A B C D E F G H I J K L
  MONEY AND DEBT NEWS: 1-JAN-12 - 9-APR-12      
From 01-Jan-12 Copyright © 2011-2012 by Macroknow Inc. All Rights Reserved.
To 09-Apr-12  
Days 100  
News Items 292
Date Event Category Authors Title X Event Source URL Item
2-Jan-12 DEBT GOLD JOBS Niki Kitsantonis In Greece’s Sour Economy, Some Shops Are Thriving Greece: pawnshops and gold dealers are thriving while Greece's economy is shrinking, employees are being laid off en masse, and 1-in-4 small businesses are closing; some gold dealers buy gold teeth; some 80% of pawnshops and gold dealers were found guilty of tax evasion NYT 1
3-Jan-12 BANK DEBT BUS E. Scott Reckard Bank of America severing some small-business credit lines Bank of America is reportedly squeezing, calling or severing loans to small businesses; alternatively, it is reportedly demanding much higher interest rates Los Angeles Times 2
4-Jan-12 BANK FIN DEBT Nicole Bullock Citigroup raises $2.5bn in bond offering 3-Jan-11: Citigroup sold $2.5 billion of debt;  Financial Times 3
4-Jan-12 GOV BANK DEBT Federal Reserve offers $3 billion in 28-day term deposits through its Term Deposit Facility Federal Reserve to offer $3 billion in 28-day term deposits through its Term Deposit Facility Federal Reserve Board 4
5-Jan-12 RE DEBT MKT Amy Hoak 30-year fixed-rate mortgage at record low: Housing market showing signs of improvement, economist says The average rate on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages matched a record low of 3.91% for the week ending 5-Jan-12 [source: Freddie Mac] MarketWatch 5
5-Jan-12 BANK DEBT Bob Lawless Bankruptcy Filings Down 11.7% in 2011 U.S. bankruptcy filings in 2011: 1,379,000 (down 11.7% YOY) [see also Total Bankruptcy Filings Decrease 12 Percent In 2011, Commercial Filings Fall 19 Percent, American Bankruptcy Institute, 4-Jan-2012, http://www.abiworld.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Home&TEMPLATE=/CM/ContentDisplay.cfm&CONTENTID=64959] Credit Slips 6
6-Jan-12 GOV BANK DEBT Mark Scott European Banks Stash Extra Cash With Central Bank European banks deposited €455 billion ($578 billion) into the European central Bank (ECB) a record high since 1999 implying a significant reduction in short-term bank-to-bank lending NYT-DealBook 7
9-Jan-12 GOV BANK DEBT Jack Ewing Swiss Central Bank Chief Resigns After Uproar Philipp M. Hildebrand, head of the Swiss central bank, resigned; Mrs. Hildebrand apologized to the Swiss people and to her husband: “I failed my husband by not considering the perception of a ‘conflict of interest’ created by my purchase of dollars. My husband is a man of the utmost integrity, and I deeply regret that my actions might have led anyone to question this" [Reuters] NYT 8
9-Jan-12 Gov Bank DEBT Consumer Credit - G.19 Federal Reserve Statistical Release: consumer credit outstanding surged to $2,477.7 billion (up $20.4 billion MOM; up an annual rate of 10.4%) in Nov-2011 Federal Reserve Board 9
10-Jan-12 GOV BANK DEBT Reserve Bank income and expense data and transfers to the Treasury for 2011 The Federal Reserve Board: the Reserve Banks paid ~$76.9 billion of their 2011 net income (estimated at $78.9 billion) to the U.S. Treasury Federal Reserve Board 10
11-Jan-12 GOV FIN DEBT Deborah Levine Treasurys gain after record-setting auction The U.S. Treasury Department sold $21 billion in 10-year notes at a yield of 1.90%, an all-time record low MarketWatch 11
12-Jan-12 BANK DEBT RE Mortgage Rates Continue Trend of Record-Breaking Lows Freddie Mac: Primary Mortgage Market Survey: mortgage rates easing to all-time record lows in week ending 2-Jan-2012; 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 3.89% ; 1-year Treasury-indexed ARM averaged 2.76% Freddie Mac-PR Newswire 12
12-Jan-12 GOV BANK DEBT 12 January 2012 - Monetary policy decisions ECB to keep the main refinancing operations and the interest rates on the marginal lending facility and the deposit facility unchanged at 1.00%, 1.75%, and 0.25% respectively European Central Bank 13
12-Jan-12 POL MON Chris Cillizza; Aaron Blake President Obama raised $68 million in fourth quarter Amounts raised by President Obama’s campaign for his 2012 re-election campaign: total of almost $141 million, including $42 million in 2011Q4 ($24 million was also raised for the Democratic National Committee (DNC) during 2011Q4). Governor Mitt Romney raised $24 million in 2011Q4. Washington Post 14
