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News That Matters

Submitted by thetrader on 09/05/2011 03:43 -0400

FT.com

Alistair Darling has launched a stinging attack on Sir Mervyn King, claiming the Bank of England governor did not understand the unfolding financial crisis in 2007, took the wrong policy action and ended http://ftalphaville.ft.com/thecut/2011/09/05/668546/darling-launches-sti...

Greece’s finance minister has staunchly defended his handling of the country’s relations with international lenders, the FT reports, accusing his critics of promoting “a mood of uncertainty and scaremongering.” Meanwhile Italy’s economy minister Giulio Tremonti promised on Sunday to meet the country’s budget commitments after the ECB stepped up pressure for austerity action, http://ftalphaville.ft.com/thecut/2011/09/05/668526/ecb-faces-delicate-w...

A Hong Kong regulatory review is delaying a high-profile hedge-fund launch by the former Asia investment chief for an asset-management firm owned by JP Morgan Chase, the WSJ reports, citing people familiar with the matter. Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission is exploring allegations that Carl Huttenlocher, http://ftalphaville.ft.com/thecut/2011/09/05/668511/hk-regulators-delay-...

Tropical Storm Lee weakened late Sunday into a depression as it came ashore and moved slowly northwards, USA Today reports, but there were warnings further flooding could be seen. Areas of Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi near the coast reported scattered wind damage and flooding, http://ftalphaville.ft.com/thecut/2011/09/05/668481/flood-fears-as-downg...

Senior figures in the shipping industry believe at least one leading oil tanker operator is likely to follow collapsed smaller operators into insolvency, the FT reports, as the sector is swamped by oversupply.http://ftalphaville.ft.com/thecut/2011/09/05/668466/big-oil-tanker-group...

A Chinese consortium was the biggest buyer of the China Construction Bank stake that Bank of America sold last month, the FT reports, citing several people familiar with the deal. The State Administration of Foreign Exchange, http://ftalphaville.ft.com/thecut/2011/09/05/668401/chinese-consortium-b...

Chinese regulators have ordered a shutdown at a troubled offshore oilfield operated by ConocoPhillips, the FT reports, in a surprise escalation in a months-long oil spill off the coast of China that has released around 700 barrels of oil into the sea. The spill at the Penglai 19-3 field, http://ftalphaville.ft.com/thecut/2011/09/05/668366/chinese-regulators-s...

Greece’s finance minister has staunchly defended his handling of the country’s relations with international lenders, accusing his critics of promoting “a mood of uncertainty and scaremongering.” Evangelos Venizelos said on Sunday that Greece was accelerating the implementation of long-delayed structural reforms agreed with the European Union and the International Monetary Fund, although he gave no details of how that would be achieved. http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/35672b54-d6f3-11e0-bc73-00144feabdc0.html...

The most disturbing aspect about the eurozone right now is that every crisis resolution strategy depends on a moderately strong economic recovery. The Greek programme was already in trouble when it was agreed six weeks ago. All the official forecasts were wrong. The country is in a depression, and its debt dynamic is “out of control”, according to its new fiscal council. In Italy, the central bank expressed concern that the country’s austerity programme would have recessionary effects. The European bank recapitalisation strategy – if you want to call it that – is also collapsing under the weight of the economic downturn. Last week saw a heated dispute between the International Monetary Fund and the eurozone governments over how much banks need to be recapitalised. The final figure for recapitalisation could be far higher than even the IMF’s estimates if the economy plunges back to recession.. http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/4cd8efda-d4cc-11e0-a7ac-00144feab49a.html...

Wsj.com
Asian shares fell sharply on Monday, while the euro skidded to multi-week lows against the U.S. dollar after Friday’s grim U.S. jobs report heightened concerns of a recession in the world’s largest economy. Taking a cue from Wall Street’s sharp losses on Friday, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average shed 1.8%, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 1.8%, South Korea’s Kospi Composite lost 2.7% and New Zealand’s NZX-50 gave up 0.8%. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were down 54 points in screen trade. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142405311190453740457655135120152837...

