Archive - Jul 25, 2013 - Story

When we first reported about the tragic Spanish train crash the tally of casualties was 35. It has since doubled to 78 and will likely keep rising. However, judging by the severity of the crash, which can be seen on the just released CCTV video below, it is probably a miracle that orders of magnitude more were not killed.

• The Department of Justice has opened an initial probe into the metals warehousing industry (WSJ)
• Obama Says Budget Debate a Battle for Middle Class Future (BBG)
• Death Toll From Spanish Train Crash Hits 77 (WSJ)
• ‘Fabulous Fab’ takes to witness stand (FT)
• Banks Said to Weigh Suspending Dealings With SAC as Charges Loom (BBG) - what about Anthony Scaramucci?
• How the Muslim Brotherhood lost Egypt (Reuters)
• German Business Confidence Rises for a Third Month (BBG)
• Fraternities Lobby for Tax Break Without Hazing Penalties (BBG)
• China charges Bo Xilai with corruption, paves way for trial (Reuters)
• Airbus Pushes Higher-Density A380 to Counter Luxury Image (BBG)

At precisely 4 am Eastern two opposite things happened: the German IFO Business Climate for July printed at a better than expected 106.2 vs 105.9 in June and higher than the 106.1 consensus: news which would have been EURUSD positive. And yet the EUR tumbled. Why? Because at the same time the ECB provided an update to the chart that "keeps Mario Draghi up at night" as we reminded readers yesterday - the ECB's all important credit creation update in the form of the M3, which not only missed expectations (of +3%) but declined from 2.9% to 2.3%. But more importantly, ECB lending to private sector shrank for the 14th consecutive month in June, and slid to a new record low 1.6% in June, down from a 1.1% in May.