13-Jan-12 RES GOV DEBT Moritz Kraemer; Frank Gill Standard & Poor's Takes Various Rating Actions On 16 Eurozone Sovereign Governments Standard & Poor's Ratings Services announced rating actions on 16 members of the European Economic and Monetary Union (EMU or eurozone): S&P "lowered the long-term ratings on Cyprus, Italy [from A/Watch Neg/A-1 to BBB+/Negative/A-2], Portugal, and Spain [from AA-/Watch Neg/A-1+ to A/Negative/A-1] by two notches; lowered the long-term ratings on Austria, France [from AAA/Watch Neg/A-1+ to AA+/Negative/A-1+], Malta, Slovakia, and Slovenia, by one notch; and affirmed the long-term ratings on Belgium, Estonia, Finland, Germany [affirmed at AAA/Watch Neg/A-1+], Ireland, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands" Standard & Poor's 15
13-Jan-12 GOV BANK DEBT Margit Feher ECB Overnight Deposits Again Hit Record High 12-Jan-2012: Euro-zone: banks' overnight deposits with the European Central Bank (ECB) hit an all-time record of €489.906 billion ($627.77 billion) European Central Bank 16
16-Jan-12 MKT MON Julia Werdigier London Wants to Tap Chinese Currency Market U.K.: the government plans to create a Chinese currency hub in London; according to George Osborne, the chancellor of the Exchequer, "there is scope for substantial expansion of the renminbi market in the coming years" -- the renminbi's share of the global foreign exchange market in Jun-2011 was 0.9%, China’s share in worldwide trade in 2010 was 11% NYT-DealBook 17
17-Jan-12 GOV BANK DEBT Bank of Canada maintains overnight rate target at 1 per cent The Bank of Canada to keep its target for the overnight interest rate unchanged at 1.0%; the Bank Rate and the deposit rate to set set at 1.25% and 0.75%, respectively; Canada's GDP grew by 2.4% in 2011; the Bank of Canada projects it will grow by 2.0% in 2012 and 2.8%t in 2013 Bank of Canada 18
18-Jan-12 POL MON Wayne Barrett. Contributors: Jillian Anthony; Irina Ivanova; Clarissa León; Nicole Marsh; Kyle Roerink Is Gingrich’s Hard Line on Palestine Paid for by Sheldon Adelson? Wayne Barrett, on the linkage between big money and politics: Newt Gingrich flipped from "moderate" on the Middle East to "saber-rattling hawk" after Sheldon Adelson injected a multi-million dollar donation; concern: "The linkage between campaign contributions and compromised candidates has grown so familiar that it no longer shocks, and indeed rarely even interests, most of us" The Daily Beast 19
19-Jan-12 BANK FIN DEBT John Glover; Abigail Moses; Paul Armstrong (ed.) Banks Flush With ECB Cash Outperform Sovereigns Banks with an ECB lifeline outperform sovereigns; according to Bloomberg, euro governments are expected to borrow ~$2 trillion in 2012 Bloomberg 20
19-Jan-12 BANK DEBT RE 30-year Fixed-rate Mortgage Averages 3.88 Percent Freddie Mac: 30-year fixed-rate mortgage fell to 3.88%, an all-time record low Freddie Mac-PR Newswire 21
19-Jan-12 GOV BANK DEBT New York Fed Sells $7.014 Billion in Face Value of ML II LLC Assets  New York Fed to sell $7.014 billion in face value of assets Maiden Lane II LLC [AIG assets] portfolio to Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC Federal Reserve Bank of New York 22
22-Jan-12 LAW WWW MON Sarah McBride; Lisa Richwine; Jasmin Melvin; Diane Bartz; Jonathan Weber (ed.); Maureen Bavdek (ed.) Epic Clash: Silicon Valley Blindsides Hollywood on Piracy U.S.: amounts spent on influencing policy during 1998-2011: technology companies (including computer and Internet companies), $1.2 billion; entertainment companies (including Hollywood movie studios), $906.4 million. Entertainment companies support SOPA and PIPA; technology companies do not. NYT: Reuters 23
23-Jan-12 POL REL MON Nicholas Confessore. Contributor: Jeremy W. Peters ‘Super PAC’ for Gingrich to Get $5 Million Infusion Sheldon Adelson and his wife Dr. Miriam Adelson reportedly contributed a total of $10 million to the super PAC "Winning Our Future." Sheldon Adelson is in the "gambling/leisure businesses"; he is a billionaire of Jewish provenance; his wife is an an Israeli physician [source: Wikipedia,   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sheldon_Adelson]. Sheldon Adelson reportedly said at the Taglit Birthright event: “Read the history of those who call themselves Palestinians, and you will hear why [Newt] Gingrich said recently that the Palestinians are an invented people" [source: Revital Blumenfeld, "Sheldon Adelson to Birthright group: Gingrich is right to call Palestinians 'invented people,'" Haaretz, 26-Dec-2011, http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/sheldon-adelson-to-birthright-group-gingrich-is-right-to-call-palestinians-invented-people-1.403671] NYT 24
24-Jan-12 POL MON Romney Tax Returns Show 2-Year Income of $45 Million Mitt Romney likely to pay $6.2 million in taxes on $45 million in income over tax years 2010-2011 [effective tax rate of ~13.8%]; Newt Gingrich and his wife paid $994,708 in federal tax on an adjusted gross income of $3,162,424 in 2010 [effective tax rate of ~31.7%] NYT 25
