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Will S&P Leave Italy Alone?

Tyler Durden's picture




 

Via Peter Tchir, of TF Market Advisors,

If I understand the process in Europe correctly, S&P has to provide 24 hour notice to the countries if they are going to change their ratings.  S&P has Italy as A1 on negative watch.  Moody's is A2 with outlook negative.  So S&P has Italy higher rated, so it would be weird if they didn't downgrade them.  But if they downgrade them, and they notified Italy, did they just sell bonds to the public while hiding material information?

If Italy sold bonds while in possession of information that they were going to be downgraded, are those bond sales valid?  Guess it depends on what happens to the price, but if they drop in price, and  Italy gets downgraded, I could see some buyers trying to DK the trade.  It would be about par for the course and I think would reflect poorly on Italy at a time when they need the trust and confidence of the market.

So maybe Italy doesn't get downgraded, but if it does, I think Italy has opened another can of worms and demonstrated just how disorganized they are.

 

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Fri, 01/13/2012 - 12:17 | 2061743 tmosley
tmosley's picture

Governments profiting on insider information?  NO WAI!

Fri, 01/13/2012 - 12:23 | 2061761 wombats
wombats's picture

Of course not.  It would never happen.  Who's ever heard of a dishonest government?

Fri, 01/13/2012 - 12:34 | 2061844 Vaiman
Vaiman's picture

No Way!  Govts dishonest?  Obama did fully what he promised on his election platform.  Yea right!  If you believe that I have some ocean front property to sell you in Arizona!  Regardless....the markets aren't dropping near what I thought they would on the latest news....with JPM and Fitch and Moodys.  Now if JPM had announced positive earnings and there was no downgrade.  The markets would be up another 20 points on the S&P.  The bulls just don't want to concede.  They are pushin as much as they can.  Dow has already retraced as I type back to minus 83 points from a low of minus 160.  You would think it would just keep dropping.  I expected a 30 point drop in the S&P on all this wonderful news.

Fri, 01/13/2012 - 13:00 | 2062018 SheepDog-One
SheepDog-One's picture

By 'the bulls' I guess you mean the FED central banks?

Fri, 01/13/2012 - 12:56 | 2061997 Translational Lift
Translational Lift's picture

Is Corzine running bonds for Italy now??

Fri, 01/13/2012 - 12:18 | 2061747 Iam Rich
Iam Rich's picture

Peter

Is this a question?

 

Sat, 01/14/2012 - 03:58 | 2061760 LouisDega
LouisDega's picture

No silly, Its called a click generator. Party A asks a question so party B has to click to get a clouded answer.

Fri, 01/13/2012 - 12:31 | 2061821 GeneMarchbanks
GeneMarchbanks's picture

Great question. Always rely on Pete to put things in the most bats context imaginable.

As if anyone buying this morning was unaware of any of this. And if such people exist, they are only deserving of what is coming.

Fri, 01/13/2012 - 12:33 | 2061837 oogs66
oogs66's picture

everyone knows insider trading exists too, but they do make some tiny attempt at pretending to care about the law...

Fri, 01/13/2012 - 13:42 | 2062218 Elwood P Suggins
Elwood P Suggins's picture

Unless you're one of the scumbags in the U S Congress.

Fri, 01/13/2012 - 12:24 | 2061749 firstdivision
firstdivision's picture

The question is, do the banks want markets to burn to get QE3 or a surprise "no downgrade"?  Only the 3pm S&P announcement will tell.

*edit* oh would you look at that.  the market bounced right as POMO had started.  This is a straight POMO as the Fed is giving banks cash.

Fri, 01/13/2012 - 12:18 | 2061751 OttoMBMP
OttoMBMP's picture

But Italy has Super-Monti. So they will certainly be UPgraded, won't they????

Fri, 01/13/2012 - 12:18 | 2061752 Mister Ponzi
Mister Ponzi's picture

Sorry but that's not true. Italy is A at S&P which is equivalent to Moody's A2.

Fri, 01/13/2012 - 12:19 | 2061755 DB Cooper
DB Cooper's picture

Politicians are exempt from rules that their subjects are subject to.  So they are not only allowed to withhold the information but also are allowed to trade on it.  Nothing to see here move along.

Fri, 01/13/2012 - 12:20 | 2061756 jcaz
jcaz's picture

You're assuming that S&P is capable of efficient and/or honest operation...... 

 

Fri, 01/13/2012 - 12:20 | 2061758 Conrad Murray
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Hang them all..by the heels!

Fri, 01/13/2012 - 12:28 | 2061793 Miss Expectations
Miss Expectations's picture

Mussolini citation: “It is not impossible to govern Italians, merely useless.”

Fri, 01/13/2012 - 12:20 | 2061759 Global Hunter
Global Hunter's picture

Well in answer to Peter's question, they sold bonds to themselves so technically I'm not sure if they withheld material information from themselves (joking...sort of).

Fri, 01/13/2012 - 12:22 | 2061772 lizzy36
lizzy36's picture

Super Monti would never let something illegal happen. After all an appointed governor, in a democratic country, is very concerned with legality and legitmacy.

Fri, 01/13/2012 - 12:24 | 2061779 taniquetil
taniquetil's picture

At some point one has to wonder whether these kind of moves are due to corruption or incompetance.

Fri, 01/13/2012 - 12:27 | 2061780 SheepDog-One
Fri, 01/13/2012 - 12:27 | 2061788 yogibear
yogibear's picture

With the US debt ceiling continuing to go higher and no real spending cuts the US should be downgraded.

