Europe's embattled leaders gave themselves a two-week deadline to resolve the single currency debt crisis on Monday by delaying a crucial summit. The European Council president, Herman van Rompuy, announced the delay after it became clear that EU leaders were struggling to agree on proposals to expand Europe's bailout fund, and on possible changes to Greece's second bailout. With international lenders also reportedly making slow progress assessing Greece's finances, the summit has been pushed back from next Monday to Sunday, 23 October. But with Slovakia's coalition government failing to reach agreement on the existing deal to give the eurozone rescue fund stronger powers, the eurozone still appeared disunited. The postponement came as George Osborne told MPs that Europe needed to take decisive action immediately as the eurozone was now the "epicentre" of this summer's turmoil on global stock markets. "We need a comprehensive solution which ringfences vulnerable eurozone countries, recapitalises Europe's banks and resolves the uncertainty about Greece," Osborne told the House of Commons. The chancellor added his voice to those calling for the European financial stability facility (EFSF) to be expanded further. "If you're trying to protect larger countries, then €440bn is sadly not enough." Osborne also revealed that prime minister David Cameron had discussed the crisis with Barack Obama on Monday afternoon, a sign that Europe's woes continue to dominate the international agenda. World stock markets rallied again as traders welcomed the bank recapitalisation plan agreed over the weekend by the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, and the French president, Nicolas Sarkozy. 
Access Investments-Building Awareness - European Union-ROMANIA
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Europe's embattled leaders gave themselves a two-week deadline to resolve the single currency debt crisis on Monday by delaying a crucial summit. The European Council president, Herman van Rompuy, announced the delay after it became clear that EU leaders were struggling to agree on proposals to expand Europe's bailout fund, and on possible changes to Greece's second bailout. With international lenders also reportedly making slow progress assessing Greece's finances, the summit has been pushed back from next Monday to Sunday, 23 October. But with Slovakia's coalition government failing to reach agreement on the existing deal to give the eurozone rescue fund stronger powers, the eurozone still appeared disunited. The postponement came as George Osborne told MPs that Europe needed to take decisive action immediately as the eurozone was now the "epicentre" of this summer's turmoil on global stock markets. "We need a comprehensive solution which ringfences vulnerable eurozone countries, recapitalises Europe's banks and resolves the uncertainty about Greece," Osborne told the House of Commons. The chancellor added his voice to those calling for the European financial stability facility (EFSF) to be expanded further. "If you're trying to protect larger countries, then €440bn is sadly not enough." Osborne also revealed that prime minister David Cameron had discussed the crisis with Barack Obama on Monday afternoon, a sign that Europe's woes continue to dominate the international agenda. World stock markets rallied again as traders welcomed the bank recapitalisation plan agreed over the weekend by the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, and the French president, Nicolas Sarkozy. 
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Trust the British European experts. Bucks Fizz.
Don't let your indecision take you from behind
Trust your inner vision
Don't let others change your mind
& now you really gotta burn it up
& make another fly by night
gotta run for your money
& take a chance
& it'll turn out right!
& when you see how it's gotta be
You're making your mind up!
Good advice there from Britain's peroxide Euro representatives.
Martians have landed just outside Brussels and declared war on the EU. Rumpy Pumpy, Baroness letdown, Sikozy and Smirkle have declined to respond for 3 weeks while they think of what to do.
New EU slogan: "I used to be indecisive now I am not sure".
Leaders will use the extra week to reach an agreement on how to recapitalise the banks and whether to expand the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF), the eurozone's €440bn bail-out fund. France is determined not to use taxpayer payer money to prop up the banks, while Germany is refusing to bolster the EFSF.
In yet another delay, Slovakia's parliament on Monday failed to reach a decision on whether to extend the powers of the European Financial Stability Facility, the eurozone's bailout fund. The parliament will reconvene to continue discussions on Tuesday.
However, Malta's parliament approved a deal to expand the EFSF on Monday night.