25-Jan-12 BANK FIN MON Mark Scott European Banks Push to Meet Capital Goals European financial institutions raised ≥€40.7 billion ($52.8 billion) in new capital in 2011Q4 (estimates by Citigroup) NYT-DealBook 26
25-Jan-12 GOV BANK DEBT Federal Reserve issues FOMC statement of longer-run goals and policy strategy Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), on principles regarding its longer-run goals and monetary policy strategy: "inflation at the rate of 2 percent . . . is most consistent over the longer run with the Federal Reserve's statutory mandate. . . FOMC participants' estimates of the longer-run normal rate of unemployment had a central tendency of 5.2 percent to 6.0 percent . ." Federal Reserve Board 27
25-Jan-12 GOV BANK DEBT Federal Reserve issues FOMC statement FOMC to keep the target range for the federal funds rate at 0%-0.25% and currently anticipates economic conditions are" likely to warrant exceptionally low levels for the federal funds rate at least through late 2014" Federal Reserve Board 28
29-Jan-12 GOV BANK DEBT Peter Eavis U.S. Banks Tally Their Exposure to Europe’s Debt Maelstrom Exposure of 5 large American banks to Italy, Spain, Portugal, Ireland and Greece: >$80 billion; ~$50 billion after adjusting for financial insurance against default (using credit-default swaps) and other credit protection NYT-DealBook 29
30-Jan-12 GOV DEBT Deborah Levine U.S. 5-year yields hit record low on Europe woes U.S. yields on 5-year notes fell to an all-time record low of 0.71%; investors are concerned, among other things, about delays of a bailout deal for Greece MarketWatch 30
31-Jan-12 GOV DEBT The Budget and Economic Outlook: Fiscal Years 2012 to 2022 Congressional Budget Office (CBO) projection: U.S. federal budget deficit to reach $1.1 trillion in FY2012, if current laws remain unchanged (7% of GDP) Congressional Budget Office 31
1-Feb-12 POL MON Evan Carmi; Matthew Ericson; David Nolen; Kevin Quealy; Michael Strickland; Jeremy White; Derek Willis Election 2012: The 2012 Money Race: Compare the Candidates U.S. presidential campaigns: amounts raised to date: all candidates, $186 million; Barack Obama, $139,526,311; Mitt Romney, $57,112,767; Ron Paul, $26,104,721; Newt Gingrich, $12,733,254 NYT 32
2-Feb-12 GOV BANK DEBT Chairman Ben S. Bernanke The Economic Outlook and the Federal Budget Situation: Before the Committee on the Budget, U.S. House of Representatives, Washington, D.C. Chairman Ben S. Bernanke, on the economic outlook and the federal B\budget: " . . . risks remain that developments in Europe or elsewhere may unfold unfavorably and could worsen economic prospects here at home. . . The Committee (FOMC) now anticipates that economic conditions are likely to warrant exceptionally low levels of the federal funds rate at least through late 2014. . . The federal budget deficit widened appreciably with the onset of the recent recession, and it has averaged around 9 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) over the past three fiscal years. . . As we have seen in a number of countries recently, interest rates can soar quickly if investors lose confidence in the ability of a government to manage its fiscal policy. Although historical experience and economic theory do not indicate the exact threshold at which the perceived risks associated with the U.S. public debt would increase markedly, we can be sure that, without corrective action, our fiscal trajectory will move the nation ever closer to that point. . . " Federal Reserve Board 33
2-Feb-12 BUS FIN MON Isabella Steger Venture Capitalists Flock to China, Leave Europe Behind Dow Jones VentureSource: venture capital equity financing received by companies in 2011: globally, $49 billion; U.S., $32,6 billion (up 10% YOY); China, $6 billion (up 8% YOY); Europe, $6.1 billion; UK, $1.7 billion (down 32% YOY) WSJ 34
6-Feb-12 GOV DEBT JOBS Niki Kitsantonis; David Jolly Greece to Eliminate 15,000 Government Jobs Greece to cut 15,000 government jobs in 2012; Greece needs €130 billion ($170.5 billion) in new bailout funds to avoid default in Mar-2012 NYT 35
6-Feb-12 BANK BUS DEBT Mark Scott Europe’s Banks Reluctant to Lend to Companies in Need of Cash European credit crunch: banks are reluctant to lend to cash starved companies. Jonathan Loynes: “There’s a lack of business confidence across Europe”; insolvency is expected to increase by 12% in 2012 in the Eurozone NYT-DealBook 36
6-Feb-12 BANK MON LAW Giles Broom; Frank Connelly (ed,) Baer Slides as Swiss Bank Expects U.S. Fine on Taxes: Zurich Mover U.S.: 11 Swiss financial institutions are being investigated for alledgedly helping Americans hide money from the IRS Bloomberg 37