Samsung Electronics Co. has pulled out its new 7.7-inch Galaxy Tab device from one of the world’s largest electronics shows, which is taking place in Berlin, after a German court accepted Apple Inc.’s request to ban Samsung from selling and marketing its new tablet device in Germany. The sales injunction is the latest blow for the South Korean electronics giant,http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142405311190453740457655143194190150...

Investor confidence in Australia has hit its lowest point since the first quarter of 2009, when the domestic stock market plunged due to the unfolding global financial crisis, according to a survey released on Monday by research firm CoreData. For the third quarter of 2011, investor sentiment in Australia fell 15.7 points to minus 21.7, according to a survey of 820 investors. Around 25% investors aren’t making ends meet, while 11% are running into debt, the survey found. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142405311190453740457655133173592315...

J.P. Morgan Chase International Chairman Jacob Frenkel said he expected the euro to survive the debt crisis sweeping Europe but warned that the euro zone needs to strengthen its governance in order to ease market concerns over the bloc’s future. “I expect there will be a euro currency some years from now, although it may not look like the one we have today,” Mr Frenkel, former head of Israel’s central bank, said in an interview on the sidelines of a conference on the shores of Italy’s Lake Como. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142405311190364820457655064346600910...

Italy’s government is under increasing pressure to ensure quick approval of key economic austerity measures as time runs out for the country to convince markets it won’t be next to fall in the domino-like acceleration of Europe’s debt crisis. At a conference on the shores of Italy’s Lake Como, international policy makers and economists criticized the government of Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi for failing to unveil a definitive version of a €45 billion ($64 billion) austerity package aimed at balancing Italy’s budget in two years and breathing new life into the country’s anemic economy.http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142405311190364820457655079350190738...

The U.S. dollar is likely to take less of a beating from a third round of Fed stimulus, if it happens, than from the second round, though analysts still expect the currency to fall. Traders have begun preparing for some punishment for the dollar after the U.S. Labor Department reported Friday that the economy added no jobs in August, feeding into expectations that the Federal Reserve will be compelled to act to boost growth. The dollar slipped against the Swiss franc, another popular safe haven, after the data. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142405311190471660457654922019061715...

A consortium of five state-owned Chinese companies are buying a 15% stake in the world’s largest niobium producer for $1.95 billion in cash, a move that highlights the race among steelmakers to secure resources amid tightening supply. Brazil’s Companhia Brasileira de Metalurgia e Mineraçào, or CBMM as it is known, produces more than 80% of the world’s supply of niobium, which is used to strengthen steel and is widely employed in making cars and natural-gas pipelines. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142405311190453740457654979215493206...

Yoshihiko Noda kicked off his first weekend as prime minister of Japan with high support levels for his Cabinet in public opinion polls, but if recent history is any indication, he could face a bumpy ride down. Saddled with a host of challenges, from the nuclear crisis to the strong yen to intraparty feuding, Mr. Noda made it eminently clear where his focus lies: He got a haircut. In a not-so-subtle sign that he plans to carry through on the fiscal austerity measures, including tax increases, that he campaigned upon and that marked his tenure as finance minister, the prime minister on Saturday went to bargain barbershop chain QB House for a trim. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142405311190490090457655046322163658...

New Japanese Finance Minister Jun Azumi said he plans to submit plans for a third supplementary budget next month, and that he favors tax increases to fund the massive reconstruction needed in the tsunami-torn northeast. Speaking on a Sunday morning TV show on national broadcaster NHK, Mr. Azumi said he wants to build a plan “based on discussion among the ruling party, the government and the tax commission within the month to get consent with the opposition parties,” submit it as soon as mid-October, and get it passed quickly. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142405311190490090457655029002938385...

