EFSF

Yesterday, it seemed as if all hope was lost in Europe, that the issues between the banks, Germany, France, and the ECB were too many to get a deal done. Then around 10 p.m. last night, the futures started to move higher, and we learned that Europe had reached an accord, at least for now. "The...

We were "supposed" to get some kind of plan today out of Europe that would stabilize the financial markets, and have an actual concrete plan for saving the European Union from financial disaster. So much for that. Germany and France apparently still can not come to terms on a deal, and this mess...

That answer depends on where you stand. The markets have been very headline-driven lately. It seems as though whenever a figurehead at home or abroad speaks about bailouts, recapitalizations, etc., markets seem to swing wildly. This is not a surprise as nobody knows where to put their money...

When the plan to save Dexia came out a couple of weeks ago, some saw it as a precursor for the plan to save Europe as a whole. Not so fast. The European Union is going to have a summit held this weekend to talk about how to solve the fiscal problems of European banks, leveraging up the €440...

Slovakia put the future of the euro in jeopardy yesterday when the tiny, poor European country voted against enhanced powers for the European Union that are needed in order to prevent a financial meltdown. Slovakia's ruling party failed to get enough votes to give the European Financial Stability...

European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet warned the European Parliament in Brussels on Tuesday that the financial crisis facing the eurozone is systemic and that Europe's leaders must take decisive action in order to prevent it from escalating and spreading. Trichet will soon be stepping...

Okay, so the equity markets on spiking on news from over the weekend that Dexia SA was going to be "saved," and that German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy have agreed upon a "plan" to save Europe. Well that's all good and well, except there is no real plan, and the...

So gold did not go to $2,000 an ounce by the end of September as was discussed last month, but that does not mean it will not get there, eventually. Gold gave back almost all of the gain it had in August (12%) in September, as the short term mentality of "return of capital, not return on capital...

Euro Area Developments The EFSF expansion agreed upon in July has now been ratified by 14 euro area member nations: Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Portugal, Spain, Slovenia and Austria. Outstanding are Malta, the Netherlands and Slovakia. Of...

The Euro was higher during the Asian session on the lack of negative debt headlines and markets are now focused on the EFSF vote from the German Parliament. The oppositional minority has publicly reversed its position for the most part, so most analysts are expecting the vote to pass with a clear...

Markets stabilized during the Asian session, largely on speculation that some EU nations are looking to add requirements to the Greek bailout agreement. Specifically, these would require private bondholders in Greece to assume a larger percentage in losses than was suggested previously. Another...

George Soros penned an article this morning that he thinks we are headed towards another Great Depression. You know what, he's right. Europe is on the verge of a collapse, and unless something gets done relatively soon, (perhaps as soon as the next few weeks), Europe is likely to experience their...

The government of German Chancellor Angela Merkel won a victory on Thursday when the German parliament passed a vote expanding the powers of the institution charged with saving troubled eurozone members like Greece, Ireland and Italy from default. The German Parliament overwhelmingly approved a...

US stock futures point to a higher open Thursday after Germany's lower house of parliament voted to approve enhanced powers for the European Financial Stability- the Euro Zone's Bailout fund. Beyond that the news slate is pretty empty on the Jewish New Year celebration, Rosh Hashanah. Volume should...

The Eurozone, and their current credit crisis, has most certainly been under the economic microscope over the last week. This past weekend was the International Monetary Fund's annual meeting of international policymakers and a dominantly bearish outlook on the global economy had the majority...