6-Feb-12 ELITE MON Maria Di Mento; Caroline Preston. Contributor: Caroline Bermudez Most-Generous Donors Gave More in 2011 but Still Lag Their Pre-Recession Pace The Chronicle of Philanthropy: the top 50 wealthy donors in America gave a total of $10.4-billion in 2011 (up from $3.3-billion in 2010); the median gift from donors was $61 million (down from $74.7 million in 2007). The top 5 donors in 2011 and the total amounts they committed are: 1. Margaret A. Cargill, $6 billion; 2. William S. Dietrich II, $5 billion; 3. Paul G. Allen, $372.6 million; 4. George Soros, $335 million; 5. Michael R. Bloomberg, $311.276 million. The Chronicle of Philanthropy 38
7-Feb-12 PRO GOV DEBT Greek Police Clash with Austerity Protesters Greece: thousands of workers protested the latest austerity measures imposed by creditors (EU, ECB, and IMF) VOA News-AP-AFP-Reuters 39
9-Feb-12 GOV BANK DEBT Bank of England maintains Bank Rate at 0.5% and increases size of Asset Purchase Programme by Ł50 billion to Ł325 billion The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee to keep the official Bank Rate paid on commercial bank reserves at 0.5%; and to increase the size of its asset purchase programme, financed by the issuance of central bank reserves, by Ł50 billion (15.4%) to Ł325 billion Bank of England 40
9-Feb-12 GOV BANK DEBT Federal Reserve Board announces agreement in principle with five banking organizations regarding the issuance of monetary sanctions The Federal Reserve Board reached an agreement in principle with 5 banking organizations regarding the issuance of monetary sanctions totaling $766.5 million "for unsafe and unsound processes and practices in residential mortgage loans servicing and foreclosure processing." Total amounts of the monetary sanctions: Bank of America, 175.5 million; Wells Fargo, $87 million; JPMorgan Chase, $275 million; Citigroup, $22 million; Ally Financial, $207 million. Federal Reserve Board 41
9-Feb-12 GOV BANK DEBT Greece Reaches Accord on Austerity Demands Greece reached an accord on international creditors' austerity demands; to avoid default in Mar-2012, Greece needs a $172-billion bailout from the European Union, the ECB and the IMF VOA News 42
9-Feb-12 GOV BANk DEBT 9 February 2012 - Monetary policy decisions The Governing Council of the ECB decided to keep the interest rate on the main refinancing operations, the interest rates on the marginal lending facility, and the deposit facility unchanged at 1.00%, 1.75%, and 0.25%, respectively European Central Bank 43
10-Feb-12 PRO VIO DEBT Athens clashes over Greece eurozone austerity deal Greece: protesters clashed with police in Athens over austerity measures imposed by eurozone ministers; austerity measures include: cut of 15,000 public-sector jobs, weakening of labor laws, decreasing the minimum wage by 20%; Greece's unemployment rate is >20%. BBC News 44
10-Feb-12 RES BANK DEBT Italian Banks Downgraded; S.&P. Cites Lending Risk Standard & Poor’s (S&P) downgraded 34 Italian financial firms, including UniCredit, Intesa Sanpaolo, and Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena NYT: Bloomberg 45
11-Feb-12 GOV FIN DEBT Harry Papachristou; Matt Robinson; Michael Roddy (ed.) It's bailout or chaos, PM Papademos tells Greece Greece: Prime Minister Lucas Papademos, to Greek lawmakers: back the financial bailout or condemn Greece to "uncontrolled economic chaos and social explosion" Reuters 46
11-Feb-12 PRO GOV DEBT Andrei Khalip
 Lisbon Protests: More Than 100,000 Rally Against Austerity In Portugal Lisbon, Portugal: >100,000 protesters (300,000, according to organisers) rallied against austerity measures Huffington Post: Reuters 47
12-Feb-12 PRO VIO DEBT Niki Kitsantonis; Rachel Donadio. Contributors: Julie Creswell; Elisabetta Povoledo Greek Parliament Passes Austerity Plan After Riots Rage Greece: financial bailout: the Greek Parliament approved harsh austerity measures imposed by creditors (European Commission, ECB, IMF); more than 80,000 people demonstrated against financial capitulation; violent riots were reported in many cities NYT 48
13-Feb-12 RES GOV DEBT Rating Action: Moody's adjusts ratings of 9 European sovereigns to capture downside risks Moody's Investors Service downgraded the sovereign debt ratings of 9 EU countries, including Italy, Malta, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Spain; the ratings for Austria, France, and the U.K. were changed to negative Moody's Investors Service 49
