BERLIN - The succession of European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet will not be a topic at this week's Group of 20 meeting and will be dealt with after March, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said on Friday. "We will then see (if there will be a German candidate). The important thing is that we will have a good candidate," Schaeuble added in an interview with German radio channel Deutschlandfunk.BCE,EURO,Dollar,RON,Crisis Agerpres, Mediafax
FRANKFURT - Emergency borrowing from the European Central Bank remained exceptionally elevated for a second straight day on Friday, intensifying speculation that one or more euro zone bank might be facing new funding problems. ECB figures showed banks borrowed more than 16 billion euros in high-cost emergency overnight funding, the highest amount since June 2009 and well above the 1.2 billion euros which banks were taking before the figure first jumped on Thursday. The ECB gives no breakdown of the borrowing figures and declined to comment on Friday when asked for an explanation for the jump. Traders remained unsure whether the spike was due to a serious funding issue or whether a bank had simply made an error earlier in the week by not borrowing enough at the ECB's regular weekly funding handout. If a bank, or number of banks, did not get enough funding, and were unable to make up the difference in open markets, they would be forced to use the ECB's emergency facility until the next ECB tender came around. The next ECB offering is on Tuesday, banks get the money on Wednesday, meaning any change would evident in figures published early on Thursday. "As no bank or banking group from any euro zone country is aggressively seeking money in the interbank market at the moment, it is likely that something went wrong at the main refinancing operation," said one euro zone money market trader. "The bank or banking group needs to tap the ECB for the money whether they like it or not, or they are doing that so as not to appear active on the money market and to thereby be stigmatized," he added

European bank shares were down 1 percent by 1100 GMT while the euro fell against the dollar and other major currencies for much of the morning. Money markets showed little reaction, however. Key euro bank-to-bank lending prices remained on a downward trajectory, a direction traditionally at odds with rising tensions. The theory that the spike was due to human error appeared to be supported by data from the ECB's latest weekly funding operation. Banks borrowed the lowest amount since June at the tender, 19 billion euros less than the previous week and well below expected demand of around 160 billion euros.

However, a monetary source in Italy, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters that the increase in borrowing was not a technical problem and was a sign that money markets were still not functioning correctly and geographically split in the wake of the global financial crisis. The source said the Italian banking system continued to have good access to money markets, while high-level Spanish financial source said the jump was not down to Spanish banks. The borrowing jump added extra complexity to the question of whether the ECB will scale back, or extend, its money market support measures at its next meeting on March 3.

ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet said in a recent interview that the health of money markets had improved, although Belgium's Guy Quaden said this week liquidity support remained necessary. "If the increased use of the marginal borrowing facility is due to new problems in the banking system this would call for an extension of the ECB's liquidity support," said UniCredit analyst Luca Cazzulani. "The ECB knows exactly who is borrowing the money and why they are doing it. If it is due to a mistake then it should not influence their thinking at all." The extra 0.75 percent which banks have to pay for overnight funding from the ECB normally means it is used only as a last resort. The last time before this week that overnight borrowing exceeded 10 billion euros was on June 24, 2009, when it was 28.7 billion euros, the highest ever. This year, emergency overnight borrowing has been above 1 billion euros only twice. Traders said while mistyping the required amount or missing the ECB's tender altogether would be an unlikely mistake, it could happen. "It would be a huge oversight and pretty unlikely but it is possible if a lot of things conspired against you," said one London-based money market trader. "If it is a mistake then someone's boss is not going to be very happy." A number of banks, mainly from the euro zone's most debt-strained countries but also troubled banks in core countries, remain barred from open money markets and almost completely dependent on the ECB for funding.

Financial-Banking Analysis

For the new democracies and market economies of the Eastern European region, 2009 has been a rude awakening, the biggest shock since they switched from Soviet communism to western capitalism 20 years ago. "There is no doubt the region is in deep crisis," said the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development last week. "The worst output collapse since the great recession that followed the end of communism."