Marketwatch.com
Hong Kong’s Purchasing Managers’ Index eased to 47.8 in August compared to a 51.4 print for the headline reading in July. The result was below the 50 level which divides contraction from expansion, marking the first time Hong Kong’s private-sector economy has deteriorated in more than two years. Employment conditions for the month showed the first contraction since Dec. 2010, while output declined at a moderate pace, and new orders also showed a contraction, reversing http://www.marketwatch.com/story/hong-kong-pmi-points-to-contraction-201...

Oil futures dipped in electronic trading early Monday, extending crude’s losses after poor U.S. jobs data fueled worries about future demand trends. Benchmark Nymex crude-oil futures declined 61 cents to $85.84 during early Asian trading hours Monday. At the end of last week, crude for October delivery declined $2.48, or 2.8%, to settle at $86.45 on the New York Mercantile Exchange on Friday.http://www.marketwatch.com/story/oil-futures-decline-as-demand-worries-w...

Australia’s central bank is expected to keep interest rates on hold at a policy meeting Tuesday, and market expectations of aggressive interest rate cuts before the year’s end could be challenged over the week. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires unanimously expect the Reserve Bank of Australia to keep its cash rate target at 4.75%, citing weakness in the world economy as its chief concern and growing evidence of a slowdown in the non-mining parts of the domestic economy. http://www.marketwatch.com/story/australias-rba-seen-keeping-rates-on-ho...

Reuters.com
Spot gold edged lower on Monday, retaining most of its gains from the previous session, as a dismal growth outlook after the U.S. jobs data supported safe-haven interest in bullion. Spot gold edged down 0.3 percent to $1,877.45 an ounce by 0327 GMT, after surging 3.2 percent in the previous session. U.S. gold inched up 0.2 percent to $1,880.50. http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/09/05/us-markets-precious-idUSTRE784...

Iceland’s president accused European countries on Sunday of having bullied it into agreeing to guarantee repayment of the debts of a failed bank, reviving a dispute with Britain and the Netherlands whose citizens are owed billions. When Iceland’s banking sector collapsed in the 2008 global financial crisis, accounts were frozen at the bank Landsbanki, which had accepted deposits from British and Dutch savers through online funds called Icesave. http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/09/04/us-iceland-idUSTRE78324Z201109...

Iran’s first nuclear power plant has finally begun to provide electricity to the national grid, official media reported on Sunday, a long-delayed milestone in the nuclear ambitions of a country the West fears is covertly try to develop atomic bombs. “The Atomic Energy Agency announced that atomic electricity from Bushehr power plant joined the national grid with a power of around 60 megawatts on Saturday at 2329 (1859 GMT),” the official news agency IRNA reported. http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/09/04/us-iran-nuclear-bushehr-idUSTR...

IMF chief Christine Lagarde said in an interview released on Sunday that Europe and the United States should consider stimulating economic growth, if the situation permits, to offset a crisis of confidence hitting the global economy. “Looking at Europe, we recommend countries to adjust their austerity programs to a changed situation and consider measures to drive growth,” news weekly Der Spiegel reported her as saying. http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/09/04/us-imf-lagarde-stimulus-idUSTR...

Economics Minister Motohisa Furukawa said on Sunday he and three other economy-related ministers in Japan agreed that measures to respond to a firmer yen need to be compiled quickly to alleviate the negative effect of the currency’s appreciation on the domestic economy. The agreement follows Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda’s comment on Friday that Japan is facing an unprecedented crisis where industry is hollowing out because of a strong yen. http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/09/04/us-japan-economy-yen-idUSTRE78...

Bloomberg.com
Copper will remain in short supply for a third straight year in 2012 as China-led demand boosts prices, Japan’s top producer said. Demand will likely exceed supply by 495,000 metric tons in 2011, the biggest deficit since 2004, compared with 214,000 tons last year, said Akira Miura, executive officer of the marketing and raw-material department at Pan Pacific Copper Co., Japan’s biggest producer. The shortage may shrink to 31,000 tons in 2012, he said. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-09-05/copper-may-have-shortage-for-th...