13-Feb-12 PRO VIO DEBT Niki Kitsantonis; Rachel Donadio. Contributors: Dimitris Bounias; Stephen Castle; Melissa Eddy  Athens Shaken by Riots After Vote for Austerity Greece: austerity measures imposed on Greece by creditors triggered massive protests (80,000 demonstrators), riots, vandalism, and looting; ~150 stores were vandalized and looted, and ~45 buildings, including banks, were torched NYT 50
15-Feb-12 RES BANK DEBT Rating Action: Moody's Reviews Ratings for European Banks Moody's Investors Service announced rating actions affecting 114 financial institutions in 16 European countries: the following were placed on review for downgrade: (i) the standalone credit assessments for 99 financial institutions; (ii) the long-term debt and deposit ratings for 109 institutions; (iii) the short-term ratings for 66 institutions. The distribution of the headquarters of the financial institutions affected by this announcement, by country and rank, is as follows: Italy (24), Spain (21), France (10), UK (9), Austria (8), Denmark (8), Germany (7), Netherlands (6), Portugal (6), Sweden (5), Slovenia (4), Switzerland (2), Belgium (1), Finland (1), Luxembourg (1), Norway (1). Moody's Investors Service, Inc.,  51
15-Feb-12 RES Bank DEBT Announcement: Moody's Reviews Ratings for Banks and Securities Firms with Global Capital Markets Operations Moody's Investors Service announced a review of 17 banks and securities firms with global capital markets operations; the long-term ratings and standalone credit assessments  for Bank of America, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Morgan Stanley, and Royal Bank of Canada were placed under review. Moody's Investors Service, Inc.,  52
16-Feb-12 GOV FIN DEBT Ylan Q. Mui Consumer agency wants oversight of debt collectors, credit bureaus The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) proposed to oversee debt collectors, credit bureaus, and credit reporting agencies (Experian, Equifax and TransUnion) Washington Post 53
19-Feb-12 PRO GOV DEBT Greeks rally against austerity steps Greece: hundreds of protesters protested deep budget cuts imposed by creditors, including a 22% cut in the minimum wage and a 12% cut in pensions of more than $1,700/month Al Jazeera: Agencies 54
21-Feb-12 GOV BANK DEBT David Mchugh. Contributors: Derek Gatopoulos; Elena Becatoros; Sarah di Lorenzo; Don Melvin; Paul Wiseman Greece bailout wards off Europe meltdown European ministers agreed to an extra €130 billion ($172 billion) bailout package for Greece funded by the EU and the IMF; Greece's first bailout package in 2010 was for €110 billion ($146 billion); the total bailout per capita is ~€22,000 ($29,000); private bondholders' losses on Greek bonds are estimated at >70%  AP 55
21-Feb-12 FIN MON Mark Scott BC Partners Raises $8.6 Billion Fund London, U.K.: BC Partners raised €6.5 billion ($8.6 billion);   NYT-DealBook 56
21-Feb-12 BANK MON David Enrich Top Banks in EU Rush for Safety WSJ: as of 31-Dec-2011, the top 8 European banks held ~$816 billion (up 50% YOY) in cash and deposits at central banks WSJ 57
22-Feb-12 RES GOV DEBT Paul Rawkins (Primary Analyst); Chris Pryce (Secondary Analyst); David Riley (Committee Chairperson) Fitch Downgrades Greece to 'C' from 'CCC' Fitch Ratings downgraded Greece's Long-term foreign and local currency Issuer Default Ratings (IDRs) from 'CCC' to 'C' Fitch Ratings 58
22-Feb-12 PRO FIN DEBT Alain Badiou; Jean-Christophe Bailly; Étienne Balibar; Claire Denis; Jean-Luc Nancy; Jacques Ranciere; Avital Ronell Alain Badiou. Save the Greeks from their Saviors! [Translation into English by Anastazia Golemi and Drew S. Burk] Alain Badiou et al: "At a time when one Greek youth out of two is unemployed. Where 25,000 homeless wander the streets of Athens. Where 30% of the population has fallen under the poverty line and where millions of families are forced to place their children in the care of someone else in order for them not to die of hunger or cold, where refugees and the new poor compete for trashcans at the public dump, the “saviors” of Greece, under the pretext that “Greece is not trying hard enough”, impose a new aid plan that doubles the lethal administered dose. A plan that abolishes the right to work and reduces the poor to the most extreme misery, at the same time as it makes the middle class disappear. The goal is not about “saving” Greece. All economists worthy of this name agree on this point. It’s about gaining time in order to save the creditors at the same time it leads the country into deferred collapse. Above all it’s about making a laboratory of social change out of Greece that, in a second generation, will spread throughout all of Europe..." The European Graduate School 59