Most analysts expect the National Bank of Romania to come with a less optimistic forecast as far as this year's price increase is concerned, after last autumn it expected inflation to slow down to 3.4% in December 2011, i.e. close to the official target of 3%. According to an internal survey conducted by the Association of Financial-Banking Analysts, the average analyst forecast for the 2011 inflation is 4.3%, i.e. also above the upper inflation target limit.
The main risks now have to do with the international trend of making food and fuels more expensive, which has already been felt on the Romanian market. Last year consumer prices climbed nearly 8%, although the official inflation target was 3.5%. The shock of the VAT hike from 19% to 24% in the summer, as well as the food price increases that occurred in autumn overturned the downward trend of inflation.

Denmark's Vestas, the world's leader in the field of wind farm technology, with turnover worth above 6bn euros in 2009, decided to open an office in Romania this year considering the company has already sold turbines with a 450 MW capacity for investments in Dobrogea. After six years' research, Vestas now says it is time it started developing domestically.
"We have been eyeing Romania over the past five or six years, but it is now that we decided to open a local office. This is a decision that proves the domestic market has reached a certain maturity. We are in the right place at the right moment. Romania is the most promising country in Eastern Europe," says Hans Jorn Rieks, chairman for Central Europe with Vestas.
The best-known wind farms due to be equipped by Vestas are the ones being built by Energias de Portugal in two towns of Dobrogea, Pe[tera and Cernavod`.
According to Rieks, the big concern as regards the Romanian market is legislation. "The existence of clear legislation will open the market to several players as banks are always looking at something tangible and are not willing to take on risks," he says. (Z.F)

BRUSSELS, Jan. 27 - The European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF), the rescue fund set up by Eurozone countries last May, Tuesday saw strong demand for its debut bond issued to raise cash for Ireland. Demand for the five-year bond was reportedly nearly nine times of the 5 billion euros (6.8 billion U.S. dollars) on offer, which is seen as a sign of confidence in the facility. Klaus Regling, chief executive of the EFSF, said that the strong demand "confirms confidence in the strategy adopted to restore financial stability in the euro area." The 440-billion-euro (580-billion-U.S. dollar) EFSF is not offered directly by eurozone countries, but guaranteed by them to borrow money by issuing bonds on the market for debt-laden eurozone members. According to the aid package endorsed by European Union (EU) finance ministers last November to Ireland, the EFSF, will raise 17.7 billion euros in total for Dublin.

Earlier this month, the European Commission also raised 5 billion euros for Ireland through its first bond issuance under the European Financial Stabilization Mechanism (EFSM), which is guaranteed by the EU's budget. Markets snapped up the bond within one hour.

The outgoing head of the CBI today strongly criticised the government's lack of strategy for economic growth and warned that ministers would fail to reduce Britain's budget deficit without measures to boost demand. Sir Richard Lambert used his last big speech as director general of the employers' organisation to accuse the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition of taking policy initiatives for political reasons "apparently careless of the damage that they might do to business and to job creation". Speaking on the eve of the release of official growth figures expected to show a slowdown in the pace of economic expansion in the final three months of 2010, Lambert backed plans to cut the deficit but said they had to be accompanied by increased output and employment, which would increase tax receipts. "The sooner we can get output back up to the levels that were expected before the recession, the quicker government revenues will rise to narrow the fiscal gap. "It's not enough just to slam on the spending brakes. Measures that cut spending but killed demand would actually make matters worse." Lambert said the government had been single-minded, even ruthless, in the pursuit of spending cuts but had not been "nearly so consistent" when it came to policies that supported growth. "It's failed so far to articulate in big picture terms its vision of what the UK economy might become under its stewardship."

