economy, it's a program for pillage before bankruptcy," said Alexis Tsipras, head of the small opposition Left Coalition.

Temat: Przeglad Prasy Swiatowej

Greek government survives vote, battles on to avert bankruptcy


(Reuters) - Greece's government will approve its new austerity package on Wednesday after it survived a confidence vote, clearing the first hurdle in a battle to secure emergency loans and avert the euro zone's first sovereign debt default.



Prime Minister George Papandreou's reshuffled cabinet aims to get parliament approval for a package of spending cuts, tax hikes and state asset sales by June 28 and then push through laws needed to implement it within the next two weeks to avoid missing out on 12 billion euros ($17 billion) in aid and plunging into bankruptcy.

The vote follows a European ultimatum linking the release of the next installment of a 110 billion euro EU/IMF aid package due in two weeks to a new five-year belt-tightening plan.

Without the loans, Athens will run out of cash next month and policymakers fear a default would send shock waves through the global financial system.

The euro rose in hopes that the immediate threat of market chaos could be avoided, but the gains were short-lived as traders cited concerns about implementation of harsh austerity measures in a nation bruised by its worst recession in 37 years and doubts about Greece's ability to reduce its debt burden without some form of restructuring.

"The reaction of the people is going to be critical. If we see cars burning and protests tomorrow, then all this short term success is going to get sucked out the window," said William Larkin, a fixed-income portfolio manager at Cabot Money Management in Salem, Massachusetts.

DEFAULT ONLY WAY OUT FOR GREECE?

Speaking just hours after the vote, Mohamed El-Erian, head of Pimco, the world's biggest bond fund, said he expected Greece to end up defaulting on its debt.

"For the next three years, we're going to see different economies work out different problems. For European economies, especially Greece, it would be through default," El-Erian told a conference in Taipei.

Papandreou managed to stifle dissent within his party last week by replacing unpopular government figures with critics of the austerity plan and repeatedly hammering home the message of what was at stake.

"If we are afraid, if we throw away this opportunity, then history will judge us very harshly," Papandreou said in a final appeal for support before the confidence vote.

All of Papandreou's Socialist Party deputies voted solidly with the government, handing him a victory by 155 votes to 143 with two abstentions, while thousands of protesters besieged the parliament building, shouting insults at politicians and shining hundreds of green laser lights at the building and at Greek police.

Having already missed targets agreed in its first, year-old bailout, Athens needs the reforms to keep receiving those funds and secure a second bailout worth an estimated 120 billion euros.

The new mid-term plan envisions raising 50 billion euros by selling off state firms and includes 6.5 billion in 2011 fiscal consolidation, almost doubling existing measures that have helped extend a deep recession into its third year.

Most analysts remain skeptical that Greece will be able to reduce its vast public debt pile of 340 billion euros, 1.5 times its annual economic output and more than 30,000 euros for each of its 11.3 million people, even if the reforms are implemented.

But for now both markets and European policymakers are willing to give Greece the benefit of the doubt.

"Although this clearly is not going to be a long-term fix, investors see this as a chance that the can will be kicked further down the road," said David Dietze, Chief Investment strategist at Point View Financial Services.

ANGER BUILDS IN ATHENS

European Commission President Manuel Barroso, who had piled on pressure before the vote, expressed relief.

"Tonight's vote in the Greek Parliament removes an element of uncertainty from an already very difficult situation," he said, adding that Papandreou could now concentrate on implementing the reforms.

Acting IMF chief John Lipsky sent a similar message, saying international lenders were willing to help peripheral euro zone economies as long as they tried to carry out reforms. He said the Greek fiscal system was broken but could be fixed with the right political will.

The cabinet will meet on Wednesday afternoon to approve a draft bill implementing the austerity plan, officials said. It will aim to get it passed in parliament by June 28 and then it must push through laws implementing the reforms -- potentially more difficult as it will tackle individual privatizations, tax measures and spending cuts -- in time for an extraordinary meeting of euro zone finance ministers on July 3.