Despite the setbacks traders bet that the leaders would resolve the crisis, pushing the euro up 2pc against the dollar - its biggest one-day gain for a year. European equity markets also rose. The DAX closed up 3pc, the CAC was up 2.1pc while the FTSE 100 gained 1.8pc.
Leaders will use the extra week to reach an agreement on how to recapitalise the banks and whether to expand the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF), the eurozone's €440bn bail-out fund. France is determined not to use taxpayer payer money to prop up the banks, while Germany is refusing to bolster the EFSF.
In yet another delay, Slovakia's parliament on Monday failed to reach a decision on whether to extend the powers of the European Financial Stability Facility, the eurozone's bailout fund. The parliament will reconvene to continue discussions on Tuesday.
However, Malta's parliament approved a deal to expand the EFSF on Monday night.
Despite the setbacks traders bet that the leaders would resolve the crisis, pushing the euro up 2pc against the dollar - its biggest one-day gain for a year. European equity markets also rose. The DAX closed up 3pc, the CAC was up 2.1pc while the FTSE 100 gained 1.8pc.
On Monday, various reports told us the UK was bottom of the global confidence league, 43pc of finance directors were preparing for a second recession while companies had delayed or cancelled £4.7bn of spending. Today, the Telegraph reports that the OECD's leading indicator fell for the seventh month in a row, pointing to a slowdown, and the British Chambers of Commerce warns on stagflation.
Given Mervyn King, Governor of the Bank of England, believes this could the worst financial crisis ever - even beating the 1930s for gloom - it's not surprising the economy is suffering a mental breakdown. Surveys, by their nature, are rooted in reality but reflect people's moods and expectations. That's the dislocation, which has been highlighted before this year, between the macro outlook and what's really happening at an individual company level. That said, the former can eventually dictate the latter so reinforcing a circular and self-perpetuating loop of gloom.
There are differences, however, between now and 2008, not to mention what happened 70 odd years ago. In 2008 the corporate world was badly prepared for the sudden and brutal recession which, in the UK, knocked 7.1pc off GDP peak to trough. Now those same companies are better prepared to withstand shocks. Balance sheets are healthier, with nearly £700bn of cash in the bank. It's not being spent, true, but it represents part of the country's commercial arsenal that could be deployed. We've had a change of government from Labour to a Coalition more likely to control public spending, if not reduce it. Effective growth policies are lacking but in the 18 months since the election the country's economic condition has been stabilised. Interest rates are low, inflation (we are promised) will fall and a political consensus has formed around the need for public sector reform.
Well – that's how the organisers pitched it. In fact Palin's been banging on again about what she likes to call "crony capitalism" - meaning only the elite, and friends of the elite, can prosper.
"When cronyism thrives, innovation, prosperity, and freedom suffer because small innovative firms get shoved outside," she said. "Only by empowering the individual will our economies be rescued."
All of which may be true, but is Palin really the right person to make that point? Her decision to hire old school friend Franci Havemeister as agriculture secretary, after the candidate cited her childhood love of cows as a qualification for running the $2m agency, is a classic of the genre.
10.34am: It's probably time for a quick update on the markets - which have slipped ahead of the Slovakia vote. The FTSE 100 is down just under 1% at 5351.36 while the Eurofirst 300 is off 0.72% at 956.93.
Meanwhile - that old safe haven of gold has fallen by 1% this morning as the dollar's recovery against the euro prompts buyers to take some profits.
10.12am: And another bit of data. British house prices rose by 0.6% on a seasonally adjusted basis in August, the biggest rise since March. The Department of Communities and Local Government said prices were 1.3% lower than a year earlier, the smallest annual fall since April, taking the average price of a home to £208,476.
10.09am: Is MPC member Adam Posen being muzzled? Having previously trumpeted his speech at the annual global alternative investment management conference in New York this afternoon, the Old Lady of Threadneedle Street now says that it will not now be releasing a text. It's like the dog that didn't bark.
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