Lloyds Banking Group has begun a mass mailshot of 231,000 letters offering possible refunds to Halifax customers who may have been mis-sold payment protection insurance on their credit cards, under a costly and large-scale outreach programme codenamed Project Kestrel. Internal documents obtained by the Observer reveal that 8,300 letters went out last Monday. Almost a quarter of a million will be dispatched by mid-February, asking credit card customers to contact a special call centre operated by outsourcing firm Capita. The exercise by Lloyds, which is 70% owned by the government and is the parent of Halifax, Bank of Scotland and Lloyds TSB, comes amid an ongoing furore over the mis-marketing of so-called PPI policies which protect cardholders against debts if they lose their jobs, fall ill or have accidents. Analysts believe Lloyds could face a bill of more than £1bn for compensation if it were found to have mis-sold PPI.

euro, criza datoriilor de stat, euroscepticismul, monede nationale, renuntarea la euro, salvare euro, zona euro

The euro edged higher against the dollar on Tuesday as the arrest of a slide in Chinese shares boosted risk appetite, but its gains were limited by uncertainty over whether officials will agree to beef up a euro zone safety fund this week. The euro dipped initially but later pared its losses against the dollar as Chinese shares showed signs of stabilising after the previous day's 3 percent slide, lending some support to risky assets.
The euro's rise against the dollar picked up some steam on stop-loss buying, helping push the single European currency 0.1 percent higher on the day to $1.3305, up from an intraday low of $1.3254. But doubts that euro zone policymakers would reach a quick decision on whether to enhance a rescue fund aimed at quelling a sovereign debt crisis, which has forced Greece and Ireland to take bailouts and put nations such as Portugal and Spain under heavy pressure, remained the euro's Achilles' heel.

When investors begin to lose confidence in a country’s ability to pay off its debt, they demand higher interest rates on the country’s bonds to cover the risk of loaning it money. When its borrowing costs rise, an ailing country has an even harder time raising money to pay off the debts it has. Borrowing costs are up this year in European countries considered more vulnerable as investors look to put their money somewhere they think is safer. Growing into its role as a global economic power, China is pledging to buy billions of dollars' worth of bonds in European governments to help restore confidence in the debt-ridden region. The move is the latest evidence that the giant Asian nation is developing ties with strategically important trading partners and expanding its influence in areas where it has long played a minor role. In what European media have dubbed a charm offensive, Chinese Vice Premier Li Keqiang was all smiles on a recent swing through the continent, assuring the Germans that their economy was complementary to China's and praising the Spanish as good friends. He also dispensed plenty of largess, promising to aid the souring economies of Spain and Portugal — pledges that were seen as more than just goodwill.

AAPL AIG BAC Bear Stearns, Ben Bernanke, BSC C China, copper, DELL, DIS, DJIA, Dollar, DOW, FDIC, FED, FNM, FXI, GM, gold, GOOG, GRSGS, inflation ,IPO, NOC oil, silverSIRI, YHOO, Yuan

The European sovereign debt crisis eased today after Spain and Italy attracted sufficient buyers for their bond sales, albeit at an increased price. The relatively successful multibillion-euro auctions pushed the currency 1.8% higher against the dollar to $1.336, and sent European bourses rallying. The Ibex index of Spain's most traded shares rose 2.7%, with Santander up 4.8%. Spain sold €3bn of five-year bonds but was forced to pay 4.5% – nearly a full percentage point more than at an auction in November, but still less than the level some had anticipated. The sale was twice oversubscribed.Italy auctioned €6bn of five- and 15-year bonds. The two countries, which along with Portugal have been fighting investors' scepticism over their finances, benefited from the stronger support given by EU officials this week. The EU has been widely criticised for doing too little too late in the year-long debt crisis, escalating the market panic that ultimately tipped Greece and Ireland into a bailout.

"Budgetary discipline can no longer be a theoretic figure in a political pact, but must be enforced in all budgets in the European Union. This is the only way forward, if we want to provide a long-term solution to the financial crisis", said Joseph Daul MEP, Chairman of the EPP Group, in a comment to the start of the "European Semester", a budgetary monitoring exercise decided by the EU. "Balanced national budgets are essential in order to guarantee economic and social stability and to provide better investment conditions for the creation of jobs and growth and allow Europe to increase competitiveness. European Economic Governance is therefore a prerequisite to maintaining the successful European model of social market economy", said the Chairman of the European Parliament's largest political group.

"I also wish to thank EU Council President Hermann van Rompuy for his courage and energy in heading the task force which led to the necessary strengthening of the budgetary control mechanisms in the European Union", said Daul.