As parliament debated the confidence motion, demonstrators stepped up their protests in the square, where hundreds have camped for weeks to show their opposition to more austerity, which has deepened the worst recession for 37 years.

"I believe we should go bankrupt and get it over with. These measures are slowly killing us," said 22-year-old student Efi Koloverou. "We want competent people to take over."

Glykeria Madaraki, a 39-year-old unemployed woman, said: "God help us. There is no way these people are getting us out of the crisis. I feel insecure and I see my country being sold off. They didn't ask what we think about all this. I want elections."

Inside parliament the opposition poured similar disdain on the government.

"This is not a program to salvage the economy, it's a program for pillage before bankruptcy," said Alexis Tsipras, head of the small opposition Left Coalition.

Newly appointed Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos, in an attempt to answer a key grievance of protesters, told parliament the government's top priority would be to build a fairer tax system.

Inspectors from the International Monetary Fund and European Union arrived on Tuesday to examine a request by Venizelos for changes to the mid-term plan. Greece's government has said the lenders' inspectors would discuss changes "at a technical level."

Euro zone officials have told Reuters the plan for the new bailout, meant to extend Greece's year-old 110-billion-euro deal and fund it into late 2014, would feature up to 60 billion euros of fresh official loans, 30 billion euros from the private sector and 30 billion euros from privatizations.

Leading global credit ratings agencies have warned, however, that changes to terms of existing government bonds could be considered as a default. ($1 = 0.698 Euros)

Temat: Przeglad Prasy Swiatowej

Euro stabilizes after Greek vote, Fed eyed




(Reuters) - The euro stabilized on Wednesday and Asian shares rose after the Greek government won a vote of confidence as expected, prompting investors to shift focus to the Federal Reserve's news conference due later in the day for further cues.

The euro last traded at $1.4366, extending its recovery from a three-week low of $1.4073 it hit last Thursday, but below the high of $1.4435 it touched after the vote in Athens, bringing the beleaguered country a step closer to a 12 billion euro aid package.

If Greece avoids defaulting on its sovereign debt, it could help renew confidence in the single currency, though the head of the world's largest bond fund Pimco said Greece's way out of its debt problem would be through default.

Next in line is the Fed meeting which began on Tuesday, against the backdrop of a weakening U.S. economy that will likely force policymakers to plan for the possibility that things may get worse.

Chairman Ben Bernanke will address the media at 1815 GMT and is widely expected to revise down the Fed's earlier quarterly forecasts for U.S. GDP growth.

This is unlikely to be good news for the dollar, Credit Agricole's head of global FX strategy Mitul Kotecha said in a briefing note, "given that the Fed is set to downgrade its growth forecasts, with the comments on the economy likely to sound a little more downbeat given the loss of momentum recently as reflected in a string of disappointing data releases."

The dollar index .DXY, which tracks the dollar against a basket of major currencies, fell to a one-week low at 74.516, well off last week's peak of 76.015. It was last at 74.778.

Against the yen, the dollar was little changed at 80.25, comfortably within the prevailing 79.50-81.50 range.

Greece's vote outcome sheered Asian stock markets, especially Japan's Nikkei .N225 which rose for the third day in a row, gaining 1.4 percent at 9595.26.

Financial services firms were among the big gainers, following rivals elsewhere which rose on hopes that the vote will prove a step toward resolving the European debt crisis, one of the most persistent worries for markets.

"The market is up on Greece, but it's a temporary rise on a news event. We may see some more short-covering going into the afternoon, but that's about it -- fundamentals haven't changed a notch," said Mitsushige Akino, chief fund manager for Ichiyoshi Investment Management.

MSCI's index of Asia-Pacific stocks .MIAPJ0000PUS excluding Japan was up 0.7 percent, while indices in Hong Kong .HSI and South Korea .KS11 also rose.