The U.S. may be on the cusp of a recession for the first time in more than two years. Stagnant payrolls in August reported last week added to data over the past month showing the economy is faltering, including slowing manufacturing, plunging consumer confidence, falling home values and lower bond yields and stock prices. “At this stage of the typical expansion we expect above- average growth and instead we are barely seeing any growth at all,” said James Hamilton, an economics professor at the University of California, San Diego, who has advised Federal Reserve banks and studied what tips the U.S. into downturns. “We have to be more worried. Overall, the economy is in a delicate position and another shock could send us down.” http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-09-05/stagnant-august-payrolls-in-u-s...

Cnbc.com
China’s consumer price inflation will remain high in the near future, although prices will gradually fall, and Beijing needs to be on alert, deputy central bank governor Ma Delun said on Sunday. China’s consumer price inflation quickened to 6.5 percent in July from June’s 6.4 percent, topping market forecasts for a reading of 6.3 percent. The government’s full-year inflation target is 4 percent.http://www.cnbc.com/id/44390617

A joint bond issue by euro zone countries would get the weakest member’s rating if the issue was jointly guaranteed, the head of Standard & Poor’s European sovereign ratings said on Saturday. S&P was not in talks with the European Union about the idea because that would present a potential conflict of interest, Moritz Kraemer, managing director, EMEA sovereign ratings, told a panel discussion at the Alpbach Forum economic. http://www.cnbc.com/id/44369915

Dailyfinance.com
The job market is even worse than the 9.1 percent unemployment rate suggests. America’s 14 million unemployed aren’t competing just with each other. They must also contend with 8.8 million other people not counted as unemployed — part-timers who want full-time work. When consumer demand picks up, companies will likely boost the hours of their part-timers before they add jobs, economists say. It means they have room to expand without hiring. And the unemployed will face another source of competition once the economy improves: Roughly 2.6 million people who aren’t counted as unemployed because they’ve stopped looking for work. Once they start looking again, they’ll be classified as unemployed. And the unemployment rate could rise. http://srph.it/qiqWLP

Telegraph.co.uk
The International Monetary Fund has called on the US and Europe to abandon fiscal austerity and switch to stimulus measures, warning that the global economy faces a “threatening downward spiral”. Christine Lagarde, the IMF’s managing-director, said the outlook had darkened suddenly over the summer. “There has been a clear crisis of confidence that has seriously aggravated the situation. Measures need to be taken to ensure that this vicious circle is broken,” she said. “The spectrum of policies available is narrower because a lot of ammunition was used in 2009. But if governments, institutions and central banks work together, we’ll avoid recession,” she told Der Spiegel. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financialcrisis/8740736/IMF-global-ec...

Leading UK banks ignored warnings from third party advisers before selling on billions of dollars of toxic mortgage debt to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in the lead-up to the financial crisis, court papers have alleged. Documents released by the US Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) claim that Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) and HSBC retained the services of Clayton Holdings, a risk analysis specialist, to scrutinise loans before they were placed in bundles of mortgage-backed securities. According to the filings, reports from Clayton show that 18pc of the mortgage loans RBS submitted to Clayton between the first quarter of 2006 and the second quarter of 2007 were rejected. However, 53pc of them were subsequently included in debt packages by the bank.http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/banksandfinance/8739717/...

When it comes to the crunch with the euro, economics will trump law. As the euro crisis has intensified, so the previously unthinkable has become the subject of widespread discussion. People have woken up to the idea that the euro could break up. But everywhere you hear the same refrain: how do you break up a monetary union? And if it cannot be broken up then surely it must hold together. There is no provision in any European Treaty for a country to leave the eurozone. That was deliberate. It was intended to make it clear that the eurozone was forever – like the Soviet Union and the Holy Roman Empire. But in fact you cannot legislate for changing economic conditions or changes in peoples’ attitudes. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/comment/rogerbootle/8740551/When-it-c...