24-Feb-12 GOV DEBT Howard Schneider Greece posts debt offer to investors on Web site Greece: the Finance Ministry made a bond exchange offer to investors: current Greek bonds can be swapped for (1) a 30-year note worth 31.5% of the bonds' face value, and (2) a short-term security worth another 15% backed by the euro zone Washington Post 60
24-Feb-12 FIN DEBT GOV Kevin Roose A.I.G. Buys $2 Billion in Maiden Lane Bonds AIG acquired almost $2 billion in bonds held in Maiden Lane II, a vehicle financed by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York as part of the financial bailout in 2008 NYT-DealBook 61
24-Feb-12 BANK GOLD DEBT IMF Executive Board Approves Distribution of US$1.1 Billion Gold Sales Profits to Facilitate Contributions to Support Concessional Lending to Low-Income Countries The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved the distribution of SDR 700 million (~$1.1 billion) in reserves attributed to profits from IMF gold sales for IMF members to voluntarily support concessional lending to low-income countries (LICs) [2009-2010 gold sales: total proceeds, SDR 9.54 billion (~$14.8 billion); profit, SDR 6.85 billion ($10.6 billion)] IMF 62
27-Feb-12 GOV FIN DEBT Heiner Kiesel / mll; Ben Knight (ed.) Big majority for unpopular Greek rescue Germany: the Bundestag agreed to 2nd Greek rescue package worth ~€130 billion ($97 billion) Deutsche-Welle 63
29-Feb-12 PRO GOV DEBT Raf Casert Unions protest on eve of EU summit Belgium, Spain, Greece: unions protest against unfair austerity measures imposed by creditors AJC: AP 64
29-Feb-12 GOV BANK DEBT Chen Zhi (ed.) ECB allots a further half a trillion euros to 800 banks The European Central Bank (ECB) injected >€0.5 trillion into 800 banks as part of its 2nd 3-year longer term refinancing operation (LTRO); the total LTRO amount injected by the ECB into financial institutions is >€1 trillion ($1.3 trillion) Xinhua 65
29-Feb-12 FIN MON Thomas P. DiNapoli (New York State Comptroller) Wall Street Bonuses Declined in 2011; Industry Profits Down by Half from Prior Year New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli: the bonus pool for securities industry employees who worked in New York City in 2011 is estimated at $19.7 billion (down 14% YOY); the average Wall Street bonus is estimated at $121,150 (down 13% YOY); the profits for the broker/dealer operations of New York Stock Exchange member firms fell to ~$13.5 billion in 2011 (down 51% YOY) Office of the New York State Comptroller 66
1-Mar-12 ELITE MON Mary Alice Salinas. Contributors: Leo Keyen (Hausa Service chief); Ibrahim Abdulaziz; Medina Dauda; Muhammed Salisu Rabiu; Zainab Babaji; Nasiru Batsari More Nigerians Slip Into Poverty, Particularly in North Nigeria: The National Bureau of Statistics on poverty in Nigeria: 97.6 million people (61% of Nigerians) earned <$1/day in 2010 (up 10% from 2004) VOA News 67
4-Mar-12 RES GOV DEBT Moody's downgrades Greece after debt swap 2-Mar-2012: Moody's Investors Service cut Greece's local and foreign-currency bond ratings from Ca to C – the lowest possible rating Ahram Online: Reuters 68
4-Mar-12 GOV FIN MON Lingling Wei China's CIC Gets Injection: Government Provides Sovereign-Wealth Fund With $30 Billion in New Capital China: the government injected ~$30 billion of new capital into China Investment Corp. WSJ 69
5-Mar-12 FIN MON GOV Noah Buhayar; Bei Hu; Andreea Papuc (ed.); Linus Chua (ed.) AIG Sells $6 Billion AIA Shares for $182.3 Billion Rescue American International Group Inc. (AIG) to sell $6 billion of AIA Group Ltd. shares to pay back the U.S. government; AIG received a $182.3 billion bailout San Francisco Chronicle: Bloomberg News 70
5-Mar-12 BANK GOV DEBT Nicholas Dunbar; Elisa Martinuzzi; Edward Evans (ed.) Goldman Secret Greece Loan Shows Two Sinners as Client Unravels The following are comments by Dr. Edward E. Ayoub, founder of Macroknow: (1) The article by Nicholas Dunbar et al. deals with the machinations and consequences of "Greece’s secret loan from Goldman Sachs Group Inc." (2) The consequences include: "On the day the 2001 deal was struck, the government owed the bank about 600 million euros ($793 million) more than the 2.8 billion euros it borrowed, said Spyros Papanicolaou . . ." (3) the machinations give flesh to Tanachic wisdom, such as: "The rich rule the poor and the borrower is the slave of the lender" [Proverbs 22:7] and "The LORD shall open unto thee his good treasure . . . and thou shalt lend unto many nations, and thou shalt not borrow. And the LORD shall make thee the head, and not the tail . . . " [Deuteronomy 28:12-13]. For more quotations on debt, see Ayoub's article – "Nothing But a Tail" – posted December 8, 2001, at http://www.mindhat.com/editorials-eea/op-ed-20011208.htm.]