Brent crude oil for delivery in August made a partial recovery to $111.30 a barrel after falling more than 70 cents on Tuesday, largely on ongoing worries about the euro zone.

Gold inched up to $1,546.65 per ounce by 0200 GMT, little changed from Tuesday's close.

Gold, one of the chief beneficiaries of worries about the security of currencies and other assets, set a record high of $1,575.79 per ounce in early May. Copper was down slightly at $9,039 per tonne after rising almost 1 percent in the previous session.Piotr Kowalski edytował(a) ten post dnia 22.06.11 o godzinie 07:26

Temat: Przeglad Prasy Swiatowej

WED 22 Jun

Allied Irish Bank has 'defaulted' says derivatives body


(The Telegraph)- Banks that sold insurance on the debt of Allied Irish Banks will have to pay out to investors in the nationalised lender's debt despite complex legal manoeuvres by the Irish authorities to avoid putting the lender into default.

The International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA) yesterday said that a "credit event" had occurred on Allied debt, meaning the bank has effectively defaulted on its debt, a situation the Irish government has gone to extreme lengths to avoid.

Credit default swaps (CDS) sold on Allied subordinated bonds and, crucially, its senior debt, have been activated by the decision of the ISDA determinations committee that decides whether a borrower has defaulted.

The decision by the committee, which is made up of 10 major banks, follows the announcement earlier this month by the Irish High Court of a "subordinated liabilities order" that changed the terms under which junior debt in Allied was originally sold, forcing holders of the bonds to accept an extension in the maturity of the debt to 2035.

Allied had already missed a coupon payment on its Lower Tier 2 debt. However, changes in the law enabled the bank to avoid being forced to be formally placed in default.

For the market, ISDA's decision renders this move largely irrelevant as it means the bank will be categorised as in default in the eyes of investors.

Temat: Przeglad Prasy Swiatowej

WED 22 Jun

UK deficit hits record despite £1.1bn axe on borrowing


(The Telegraph)- The Government cut borrowing in May, but not enough to prevent it racking up a record deficit for the first two months of the new financial year.

George Osborne said the Government's plan to cut the deficit is still 'on track' but economists said he would struggle to meet his target for reducing borrowing for the whole financial year to £122bn.

Public sector borrowing, stripping out the effects of bailing out the banks, came in at £17.4bn for May, £1.1bn less than that seen 12 months earlier, said the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

However, the fall in borrowing could not fully offset the impact of the disappointing April, leaving the deficit for the financial year to date at £27.4bn, a record for the period as the Government borrowed £1.5bn more than a year ago.

January's rise in VAT helped May's tax receipts grow 8.2pc on the previous year to £38bn, outstripping a 2.3pc increase in public spending to £51.7bn.

The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), the independent fiscal watchdog, said that spending is going up faster than projected because the UK is paying higher interest payments on gilts – government bonds – which are linked to inflation, while tax receipts are not yet growing at the expected pace.

The OBR did point out that the previous year's figures were flattered by the gain from a one-off tax raid on bonuses.

Temat: Przeglad Prasy Swiatowej

WED 22 Jun

Euro Weakens After Greek Confidence Vote

(BLOOMBERG) - The euro weakened from a one-week high against the dollar on concern Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou will fail to pass austerity measures even after winning a confidence vote in parliament. Asian stocks advanced for a second day, the won climbed and default risk dropped.

Europe’s shared currency fell 0.3 percent to $1.4374 as of 1:51 p.m. in Tokyo after appreciating to $1.4434. South Korea’s won and Taiwan’s dollar rose and the MSCI Asia Pacific Index added 0.9 percent. Standard & Poor’s 500 Index futures lost 0.2 percent, following a 1.3 percent jump yesterday. The Markit iTraxx Australia index dropped the most in three months. Oil fell 0.9 percent in New York, while corn and wheat advanced.