German endgame for EMU draws ever nearer. For fifty years Germany has invariably stumped up the money required to keep Europe’s Project on track, responding to unreasonable demands with grace and generosity. It bankrolled French farmers through the Common Agricultural Policy, that disguised tithe for war reparations. It then bankrolled Spanish farmers as well. It funded each new wave of EU expansion, though reeling itself from the €60bn annual cost of its own reunification. It gave up the cherished D-Mark, the anchor of German economic stability.http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/comment/ambroseevans_pritchard/874038...

The health of Britain’s manufacturing sector may not be as bad as feared, with a new survey claiming orders and output increased over the past three months. The EEF/BDO Manufacturing Outlook report says 27pc more manufacturers reported a rise in output than a fall over the past three months, while 23pc more said orders increased. The results of the report come just days after new fears arose about the health of the British economy when the closely watched purchasing managers’ index (PMI) for manufacturing fell to a 26-month low in August. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/industry/8740601/UK-manu...

Independent.co.uk
The Government’s own advisory body on immigration has warned that Britain’s economy could suffer permanent damage if the squeeze on highly skilled non-EU migrants entering Britain continues. Consultations on fresh measures to cut permanent immigration to the UK are due to close on 9 September. These could restrict the right of migrants to settle and forbid them from staying beyond five years. In April, the number of migrants from so-called highly skilled Tier 1 and Tier 2 was capped at 22,000. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/economy-could-suffer-if-...

Smh.com.au
Australian firms enjoyed a healthy jump in profits last quarter as mining boomed, while a rapid rise in business inventories suggested growth in the economy as a whole could have outstripped expectations. Toda’s raft of data also showed new vehicle sales jumped for a second month in August while activity in the service sector expanded at the fastest pace in 16 months, a surprisingly solid performance given global gloom. All of which will be a comfort to the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) which holds its monthly policy meeting tomorrow and has been resisting market pressure to cut rates. http://www.smh.com.au/business/all-signs-point-to-strong-gdp-growth-2011...

Australia posted a month of deflation for the first time in nearly two years in August even as hopes dim for an interest rate cut when the Reserve Bank meets tomorrow. Inflation slipped 0.1 percentage point in August from a 0.3 per cent rise in July according to the TD Securities – Melbourne Institute monthly inflation gauge. It was the first decline in the reading since October 2009. On an annual basis, inflation rose by 2.9 per cent in August, slowing from a 3.2 per cent pace in July, and easing back into the RBA’s preferred 2 per cent to 3 per cent range. http://www.smh.com.au/business/prices-fall-for-first-time-in-almost-two-...

Job ads have fallen for a second consecutive month with demand for workers starting to weaken as the economy hits a “soft patch”, says a new report. The ANZ job ads index, released today, dropped 0.6 per cent in August to an average of 186,331 ads online and in print, following a 0.7 per cent slide in July. It was the fourth fall in five months. According to ANZ chief economist Warren Hogan, the falls in job advertising “have been modest thus far”. “This suggests a soft patch for Australian economic growth associated with stagnant employment conditions rather than a sharp slowdown that will drive a rapid rise in unemployment,” he said. http://www.smh.com.au/business/jobs-ads-dip-as-demand-for-workers-slacke...

China’s fledgling services sector grew in August at the lowest pace on record, a private survey showed on Monday, as new orders ebbed and tightening measures to rein in an exuberant property sector started to pinch. The slowdown in the services sector, which accounts for less than 45 percent of gross domestic product, reinforces signs that the world’s second-biggest economy is losing steam but there is little possibility of a hard landing. The HSBC’s Services Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI), which provides a snapshot of conditions in industries from restaurants to computing, slid to 50.6 in August from July’s 53.5, said Markit, a British research firm that compiles the index. http://www.smh.com.au/business/world-business/china-gdp-to-slow-as-servi...