The ECB should do what the Fed is doing

Roubini: The condition of the over-indebted states on the periphery of the euro area is similar to that of the US federal states, from California to Illinois. But there are also clear differences: Even if California were to go bankrupt, nobody would think that the US monetary union would collapse because of this. The debt problems that Greece and Ireland are currently experiencing, could, in contrast, actually lead to a collapse of the euro area. What's more, the US can always finance its debt by printing more money. Greece and Ireland are dependent on the European Central Bank, the ECB, to relax its monetary policy against the will of Germany. There is simply more discordance than agreement in the euro area.

SPIEGEL: Americans and Germans differ widely in their views on how to make the economy pick up again. The US is trying to boost the economy with tax cuts and by having the Fed buy government bonds, while Germany wants to stringently cut expenditures.

Roubini: The cost-cutting measures, the ECB's tight monetary policy, the current high value of the euro -- that's all fine for Germany and the heart of the EU. But what's good for Germany is by no measure good for the countries on the periphery of the EU. The economic output of Greece, Ireland and Spain is shrinking, and there is hardly any growth in Portugal and Italy. To get these countries back on track for recovery the ECB should do what the Fed is doing and increase the money in circulation to stimulate growth.

Having an opinion is fine.

The problem with gurus and their guesses is not that they’re always wrong. Part of what makes these forecasts so tempting is that the gurus are right just often enough for us to believe that there’s merit in listening. Unfortunately, it’s incredibly difficult to identify which forecast will be right. So what does a real person do with this information? I suggest you use it as kindling, as a starting point. I know it’s fun to chat with friends or colleagues about your opinion of the stock market. I also know it can feel like the duty of any self-respecting American to have an opinion about the market and the economy. Having an opinion is fine. But acting on it with real money is often incredibly damaging.You need to realize that no one can tell you with any sense of precision where the stock market (or any market) is going. If you’ve learned nothing else during the last 10 years, I hope you remember that the stock market won’t perform in a set way indefinitely. At some point the market will go down, and it may be for a long period of time.

Just as likely, the market will often go up a lot over a long period. So for the real investors who are investing real money in the real world, take note that you should build your investment strategy around your life and your goals and not the annual guesses of gurus

BCR, the biggest bank in Romanian's market by assets, is no longer selling RON (local currency - lei)-denominated real estate loans and RON-denominated unsecured loans. The bank also dropped-off it's offer of fixed - 7.75% per year interest rate on real estate loans levied in the first five years, and the monthly 0.2% loan management fee. On the other hand, the interest rate margin on the Casa Mea program (My Home) loan has been boosted by 0.35%, to 5.25% a year above six-month Euribor.
BCR has favored euro-denominated secured loans in the past as well, considering that in the First Home scheme, where the bank had the biggest cap allocated, BCR only had euro-denominated loans in its offer. As far as RON-denominated unsecured personal loans are concerned, the bank offers a fixed interest rate ranging between 17.2% and 20.2% a year depending on the maturity and on the customer's credit history with the bank. The bank's offer of secured personal loans continues to include both RON and euro-denominated loans. AAPL ,AIG, BAC, Bear Stearn,s Ben Bernanke, BSC, China, copper, DELL’ DIS’ DJIA,Dollar,DOW, FDIC, FED, FNM FX,I GM, gold, GOOG, GRS, GS, IBM, inflation, IPO, JPM, KR, MA, MSFT, NOC oi, PM, PTR, SHLD, silver, SIR,I SMG, SNE, TTM ,Warren Buffett, XOM, YHOO, Yuan

The adoption of the euro single currency on January 1 is the culmination of tiny Baltic state Estonia's historic move away from the dominance of its powerful neighbor and former ruler, Russia.
But it comes at a time when the euro is growing increasingly unpopular among members of the currency club.
For many of Estonia's 1.3 million residents, joining the eurozone club is preferable to uncertainty linked to its outgoing currency, the kroon, and is seen as a good way to attract further investment.
Estonia also hopes the move will help its economic prospects improve after recent years of recession and austerity measures. Estonia's Central Bank is forecasting growth of nearly 4 percent next year.
Like its Baltic neighbors Latvia and Lithuania, Estonia is used to having little currency flexibility. The kroon has been fixed, first to the German mark and then to the euro, since its launch in 1992, when Estonia became the first ex-Soviet state to quit the ruble zone.euro, criza datoriilor de stat, euroscepticismul, monede nationale, renuntarea la euro, salvare euro, zona euro