 Bloomberg 71
6-Mar-12 BANK DEBT RES Sarah Mulholland; Zeke Faux; Alan Goldstein (ed.) S&P Blocked by Banks in CMBS Market After Derailed Goldman Deal: Mortgages Five big banks – Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Citigroup Inc., JPMorgan Chase & Co., Deutsche Bank AG, and Morgan Stanley – dumped S&P’s credit ratings as they issued $11.3 billion of commercial mortgage bond market debt Bloomberg 72
6-Mar-12 BANK LAW DEBT Michael J. De La Merced Lehman Estate Emerges From Bankruptcy Lehman exits from Chapter 11; Lehman filed for bankruptcy on 15-Sep-2008 NYT-DealBook 73
8-Mar-12 GOV BANK DEBT Revenues Have Exceeded Investments, but Concerns about Outstanding Investments Remain U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO): Report to Congressional Committees: CAPITAL PURCHASE PROGRAM [CPP]: Under the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), Treasury had the authority to use a bailout fund of up to ~$700 billion buy or guarantee “troubled assets," including mortgages, mortgage-backed securities, and other financial instruments. Treasury disbursed $204.9 billion to 707 financial institutions from Oct-2008 through Dec-2009. As of 31-Jan-2012, Treasury received $211.5 billion in repayments and income from its CPP investments. As of 30-Nov-2011, Treasury estimated a lifetime gain of $13.5 billion for CPP. The number of institutions that exited CPP is 341. Of these: 43% (146 institutions) exited by fully repaying their investments; 11 institutions made partial repayments but remained in the program; 48% (165 institutions) exited CPP by exchanging their investments under other federal programs -- 28 through the Community Development Capital Initiative (CDCI) and 137 through the Small Business Lending Fund (SBLF) program! GAO 74
8-Mar-12 ELITE MON Forbes Staff The World's Billionaires Forbes: the wold's 1,226 billionaires are worth a record $4.6 trillion. Net worth of the top 5 billionaires: 1. Carlos Slim Helou and family, $69 billion; 2. Bill Gates, $61 billion; 3. Warren Buffett, $44 billion; 4. Bernard Arnault, $41 billion; 5. Amancio Ortega, $37.5 billion. Forbes 75
8-Mar-12 GOV BANK DEBT Monetary policy decisions The Governing Council of the ECB to keep the interest rate on the main refinancing operations and the interest rates on the marginal lending facility and the deposit facility unchanged at 1.00%, 1.75% and 0.25% respectively ECB 76
8-Mar-12 GOV BANK DEBT News Release - Bank of England maintains Bank Rate at 0.5% and the size of the Asset Purchase Programme at Ł325 billion The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee: to keep the official Bank Rate paid on commercial bank reserves at 0.5%; and to continue with its programme of asset purchases totalling Ł325 billion financed by the issuance of central bank reserves Bank of England 77
9-Mar-12 GOV FIN DEBT Over 80% of Greek creditors accept debt swap Greece: 83.5% of Greece's private-sector bondholders agreed to a bond-swap deal; 83.5% corresponds to €172 billion out of a total of €206 billion MarketWatch 78
9-Mar-12 BANK FIN DEBT ISDA EMEA Determinations Committee: Restructuring Credit Event Has Occurred with Respect to The Hellenic Republic The EMEA Credit Derivatives Determinations Committee of The International Swaps and Derivatives Association, Inc. (ISDA) determined unanimously that "a Restructuring Credit Event has occurred with respect to The Hellenic Republic (Greece)" ISDA 79
11-Mar-12 PRO GOV DEBT Hundreds of thousands protest austerity measures in Spain Spain: hundreds of thousands of people protest against austerity measures in 60 cities across Spain  USA Today: AP 80
12-Mar-12 ELITE TECH MON Rob Cox The Ruthless Overlords Of Silicon Valley Rob Cox, on "the Overlords of Silicon Valley": "Though Silicon Valley’s newest billionaires may anoint themselves the saints of American capitalism, they’re beginning to resemble something else entirely: robber barons. Behind the hoodies and flip-flops lurk businesspeople as rapacious as the black-suited and top-hatted industrialists of the late-19th century." The Daily Beast 81
12-Mar-12 BANK MKT DEBT Susanne Walker; Dave Liedtka (ed.) Banks Buy Treasuries at Seven Times Pace in 2011 Banks purchased $78.2 billion of Treasuries and securities of agencies in Jan-Feb 2012 (up from $62.6 billion in all of 2011); total bank holdings of Treasuries reached $1.78 trillion Bloomberg 82
13-Mar-12 GOV BANK DEBT Federal Reserve issues FOMC statement FOMC decided to keep the target range for the federal funds rate at 0% to 0.25% Federal Reserve Board 83
14-Mar-12 GOV BANK DEBT Federal Reserve Board launches its Twitter channel Federal Reserve Board launched its official Twitter channel: @federalreserve Federal Reserve Board 84