While Papandreou won a vote of confidence from 155 out of 300 lawmakers, he needs parliamentary approval next week for a 78 billion-euro ($112 billion) package of budget cuts to stave off default. Asian shares are extending a rebound from a three- month low before a statement from the Federal Reserve that may help investors assess the outlook for interest rates and the U.S. central bank’s record stimulus efforts.

“Investors seem to be betting that Greece will move one step closer to securing further international financial aid, but the process would be far from smooth as strong protests by citizens against austerity measures will follow,” Lim Chang Gue, a fund manager in Seoul at Samsung Asset Management Co., which oversees about $30 billion. “The stock-market gain appears to be only a technical bounce and I’m not too optimistic for now.”

Protests, Summit
The euro weakened against 14 of its 16 most-actively traded counterparts and slipped 0.2 percent to 115.37 yen. After the vote, police used tear gas to disperse crowds protesting Papandreou’s budget cuts. The premier will now meet his counterparts at a summit in Brussels starting tomorrow that will discuss a new financing package to shield Greece from record borrowing costs for as many as three years.

European finance ministers said this week that they would hold off a 12 billion-euro payment promised for July until plans to cut the deficit, sell state assets and impose a levy on wages are passed.

“This vote buys Papandreou a week,” said Daniel Genter, who oversees about $3.8 billion as president of Los Angeles- based RNC Genter Capital Management. “But they’ve got to pass an austerity package within the next 30 days. There’s just not enough confidence right now that they’re going to get it through.”

The won strengthened 0.4 percent to 1,074.40 per dollar, bound for a fourth day of gains. Taiwan’s dollar increased 0.2 percent to NT$28.888 versus the U.S. currency. Data today may show the island’s jobless rate dropped to 4.3 percent in May, the least since September 2008, according to the median forecast in a Bloomberg survey.

Asia Outlook
“The Asian currencies are benefitting from the risk-on mode you see in the stock market and also benefitting from the belief that the outlook in Asia is generally holding up well,” said Sim Moh Siong, a foreign-exchange strategist at Bank of Singapore Ltd. “Ultimately, the issue is what needs to be done with the Greek debt situation in terms of a final solution, because the bailout loan itself is more of a stop-gap measure.”

The Dollar Index rose 0.1 percent, while Treasuries were little changed after a three-day drop, with 10-year notes yielding 2.98 percent. Chairman Ben S. Bernanke will probably delay the Fed’s exit from record stimulus, economists said in a Bloomberg News survey conducted last week, giving the flagging economy a boost without resorting to additional asset purchases.

Bernanke and his fellow policy makers have given no indication they’ll tighten policy anytime soon. With manufacturing slowing and unemployment increasing during May to 9.1 percent, the Fed chief said this month growth is “frustratingly slow.”

Stocks Rally
The S&P 500 jumped 1.3 percent yesterday, while the Stoxx Europe 600 Index surged 1.4 percent. Both gauges posted their biggest advances since April 20.

About three shares gained for every one that fell on MSCI’s Asia Pacific Index. The measure has added 1.8 percent since completing a seventh weekly loss on June 17, the longest slump since 2004. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average jumped 1.7 percent and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index rallied 0.8 percent.

South Korea’s Kospi Index increased 1 percent and Taiwan’s Taiex index rose 0.3 percent even after MSCI Inc. left the two as emerging markets following a review. The index compiler also delayed a decision until December on whether to raise the United Arab Emirates and Qatar to emerging-market status from its frontier classification.

Paladin, BHP
Paladin Energy Ltd. (PDN) jumped 5.7 percent in Sydney after Citigroup Inc. raised its rating on the Australian uranium producer to “buy” from “hold.” BHP Billiton Ltd. (BHP) rose 1.4 percent, leading mining companies higher, following a gain in metal prices yesterday.