Dec 29 (Reuters) - Hungarian oil and gas company MOL MOLB.BU has asked Croatia to check if buyers unlawfully acted together to inflate shares in its INA INA.ZA unit after MOL's offer to buy out small shareholders this month. MOL said on Wednesday it asked the Croatian competition authority to establish "whether a prohibited agreement in form of concerted action ... has been entered into in relation to purchases of INA shares on Zagreb Stock Exchange between December 14 and 20, 2010." MOL, which holds a 47.15 percent stake in INA, offered to buy out small shareholders to obtain a majority stake. It called trading in the INA shares suspicious after the stock jumped 64 percent once trading resumed on Dec. 14 after a compulsory suspension following its offer. The Croatian financial markets watchdog has said there was no manipulation or concerted action behind the moves. Four pension funds said they were buying large quantities of the stock because they believed in its future value.BCE, Citigroup, Comisia Europeana, FMI, Federal Reserve, Germania, Grecia, Irlanda, Marea Britanie, PIB, Rusia, SUA, Spania, Standard and Poor's, Ungaria, Uniunea Europeana, economie, obligatiuni, zona euro

Credit Suisse has announced a sell-off of its US$2.8 billion property portfolio.

The Wall Street Journal has reported it will be one of the largest bank sales of distressed loans since the financial crisis hit in 2008.

The portfolio, to be sold to Apollo Management LP, consists of loans for apartment buildings in Germany and hotels in a number of European countries.

The bank may share in any gains realised by Apollo as it is taking an equity stake in the company.

euro, criza datoriilor de stat, euroscepticismul, monede nationale, renuntarea la euro, salvare euro, zona euro

American GE Money, the financial services division of giant General Electric, has decided to leave Romania after five years during which it invested over 100 million euros, but without visible results. The exit amounted to selling a 30% stake in GE Garanti Bank to Turkish partners Garanti plus similar stakes in non-bank financial companies Motoractive (leasing), Ralfi (consumer finance) and Domenia (mortgage loans). "Our withdrawing from this partnership is part of GE's global strategy," said Dmitri Stockton, president of GE Capital Global Banking.This consolidation brings the Turks to 1.5 billion euros in assets on the Romanian market, strengthening their position as a medium-sized player, after they started out as a small player four years ago."There will be no change as far as our strategy and development perspective are concerned," said Ergun Ozen, president and CEO of Turkish group Garanti.There are no data available on the value of the transaction, but GE entered the market via a triple acquisition made in 2005 worth 140 million euros and then announced plans to invest 50 million dollars. This is the biggest withdrawal from the market of a financial services player since the outbreak of the crisis more than two years ago, with the move being all the more relevant considering the weight of the GE name. The American financial industry will therefore only be represented by Citi. Last year Belgium's KBC Consumer Finance also left the Romanian market.GE Money came onto the Romanian market in 2005, when lending was starting to take off, and bought from the Romanian-American Equity Fund (RAEF) the stakes it held in leasing company Motoractive, in Ralfi (which sold consumer loans under the Estima Finance brand) and in mortgage loan company Domenia Credit. They also bought the 20% stake held by DoMo retailer in Ralfi, with the overall value of the transaction being estimated at 140 million euros.BNR, Banca Mondiala, Emil Boc, FMI, Guvern, INS,Ministerul Economiei, PIB, Prima Pagina, Romania,agenda de business, bugetul de stat, economie, revista presei, salarii, salariu minim