14-Mar-12 GOV FIN DEBT Stephen Castle With Details Settled, a 2nd Greek Bailout Is Formally Approved A 2nd bailout for Greece was formally approved; the bailout package is valued at €130 billion ($170 billion) NYT 85
14-Mar-12 LAW MON RES Ellen M. Ryan; Laura E. Simmons Securities Class Action Settlements: 2011 Review and Analysis The number of court-approved securities class action settlements in 2011 decreased to 65 (a 10-year low; down 25% YOY); and settlement funds in 2011 tumbled to $1.362 (down 58% YOY) [see also http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2012/03/14/court-approved-class-action-settlements-at-decade-low/] Cornerstone Research 86
14-Mar-12 GOV BANK DEBT Federal Reserve offers $3 billion in 28-day term deposits though its Term Deposit Facility Federal Reserve to offer $3 billion in 28-day term deposits through its Term Deposit Facility Federal Reserve Board 87
15-Mar-12 GOV BANK DEBT IMF Executive Board Approves €28 Billion Arrangement Under Extended Fund Facility for Greece The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved a 4-year SDR 23.8 billion (~€28 billion, or US$36.7 billion) arrangement under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) for Greece IMF 88
15-Mar-12 GOV BANK DEBT Vikas Bajaj. Contributors: Heather Timmons; Neha Thirani Bad Loans at State-Run Banks Add to India’s Woes India: Reserve Bank of India survey indicates that bad loans pose “the most significant risk to the financial system”; as percent of GDP, the government of India debt is ~69% NYT 89
16-Mar-12 GOV BANK MON Nicholas Dunbar; Elisa Martinuzzi; Edward Evans (ed.) Italy Said to Pay Morgan Stanley $3.4 Billion Italy to pay Morgan Stanley $3.4 billion to cancel speculative derivative contracts from the 1990s  Bloomberg 90
22-Mar-12 BANK DEBT Bank of America Outlines Limited Pilot Test of Mortgage to Lease Program Bank of America announced a pilot program to offer a limited number of mortgage customers (<1,000) facing foreclosure an opportunity to remain in their homes as tenants Bank of America 91
26-Mar-12 Bank DEBT BUS Robin Emmott; John O'Donnell. Contributors: Sakari Suoninen; Claire Davenport; Mike Peacock (ed.) Nervous Banks Hold Back Europe's Revival Strategy European banks are not lending, especially in Greece, Ireland, and Portugal; according to Mark Fielding, head of the Irish Small and Medium Enterprises Association, "Most small businesses feel almost hatred towards their banks" NYT: Reuters 92
29-Mar-12 ELITE FIN MON Julie Creswell; Azam Ahmed Large Hedge Funds Fared Well in 2011 U'S.: top hedge fund managers earned $14.4 billion in 2011. Top 3 hedge managers: 1. Raymond Dalio, Bridgewater Associates, $3.9 billion; 2. Carl Icahn, Icahn Capital Management, $2.5 billion; 3. James Simons, Renaissance Technologies Corp, $2.1 billion [source: Stephen Taub, "The Rich List," AR Magazine, 29-Mar-2012, http://www.absolutereturn-alpha.com/Article/3001821/The-Rich-List.html] NYT-DealBook 93
30-Mar-12 GOV FIN DEBT James Kanter 30-31-Mar-2012: Copenhagen: European finance ministers agreed to establish an almost €800-billion bailout fund for the euro zone NYT 94
30-Mar-12 GOV FIN DEBT Barbara Kollmeyer Spain announces €27 billion deficit-cutting plan Spain: the Spanish government announced a €27 billion ($36 billion) deficit-reduction plan MarketWatch 95
3-Apr-12 RES BUS DEBT Rating Action: Moody's downgrades GE rating to Aa3, GE Capital to A1 Moody's Investors Service downgraded (1) the senior unsecured debt rating of General Electric Company (GE) to Aa3 from Aa2; and (2) the senior unsecured rating of its finance subsidiary, General Electric Capital Corporation, to A1 from Aa2. The rating outlook for GE and GECC is stable Moody's Investors Service 96
4-Apr-12 GOV BANK DEBT 4 April 2012 - Monetary policy decisions The Governing Council of the ECB to keep the interest rate on the main refinancing operations and the interest rates on the marginal lending facility and the deposit facility at 1.00%, 1.75% and 0.25% respectively European Central Bank 97
7-Apr-12 ELITE MON RPIG Natasha Singer In Executive Pay, a Rich Game of Thrones Data on 100 top-paid CEO's in 2011: median salary, $14.4 million (more than 318 times the average American salary); the aggregate salary of the 100 top-paid CEO's, $2.1 billion [source: Equilar]. According to a study by Emmanuel Saez (University of California, Berkeley): "In 2010, average real income per family grew by 2.3% but the gains were very uneven. Top 1% incomes grew by 11.6% while bottom 99% incomes grew only by 0.2%. Hence, the top 1% captured 93% of the income gains in the first year of recovery. Such an uneven recovery can help explain the recent public demonstrations against inequality" [see Emmanuel Saez, "Striking it Richer: The Evolution of Top Incomes in the United States (Updated with 2009 and 2010 estimates)", 2-Mar-2012, http://elsa.berkeley.edu/~saez/saez-UStopincomes-2010.pdf]. NYT 98