Theglobeandmail.com
Brazil’s Finance Minister, Guido Mantega, warned the U.S. against embarking on further quantitative easing and vowed to continue fighting the “currency war” as he blamed the weak dollar for crippling local industrial growth in the second quarter. Gross domestic product growth in Latin America’s biggest economy slowed to 0.8 per cent from 1.2 per cent in the first quarter, dragged down by a poor performance in the industrial sector, which only expanded 0.2 per cent, the national statistics agency IBGE said on Friday. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/international-news/lat...

The reported decline in GDP in the second quarter of 2011 was an unwelcome development, but I don’t see how it can be interpreted as a sign that the Canadian economy is about to fall into recession. A closer look at the numbers suggests that the most recent report is far more typical of an expansion than of a recession. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/economy/economy-lab/da...

Xinhuanet.com
A senior New Zealand trade official has urged New Zealanders to become more “Asia savvy” and more familiar with the continent if the country is to remain competitive and prosperous in the global economy. Developing Asian language and cultural skills must become a priority for New Zealand, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade Deputy Secretary David Walker told an academic conference in Auckland. “We need more New Zealanders who are confident in their dealings with Asia and Asian societies, and that will only come through greater familiarity and knowledge of the region and its peoples,” said Walker. http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/business/2011-09/05/c_131098113.ht...

New Zealand’s economy is expected to grow by about 4 percent next year, driven by demand from China and Australia as well as one-off boosts such as the Rugby World Cup and the rebuilding of quake-battered Christchurch, the country’s main business lobby forecast Monday. The BusinessNZ Planning Forecast for the September quarter also anticipated a drop in the jobless rate from the current 6.5 percent, or 154,000 unemployed workers, to around 4.7 percent by September 2013. The forecast said the economic growth of 0.8 percent for the quarter to March this year was much higher than market expectations, given the quarter included the Feb. 22 earthquake that killed at least 181 people in Christchurch, said the forecast. http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/business/2011-09/05/c_131097944.ht...

Cs.com.cn
As the China’s A-share market has been tumbled since the beginning of this year, the Shanghai Composite index has fallen 9.96 percent, and market value also shrunken greatly. By the date of September 2, the total market value of China`s A-share has fallen to 23.74 trillion yuan, decreasing about 2.44 trillion yuan in comparison with such at the end of 2010. http://www.cs.com.cn/english/ei/201109/t20110905_3044056.html

China’s regulator had expanded the scope of guaranty money for deposits (GMD), the 14 listed banks would have to hand in GMD about 695.8 billion Yuan in later six months, covering 80 percent of the total banks’ guaranty money for deposits, according to the statistics from the banks mid-term reports. Some experts said, the commercial banks may face the press of handing in October and November. They would hand in 220.1 billion yuan each month based on a guess and estimate. http://www.cs.com.cn/english/ei/201109/t20110905_3043953.html

Thehindu.com
Residential property prices have shown an increasing trend in most of the cities covered under the NHB RESIDEX during the April-June quarter this year in comparison to the previous quarter. NHB RESIDEX tracks the housing prices in select 15 cities. Of the 15 cities covered under NHB RESIDEX, the increasing trend was witnessed in as many as 12 cities, according to the latest quarterly update April-June 2011 released by the NHB. http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/incoming/article2424144.ece

Major industry bodies have come out with reports indicating a decline in business confidence levels and have called upon the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to cut interest rates to boost sagging industry. The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) and the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) have in their separate reports expressed concern over the global economic downturn and the U.S. fiscal position and the European debt overhang which in addition to the domestic factors were generating uncertainty about the economic outlook. The FICCI business confidence index (BCI) was at the lowest level in the last two years, while the CII quarterly BCI showed a decline by 8.9 points. Both the exercises were carried out in August. http://www.thehindu.com/business/Economy/article2421331.ece

Economictimes.com
The glitter of gold is taking the shine off India’s growth story. According to World Gold Council, India’s gold imports rose 60% in April-June 2011 from a year ago, as people snapped up the timetested hedge against inflation. India has always been a huge gold consumer, but the yellow metal is now our second-biggest import, behind crude, up from fifth place in 2007-08. http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/commodities/fascination-with...