Fri, 01/13/2012 - 12:27 | 2061789 old naughty
old naughty's picture

NO.
Monti complained to the Vatican.

Fri, 01/13/2012 - 12:28 | 2061791 CrashisOptimistic
CrashisOptimistic's picture

It's a good question from Tchir.  

I would like to note, however, that the S&P downgrades rumor was in vogue roughly 7 days ago.  Didn't happen.

Fri, 01/13/2012 - 12:28 | 2061794 bnbdnb
bnbdnb's picture

Italigreecey!

Fri, 01/13/2012 - 12:30 | 2061811 AC_Doctor
AC_Doctor's picture

Italian WHORES!

Fri, 01/13/2012 - 12:31 | 2061825 jesus_quintana
jesus_quintana's picture

The 2018 BTP was tapped today at 5.75%, already trading 25bps wider.

Fri, 01/13/2012 - 12:32 | 2061835 AC_Doctor
AC_Doctor's picture

ECB and FED are the only buyers.

Fri, 01/13/2012 - 12:32 | 2061828 slaughterer
slaughterer's picture

It will be very demoralizing for the few bears left if the S&P downgrade results in no major downward movement in US equities.  

Fri, 01/13/2012 - 12:41 | 2061874 CrashisOptimistic
CrashisOptimistic's picture

Well, there is a logic flow that would be undeniable for at least a few days.

Specifically, France being downgraded eliminates French bonds from EFSF and ESM collateral pools, which must be AAA.  This smashes the structure of those instruments.  Germany has to fund more of it and their Parliament has already said no.

That has immediate impact on various bank swap risk.

Of course, the lesson of 2011 is that such disasters can be stopped by decree.  Swap triggers made illegal.  EFSF collateral requirements could be lowered.

Fri, 01/13/2012 - 12:46 | 2061949 Everybodys All ...
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Their is always a counter party that is going to be skewered. Collateral damage as it were.

Fri, 01/13/2012 - 12:58 | 2062009 SheepDog-One
SheepDog-One's picture

No it wont Slaughterer, I dont expect any 1 announcement to result in a 'major downward spiral in equities' because THAT will happen when everyone least expects it, and it will be a 100% loss for anyone with any market exposure. Thats why I planned for that long ago. Let them keep playing their games with their fake markets, I really dont care!

It will be VERY demoralizing for all the 'Equity permabulltards' one morning when the WHOLE MARKET has pulled an MF Global on their ass overnite!

That day is coming! Better believe it!

Fri, 01/13/2012 - 12:34 | 2061845 Xue
Xue's picture

Italy already has a goldman sachs prime minister. France doesn't have one yet.

Fri, 01/13/2012 - 12:36 | 2061863 Snakeeyes
Snakeeyes's picture

They should. Look at Italy's explosion in debt.

http://confoundedinterest.wordpress.com/2012/01/13/france-will-lose-its-...

Fri, 01/13/2012 - 12:40 | 2061906 littleguy
littleguy's picture

float sopEUgovernment(gov* governmentToFuckUp){

governmentToFuckUp == eugovernment;

governmentToFuckUp.euHVR.fuckup(everything);

return 0f;

}

 

int main(void) {

float italianGDP = 1e12; // +/- a few billion

gov* italianGovernment = new gov(EUCRONY);

italianGDP = sopEUgovernment(italianGovernment);

return (int)italianGDP;

}

 

Fri, 01/13/2012 - 12:43 | 2061927 Everybodys All ...
Everybodys All American's picture

I'm wondering whether the S&P is skeeered they may end up with the fishes.

Fri, 01/13/2012 - 12:44 | 2061930 youngman
youngman's picture

Yes they will....because the Italian mob has it covered...

Fri, 01/13/2012 - 12:53 | 2061975 americanspirit
americanspirit's picture

"Italy needs the trust and confidence of the market." My God, I just choked on my pasta. Since when did Italy ever have the trust and confidence of the markets? Italy is not even a country - it is a loose collection of clans. The Central Government is a bad joke. 85% of the national budget goes for salaries of bureaucrats, few of whom ever show up for work, and when they do that's all they do - show up. Most telling - the Italians themselves have zero 'trust and confidence' in their government.

Fri, 01/13/2012 - 13:03 | 2062039 roy10
roy10's picture

There is no way that S&P doesn't downgrade Italy. The only question is by how many notches.

Fri, 01/13/2012 - 14:38 | 2062483 hedgeless_horseman
hedgeless_horseman's picture

 

 

But if they downgrade them, and they notified Italy, did they just sell bonds to the public while hiding material information?

 

Yes...yes...and yes.

 

Fri, 01/13/2012 - 20:08 | 2063660 Banksters
Banksters's picture

ECB lending rule change could make an extra €10 trillion available to banks
The European Central Bank is considering a major easing in the rules on the assets it will accept from struggling lenders in return for loans that could expand by more than €10 trillion (£8.3 trillion).
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financialcrisis/9011021/ECB-lending-r...

They are planning on printing to INFINITY. They'll destroy the life savings of the masses in the process. Legally, of course!

Fri, 01/13/2012 - 20:09 | 2063665 Banksters
Banksters's picture

What is money? In my opinion, it's a way to steal the land, labor and resources of a country. Fiat always loses value. Always. 

So, in this tragedy of errors, it will be the man and woman at the end of the line who has everything taken from them through inflation. Inflation always hurts the person who gets the paper at the end of the day. 

Count on it, and plan accordingly

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