ΕΕ: Ελεγχο στα χρέη ζητά ο Όλι Ρεν

ΕΕ: Ελεγχο στα χρέη ζητά ο Όλι Ρεν


Την ανάγκη μεγαλύτερης εστίασης στα χρέη των χωρών μελών της ευρωζώνης, προκειμένου να προληφθεί η διάχυση πιθανών προβλημάτων από μία χώρα σε άλλες, υπογραμμίζει ο Ευρωπαίος επίτροπος αρμόδιος για τις Οικονομικές και Νομισματικές υποθέσεις Ολι Ρεν.

«Επειδή οι οικονομίες της ευρωζώνης είναι στενά συνδεδεμένες μέσω του κοινού νομίσματος, είναι σημαντικό να προλαμβάνεται η αδύναμη οικονομική πολιτική μιας χώρας να απειλεί την οικονομική επιτυχία των άλλων», γράφει ο Ολι Ρεν στην εφημερίδα Helsingin Sanomat, σημειώνοντας πως «μέχρι τώρα ο έλεγχος της οικονομικής πολιτικής εστιαζόταν σχεδόν ολοκληρωτικά στα ελλείμματα, και τα χρέη διογκώνονταν υπερβολικά».

Τονίζει λοιπόν πως «μελλοντικά η εξέλιξη του χρέους των χωρών πρέπει να παρακολουθείται πιο προσεκτικά από πριν».

Όπως επισημαίνει ο Επίτροπος, οι ενέργειες της Ευρωπαϊκής Ενωσης τις προηγούμενες εβδομάδες πρόλαβαν την ανεξέλεγκτη μετάδοση των προβλημάτων της Ελλάδας, ωστόσο η κρίση αποκάλυψε επίσης ρωγμές στην οικονομική ραχοκοκαλιά της Ευρωπαϊκής Ενωσης. «Σταματήσαμε την εξάπλωση της ελληνικής πυρκαγιάς ώστε να μην γίνει ανεξέλεγκτη», αναφέρει χαρακτηριστικά.

Εκτιμά τέλος ότι «το πρόβλημα της οικονομικής και νομισματικής ένωσης έγκειται στο ότι ο νομισματικός άξονας είναι ισχυρότερος από τον οικονομικό», προσθέτοντας πως «η κρίση απέδειξε ότι και οι δύο είναι αναγκαίοι».

source: naftemporiki.gr

Home Starts, Leading Index Probably Rose: U.S. Economy Preview

Home Starts, Leading Index Probably Rose: U.S. Economy Preview


May 16 (Bloomberg) -- Home construction probably picked up in April, the growth outlook improved and the cost of living was little changed, showing the U.S. economy is expanding without stoking inflation, economists said before reports this week.

Work began on 650,000 houses at an annual pace last month, the most since November 2008, according to the median forecast of 62 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News before Commerce Department figures on May 18. Other reports may show the index of leading indicators climbed for a 13th straight month, while consumer prices rose 0.1 percent.

A government tax credit worth as much as $8,000 helped sales of new houses surge in March by the most in five decades, which may lead to a rebound in construction in coming months after builders trimmed inventories. Minutes of the Federal Reserve’s April meeting, also due this week, may shed more light on policy makers’ assessment of the economy.

The tax incentive “gave a boost to developers too,” said Michael Englund, chief economist at Action Economics LLC in Boulder, Colorado. “The economy is growing at a modest pace, and in the short run, there’s no reason to worry about inflation.”

The Conference Board’s measure of the economy’s outlook for the next three to six months climbed 0.2 percent last month, according to the survey median. The figures, due on May 20, would follow a 1.4 percent gain in March that was the most since a similar rise in May 2009.

The Commerce Department’s housing report may show building permits, a sign of future construction, grew at a 680,000 rate, matching the pace of the prior month that was the highest since October 2008.

Tax Credit

The tax incentive for first-time homebuyers, which was extended in November to include some current owners, required contracts be signed by April 30 and settled by June 30. Sales of new homes surged in March by the most since 1963, and purchases of existing homes rose for the first time in four months as the deadline approached.

The jump in sales in March brought the number of new houses on the market down to 228,000, the fewest since March 1971, one reason builders may keep taking on projects even as they compete with foreclosed homes coming back on the market.

The rebound in demand also lifted builder confidence this month to the highest level since April 2008, a report may show tomorrow. The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo’s index rose to 20 from 19 in April, according to the Bloomberg survey median. Even so, readings below 50 mean a majority of respondents said conditions remained poor.

Foreclosure Filings

Home repossessions rose to a record level in April while foreclosure filings dropped in a sign mortgage lenders are working off a backlog of seized properties, according to RealtyTrac Inc. data released last week.

A sustained recovery in housing and the economy will depend on faster job creation. Employment increased in April by the most in four years, and the economy has added jobs for four consecutive months. At the same time, economists project the unemployment rate will end the year above 9 percent, according to a Bloomberg survey taken this month.

Pulte Group Inc., the largest U.S. homebuilder by revenue, is among companies waiting for signs the improvement in housing will last beyond the end of the government assistance. Bloomfield Hills, Michigan-based Pulte said its first-quarter net loss narrowed from a year earlier. The number of houses it sold fell even as it combined operations with rival Centex Corp.

Bottom, Not Recovery

“The U.S. housing industry is finding, and may have already found, a bottom, but that’s different from saying that a recovery is at hand,” Richard J. Dugas, Pulte’s chairman and chief executive officer, said on a conference call with analysts on May 5. “Any meaningful sustained improvement will require employment gains, and in turn, better consumer confidence.”