The Markit iTraxx Australia index sank 3.5 basis points to 113.5 basis points, on track for its biggest fall since March 18, according to Westpac Banking Corp. and data provider CMA, which is owned by CME Group Inc. and compiles prices quoted by dealers in the privately negotiated market. The Markit iTraxx Asia index of 50 investment-grade borrowers outside Japan fell 2.5 basis points, while the gauge for Japan lost three basis points.

Oil for August delivery slid 0.9 percent to $93.36 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, snapping a two-day, 0.8 percent rally. The International Energy Agency said Saudi Arabian oil production may be rising and JPMorgan Chase & Co. said output by the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait is increasing.

Corn for December delivery advanced 0.3 percent to $6.82 a bushel, bound for a fourth day of gains. Wheat futures climbed 0.3 percent to $7.0775, extending yesterday’s 1.4 percent rally. Group of 20 farm ministers are meeting in Paris today, with French Agriculture Minister Bruno Le Maire saying that world leaders risk making this “the century of hunger” unless they can agree to new rules on food supply.

To contact the reporters on this story: Shiyin Chen in Singapore at schen37@bloomberg.net; Saeromi Shin in Seoul at sshin15@bloomberg.net.Piotr Kowalski edytował(a) ten post dnia 22.06.11 o godzinie 07:54

Temat: Przeglad Prasy Swiatowej

WED 22 Jun

Pimco warns Greece will default


(The Telegraph)-
Pimco, the world's biggest bond fund, shrugged off last night's vote of confidence in the Greek government warning that it expects Greece and other European economies to default on their debts to resolve their problems.

"For the next three years, we're going to see different economies work out different problems. For European economies, especially Greece, it would be through default," Mohamed El-Erian, chief executive of Pimco, said in Taipei on Wednesday in a video conference.

His comments came as the Greek government won a crucial vote of confidence late on Tuesday as it seeks further financial aid from the European Union and the IMF to avoid the eurozone's first sovereign debt default.

Mr El-Erian did not identify the other economies he referred to. He has said Europe risks wasting money for nothing by pumping billions of dollars into the ailing economy.

"Nothing has been done to enhance growth," he said. "No single (Greek) indicator has shown strength. They are afraid a restructuring would hurt European banks."

However, he doubted a Greek default could trigger another global financial crisis: "Ireland, Portugal, Italy and Spain would have to be involved. But Greece is too small in terms of economic impact."

Horacio Valeiras, chief investment officer of fund firm Allianz Global Investors Capital (AGIC), predicted that Ireland and Portugal, countries that also received financial bailouts in the wake of the global credit crisis, will have to restructure their debts.

"We are not investing in Greece, Ireland, Spain and Portugal," he said at the press briefing. He sees default in Greece as "inevitable".

The real fight in Greece will come when the austerity measures face a vote by lawmakers by the end of the month.

The confidence vote in Athens came after a European ultimatum requiring the state to agree to a five-year austerity package of measures within the next two weeks or miss out on a €12bn tranche of aid money. Without the loan, Athens will run out of cash next month.

European officials are also considering a second bailout package worth an estimated €120bn that is meant to extend Greece's year-old €110bn deal and fund it into 2014.

"These next ten days are the most crucial in the last 30 years," Deputy Finance Minister Pantelis Ekonomou said in a radio interview.

The euro slipped against the dollar on Wednesday as investors who bought the single currency following the vote of confidence took profits, signalling market concerns that the eurozone debt crisis is far from over.

George Papandreou, the prime minister, made a dramatic plea to parliament on Wednesday: "We have a unique opportunity (to change the country)," he said. "If we falter, if we lose heart and squander it... history will judge us very harshly."

Greece's main unions plan to hold a 48-hour general strike when the new measures go to parliament.

Francois Baroin , a French government spokesman, welcomed the vote of confidence on Wednesday, adding: "We will not accept any payment incident, or default."

California-based Pimco (Pacific Investment Management Company), is based in California and is the world's biggest bond fund manager with nearly $1.3 trillion in assets under management.