Themoscowtimes.com
The Central Bank plans no major policy shifts in response to volatility on global markets, a policymaker said, signaling that it does not plan to match the abrupt interest rate cut made by fellow emerging market heavyweight Brazil. “We are an open economy, global events are affecting us now and will affect us until the end of the year,” Alexei Ulyukayev, the bank’s first deputy chairman, said Friday. “This effect is marginal at the moment and is not very significant in macroeconomic terms. We must consider it, but it will not lead to any fundamental changes in policy,” he told reporters on the sidelines of a banking conference in Sochi. http://www.themoscowtimes.com/business/article/no-sudden-moves-expected-...

Tehrantimes.com
Despite sanctions the value of the European Union’s imports from Iran has witnessed a 9% increase during the first half of 2011 compared to the same period last year, the statistical office of the European Union, Eurostat, reported. By 9% percent increase the value of Iran’s exports rose from 6.4 billion euros to 7 billion euros in the first six months. According to Eurostat, trade between Iran and the EU reached 12 billion euros in the first six months of the current year without any considerable change against the same period last year. However, EU’s exports to Iran decreased around 11% in the first six months of 2011 compared to the same period the year before, reaching 5 billion euros, Eurostat added. http://tehrantimes.com/index.php/economy-and-business/2176-irans-exports...

Iran received all 5 billion dollars of the oil debts of India, despite struggles of U.S. in recent months to block oil payments to Iran. Central Bank Governor Mahmoud Bahmani told the IRNA news agency on Sunday that India has paid off all oil debts accumulated this year due to a banking payments problem, “Although all the $5 billion of India’s oil debt has been cleared, because of selling oil again Iran will always be a creditor of that country,” Bahmani said, adding the payment was received in cash and not in kind through a bartering system. “So far, Iran has not had a bartering system with India for receiving oil debts but if it happens it would be for those products which are of a high quality and are needed by Iran,” he said. http://tehrantimes.com/index.php/economy-and-business/2192-india-clears-...

Thetrader.se

This week’s report deals with multiple issues. Among those; Lybian Oil, the strange intraday patterns in Gold and some of Europe’s problems. …and for some insight into the Gold price pattern on a intraday basis. Note how Gold “collapses” into the two biggest price fixes on a daily basis? Window dressing redefined? http://www.thetrader.se/2011/09/04/things-that-make-you-go-hmmm-must-rea...

Despite the Euro Crisis, the Euro has been relatively stabile during the past months. Even as Equities markets trade in “panic” mood, the currency World has digested the problems in a controlled fashion. The question is though, will the Euro survive, and at what cost will the politicians hang on to saving the Euro. As we have argued, the Euro is just a political project, with no real benefits to society. Europe is too heterogenous in order to have one currency. Interview with historian Hans Joachim-Voth on Euro disappearing in it’s present form within five years; http://www.thetrader.se/2011/09/04/the-euro-cant-survive-in-its-current-...

Remember how Greece was fixed a week ago, and Athens index rallied the most in decades. That was then, now is different, and the Athens index has retreated to the lows. The chaotic situation in Greece, is out of control, as nobody has any credibility left. The trader has argued for a long time now. Greece has debt problems, but that is not the biggest problem. The country lacks competitive advantage, and needs to exit the Euro, in order to restart the Economy. Bail outs are just prolonging the pain, and will never fix the problems of Greece. More insight from WSJ; http://www.thetrader.se/2011/09/04/imf-commission-and-central-bank-clash...