- Greek Record Debt Swaps May Force EU’s Hand in Aid ‘Poker Game’
- Greek banks seek more aid as savers withdraw €10bn deposits
- Greece Credit-Default Swaps Rise Above Iceland’s for First Time
- Premium for Greek debt reaches decade high
- High-Speed Traders Face Order Reporting Requirement From SEC
- Fed’s Bernanke: US Must Plan Now For Public Debt Cuts
- Hedge Fund Rules Are Fair to U.S., EU’s Barnier Tells Geithner
- Bernanke, Dudley Say Recovery Hasn’t Produced Major Job Gains
- Greenspan on Capitol Hot Seat
- Toyota exec: Time to hide troubles over
- Apple’s IPhone Software May Deliver Multitasking, Mobile Ads
Greek Record Debt Swaps May Force EU’s Hand in Aid ‘Poker Game’ – Bloomberg
Greece’s debt insurance costs surged to a record and bond yields jumped on concern the nation’s ability to borrow is becoming “untenable” and the European Union will be forced to lead a bailout.
The “poker game” between the EU and the market “suggests that we may be getting close to the point where the market asks to see the EU’s hand,” said Gary Jenkins, head of credit strategy at Evolution Securities Ltd. “If it is thought that the market price will prove untenable for Greece, then the probability of the market not funding Greece increases.”….
Greek banks seek more aid as savers withdraw €10bn deposits – Financial Times
Greece’s four biggest banks are seeking help from the government after savers took €10bn (£8.8bn) of deposits out of the nation’s financial system.
The flight of money from domestic deposits reflects growing anxiety among wealthy Greeks about keeping their assets in the country as its debt crisis has escalated…..
Greece Credit-Default Swaps Rise Above Iceland’s for First Time – Bloomberg
The cost of insuring against a default on Greek government bonds rose above that for Iceland for the first time, helping push indicators of corporate credit risk to the highest levels in as much as two weeks.
Credit-default swaps linked to Greek sovereign debt rose 32 basis points to a record 445.5 today, while Iceland traded at 402 basis points, according to CMA DataVision prices……
Premium for Greek debt reaches decade high – Financial Times
The premium investors are asking to buy Greek government bonds relative to the benchmark German equivalent reached its highest level since the country joined the euro in 2000, as fears around its debt crisis escalated and Greek bank shares plummeted.
Yields on Greek 10 year bonds rose 34 basis points to 7.508 per cent on Thursday, having closed yesterday at 7.16 per cent. The most recent high was in January after investors dumped Greece’s newly issued five-year euro-denominated bond, sending its 10-year benchmark bond yield up to 7.25 per cent……
High-Speed Traders Face Order Reporting Requirement From SEC – Bloomberg
The Securities and Exchange Commission may give some firms that engage in high-frequency stock trading identification codes to better track transactions accounting for more than 60 percent of U.S. volume.
SEC commissioners will vote April 14 on a proposal to require companies that exceed a volume threshold to report their executions to regulators, the agency said in a statement yesterday. Brokerages would have to maintain records on the orders, the SEC said…..
Fed’s Bernanke: US Must Plan Now For Public Debt Cuts – WSJ
The U.S. must start to prepare now for the challenges posed by an aging population with a credible plan to gradually reduce a soaring public debt, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said Wednesday.
Health spending is set to increase over the long term as the U.S. population grows older, posing challenges on the country’s already strained finances, the Fed chief warned.
“Unless we as a nation demonstrate a strong commitment to fiscal responsibility, in the longer run we will have neither financial stability nor healthy economic growth,” Bernanke said during a speech at a Dallas Chamber of Commerce event……
Hedge Fund Rules Are Fair to U.S., EU’s Barnier Tells Geithner – Bloomberg
Hedge-fund rules proposed by the European Union aren’t protectionist, the bloc’s financial services chief told U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner.
Michel Barnier, the EU’s financial services commissioner, said the law wouldn’t shut out U.S. funds and managers from the 27-nation region, according to a copy of a letter to Geithner obtained by Bloomberg News. The Frenchman was responding to Geithner’s concerns that the proposals may harm American fund managers and cause a regulatory dispute…..
Bernanke, Dudley Say Recovery Hasn’t Produced Major Job Gains – Bloomberg
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke and a top lieutenant said the U.S. economic rebound has yet to produce a significant recovery in jobs, signaling there’s no need yet to consider raising interest rates.
Bernanke, speaking to businesspeople in Dallas today, said the labor market contains “some of the toughest problems” for the economy and that he’s “particularly concerned” about the number of people out of work for at least six months. New York Fed President William Dudley said in a separate speech that “we are not getting the job gains we would like to get.”…..
Greenspan on Capitol Hot Seat – Wall Street Journal
Former Fed chief Alan Greenspan faced some of the toughest questioning yet about his role in the financial crisis at a hearing Wednesday marked by tense exchanges with a longtime foe.
Later in the day, members of the congressionally chartered Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission also ripped Citigroup Inc. executives for their role in the subprime meltdown, where Citigroup was a major casualty. The commission is holding three days of hearings on the evolution of the subprime market……
Toyota exec: Time to hide troubles over – Detroit Free Press
Toyota’s top U.S. public relations executive warned in January that the automaker needed to “come clean” about sticking accelerator pedals that could trigger sudden acceleration, and that the company “was not protecting our customers by keeping this quiet.”
The e-mail from Irv Miller came five days before Toyota launched a recall of 2.3 million vehicles in the U.S. to fix gas pedals. The Obama administration said earlier this week that Toyota hid the problem from U.S. auto safety officials for at least four months and slapped Toyota with a $16.4-million fine, the largest ever for a vehicle defect…..
Apple’s IPhone Software May Deliver Multitasking, Mobile Ads – Bloomberg
Apple Inc. is readying a new version of its iPhone software that analysts predict will add support for multitasking and advertising, features that escalate its competition with Google Inc. for mobile users and developers.
Apple said it will hold an event today to give a “sneak peek into the future” of the iPhone operating system — software that third-party developers have used to create 150,000 applications for the iPhone, iPod Touch and new iPad tablet…..
Tags: Apple, Autos, Banks, Ben Bernanke, CDS, Economy, Email, European Union, Fed, Greece, Hedge funds, High speed trading, Iceland, iPad, iPhone, SEC, Smoking guns, Sovereign debt, Tim Geithner, Toyota, U.S.. Treasury
Here’s the text of Ben Bernanke’s testimony before the congressional budget committee…..