The value of assets managed by mandatory private pension funds, pillar II, reached 4.15bn RON (967m euros) in late November, only 3% up from the previous month, according to the data provided by the Private Pension System Supervision Commission (CSSPP). Thus, reaching the 1bn-euro mark in terms of assets by yearend, which the entire market had expected, is still uncertain as the sum of contributions transferred from the state budget, plus the yields generated from investments must hit 33m euros in December.
In November, the value of assets rose by 30m euros."I had expected the 1bn - euro mark to be reached by yearend. However, the situation is on edge after November data reporting. Should December be a typical month, I do not believe we will hit this threshold, but we may have an atypical month because there are companies granting the 13th salary or various bonuses and thus the value of collected contributions is likely to be higher," believes Radu C. an investment manager with Eureko Pensii. In late November, mandatory funds had 5.1 million participants, 5% more than at the end of 2009.(ZF)BCE, Citigroup, Comisia Europeana, FMI, Federal Reserve, Germania, Grecia, Irlanda, Marea Britanie, PIB, Rusia, SUA, Spania, Standard and Poor's, Ungaria, Uniunea Europeana, economie, obligatiuni, zona euro

In short - 2010

High levels of public debt among countries in the euro zone turned into a full-blown crisis for the currency block. As markets began to lose confidence in the ability of a few countries to finance their debt, and rapidly pushed up their borrowing costs, the European Union and the IMF eventually resolved to bail out Greece and, later, Ireland. Investors also fretted over Spain and Portugal. Measures to tackle budget deficits were met with protests, especially in Greece, which endured strikes and riots. In France 1m people demonstrated against pension reforms in a single day.
As Europe tightened its fiscal belt, America passed more stimulus measures. Barack Obama also signed into law the most sweeping changes to America’s financial-regulatory system since the 1930s and a health-care reform act that was hailed by many as America’s most significant piece of social legislation since the 1960s. Conservatives challenged the act in the courts.
Unease about deficits and the “jobless recovery” were factors behind the increasing clout of tea-partiers in America. With their support the Republicans scored a sensational win in a special election for Ted Kennedy’s former Senate seat in Massachusetts. November’s mid-term elections saw the Democrats swept from power in the House by the biggest swing to the Republicans in decades. Congress ended the year on its lowest-ever Gallup approval rating—13%.
In China the main worry was of an overheating economy. The central bank unexpectedly raised interest rates for the first time in three years amid concerns about inflation. Official trade statistics showed China had overtaken Germany as the world’s biggest exporter. Tensions over currency policy were at the forefront during summits of the G20 and IMF.BNR, Banca Mondiala, Emil Boc, FMI, Guvern, INS,Ministerul Economiei, PIB, Prima Pagina, Romania,agenda de business, bugetul de stat, economie, revista presei, salarii, salariu minim

Europe's central bankers appeared to calm jittery markets despite refusing to accelerate measures to support ailing eurozone economies in the aftermath of the Irish bailout.
The European Central Bank president, Jean-Claude Trichet, said he would keep giving banks unlimited liquidity well into next year but made no guarantee to step up the bond-buying to combat investor panic surrounding Portugal and Spain.
Investors initially sold the euro and increased the cost of insuring eurozone debts after Trichet's comments, but a closer reading of his remarks and analysis of market activity later showed that the ECB was involved in large-scale behind-the-scenes support to bond markets.If you ever played Monopoly, you learned that by managing your cash flow wisely, you could buy a bunch of houses and hotels -- and win. If you didn't manage it well, you might wind up in jail or penniless.
Small wonder that aside from bankruptcy and audit, the term cash flow is probably the most terrifying in an entrepreneur's dictionary. According to a survey by Intuit, 22 million of the nation's smallest business are waiting for approximately $1,500 in overdue payments every month, creating a $33 billion logjam on their cash flow. In the same survey, 42 percent of business owners said they stay up nights worrying about how quickly they will be paid.
Obviously, the money your customers give you is cash flowing "into" your business, and the checks you're writing to pay salaries, suppliers, utilities and others constitutes the cash flowing "out" of your business. And as entrepreneurs know, a positive cash flow is the holy grail for all business owners.BCE, Citigroup, Comisia Europeana, FMI, Federal Reserve, Germania, Grecia, Irlanda, Marea Britanie, PIB, Rusia, SUA, Spania, Standard & Poor's, Ungaria, Uniunea Europeana, economie, obligatiuni, zona euro