The Standard & Poor’s Homebuilder Supercomposite Index has climbed 14 percent this year, compared with a 1.9 percent gain in the broader S&P 500.

Price pressures are limited, a pair of reports from the Labor Department may show. The producer price index, due on May 18, rose 0.1 percent in April from the prior month, according to the Bloomberg survey median.

Consumer costs are also forecast to rise 0.1 percent, the same as in March, economists projected. Excluding food and fuel, the so-called core rate probably also rose 0.1 percent.

“Inflation is likely to be subdued for some time,” Fed policy makers said in a statement after their April 28 meeting, when they signaled the main interest rate will remain near zero for an “extended period.” Minutes of that gathering will be released on May 19.

Regional Fed reports may show manufacturing kept driving the economy’s recovery from the worst recession since the 1930s. The Fed Bank of Philadelphia’s general economic index, due on May 21, rose in May for the fourth straight month, while the Fed Bank of New York’s gauge expanded for the 10th month, economists projected.



Bloomberg Survey

================================================================
Release Period Prior Median
Indicator Date Value Forecast
================================================================
Total TICS $ Blns 5/17 March 9.0 32.5
Net Long Term TICS $ Bl 5/17 March 47.1 50.0
Empire Manu. Index 5/17 May 31.9 30.0
NAHB Housing Index 5/17 May 19 20
PPI MOM% 5/18 April 0.7% 0.1%
Core PPI MOM% 5/18 April 0.1% 0.1%
PPI YOY% 5/18 April 6.0% 5.6%
Core PPI YOY% 5/18 April 0.9% 0.9%
Housing Starts ,000’s 5/18 April 626 650
Housing Starts MOM% 5/18 April 1.6% 3.8%
Building Permits ,000’s 5/18 April 680 680
Building Permits MOM% 5/18 April 6.8% 0.0%
CPI MOM% 5/19 April 0.1% 0.1%
Core CPI MOM% 5/19 April 0.0% 0.1%
CPI YOY% 5/19 April 2.3% 2.4%
Core CPI YOY% 5/19 April 1.1% 1.0%
Core CPI SA Index 5/19 April 220.664 221.105
CPI NSA Index 5/19 April 217.631 218.143
Initial Claims ,000’s 5/20 15-May 444 440
Cont. Claims ,000’s 5/20 8-May 4627 4610
LEI MOM% 5/20 April 1.4% 0.2%
Philly Fed Index 5/20 May 20.2 21.6
================================================================

source: bloomberg.com

Greece Considering Legal Action Against U.S. Banks for Crisis

Greece Considering Legal Action Against U.S. Banks for Crisis

May 16 (Bloomberg) -- Greece is considering taking legal action against U.S. investment banks that might have contributed to the country’s debt crisis, Prime Minister George Papandreou said.

“I wouldn’t rule out that this may be a recourse,” Papandreou said, in response to questions about the role of U.S. banks in the crisis, in an interview on CNN’s “Fareed Zakaria GPS.” The program, scheduled for broadcast today, was taped on May 13. Neither Papandreou nor Zakaria mentioned any banks by name.

U.S. stocks fell and the euro slumped on concern that Europe wouldn’t be able to contain the debt crisis stemming from Greece. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index declined 1.9 percent May 14, while the euro fell below $1.24 for the first time since November 2008.

Papandreou said the decision on whether to go after U.S. banks will be made after a Greek parliamentary investigation into the cause of the crisis.

“Greece will look into the past and see how things went,” Papandreou said. “There are similar investigations going on in other countries and in the United States. This is where I think, yes, the financial sector, I hear the words fraud and lack of transparency. So yes, yes, there is great responsibility here.”

Speculators

In the days leading up to the May 10 announcement of a loan package worth almost $1 trillion to halt the spread of Greece’s fiscal woes, European Union regulators were examining whether speculators manipulated the prices of bonds and equities and contributed to the crisis.

The Committee of European Securities Regulators said on May 7 it was investigating “exceptional volatility” in the markets and would work with other regulators, including the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, as part of a coordinated clampdown.

European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet said May 6 that he was concerned about speculation in bond markets using credit default swaps. “By first buying the CDS and then trying to affect market sentiment by going short on the underlying bond, investors can make large profits,” he said.

Credit-default swaps are derivatives that pay the buyer face value if a borrower -- a country or a company -- defaults. In exchange, the swap seller gets the underlying securities or the cash equivalent. Traders in naked credit-default swaps buy insurance on bonds they don’t own.

In the CNN interview, Papandreou said many in the international community have engaged in “Greek bashing” and find it easy “to scapegoat Greece.” He said Greeks “are a hard-working people. We are a proud people.”

“We have made our mistakes,” Papandreou said. “We are living up to this responsibility. But at the same time, give us a chance. We’ll show you.”

source: bloomberg.com

London Escapes as No-Fly Zone is Extended Across Northern U.K.

London Escapes as No-Fly Zone is Extended Across Northern U.K.


May 16 (Bloomberg) -- The U.K.’s Civil Aviation Authority said a no-fly zone required due to the high density volcanic ash cloud will not affect London airports for the period 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. today, according to National Air Traffic Services Ltd.

“The no-fly zone for this period has moved east to a line stretching from Prestwick on the west coast to Humberside on the east coast and south to a line just north of Birmingham,” NATS said in an e-mailed statement. “Airports which fall within the no-fly zone include all those in Northern Ireland, Ronaldsway, Prestwick, Carlisle, Manchester, Liverpool, Doncaster, Humberside and East Midlands and some Scottish island airports including Campbeltown, Islay and Barra.”

source: bloomberg.com