Category Archives: EU

EU Staff Threaten Strike Action Over Belt-Tightening

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Occupy Brussels…

EU Staff Threaten Strike Action Over Belt-Tightening

BRUSSELS (AFP)–European Union staff unions on Friday threatened strike action next week to protest belt-tightening measures as the bloc goes on an austerity diet.

A statement from an “Inter-institutional Joint Front” representing the 55,000 staff across the European institutions has called an assembly on Tuesday following a breakdown in conciliation talks with the European Commission.

European staff wages vary widely: from EUR2,650 per month before tax and social welfare payments, to EUR23,000 gross for each of the 27 national EU commissioners.

Staff are concerned by a bid to overhaul staff rules and by a letter signed by 17 of the 27 EU states that criticizes automatic wage adjustments and links the possibility of wage hikes to the economic situation.

The 17 austerity-driven nations also say an increase in retirement age from 63 to 65 isn’t sufficient.

Staff unions on the other hand criticize working conditions on their Facebook page

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German Foreign Ministry confirms it is considering the possibility of more eurozone “orderly defaults”

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In this case default = EU sanctioned debt forgiveness,
which, at this point in time, only reinforces the notion that
no one with any fiduciary responsibility should be buying any euro member debt.

This shortens the time frame between now and when things get bad enough for
Germany to permit the ECB to do what it takes to get past the national govt solvency issue.

Germany confirms it is considering more eurozone “orderly defaults”

Berlin/Brussels (DPA) — The German Foreign Ministry on Friday confirmed that Germany was considering the possibility of more eurozone “orderly defaults” beyond that of Greece, as suggested by a paper leaked by the British press.

The Daily Telegraph published a six-page document, attributed to the Foreign Ministry, suggesting that partial bankruptcy must be made possible for all euro members “unable to achieve debt sustainability.”

“There must also be the option of an orderly default (of a struggling euro member) to reduce the burden on taxpayers” in other eurozone members which are paying for its bailout, the document said.

“There is nothing secret about it,” the ministry said Friday, stressing that it contained ideas on which Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle had already publicly commented upon.

At the start of the euro debt crisis, EU leaders maintained that no country would ever fail to pay back debts. This year the taboo was broken with Greece, as private lenders were ordered to take a 21 per cent hair cut on Greek bonds. The figure was then raised to 50 per cent.

The memo proposed that “orderly default” procedures should be governed by the European Stability Mechanism, the new euro rescue fund which, under current plans, is due to enter into operation in 2013.

The paper also backed strong EU interference in the economic affairs of eurozone budget sinners, proposing that a country not meeting austerity targets could “have concrete budgetary measures imposed upon it,” such as “specific spending cuts” or new taxes.

But commenting on Dutch proposals to create an EU commissioner with direct powers of intervention in national budgetary policies, it warned that “the constitutional provisions on the budgetary autonomy of the Bundestag (German parliament) must be observed in every case.”

Recalling well-known German positions, the document called for EU treaty changes to implement the budget discipline reforms it advocated, which also include the possible freezing of EU regional aid and taking budget sinners before the EU Court of Justice.

But it also accepted that such course of action may not be possible.

“In case (an EU treaty change) is not politically feasible, an alternative treaty between the member states that is legitimate under international law ought to be considered,” it said.

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Goldman- worries about the inflationary impact of debt monetisation are exaggerated

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Good to see Dirk at Goldman is pretty much spot on:

German Economic Commentary : Chancellor Merkel not keen on more a proactive ECB stance

Published November 18, 2011

Chancellor Merkel gave a speech in Berlin yesterday where her main message with respect to stabilisation measures was essentially: No! Merkel rejected the introduction of Eurobonds but also any commitment from the ECB’s side to be the lender of last resort for Euro-zone governments.

There are several arguments the German government/Bundesbank are putting forward against a more pro-active stance of the ECB. First, a more pro-active role would not be in accordance with the treaties. Second, it would create moral hazard as it would reduce the incentive for governments to consolidate and reform. Third, debt monetisation, sovereign debt purchases by the ECB, leads to inflation. The latter argument was echoed by the chairman of the council of economic experts Franz, who said in an interview with FAZ newspaper that debt monetisation is a “deadly sin” for a central bank.

These are valid arguments, but only up to a point. In particular the worries about the inflationary impact of debt monetisation are exaggerated. Sovereign debt purchases of a central bank do not necessarily lead to inflation (see the example of Japan, although it can, see the example of Zimbabwe). It can lead to inflation if these purchases are used to finance an expansionary fiscal policy that will lead to strong growth and demand outpacing supply such that price setters will increase their prices. Fiscal policy, however, will be quite restrictive in the Euro-zone in the coming years. Italy, for example, aims at tightening fiscal policy by almost 3% next year on our estimate (we calculate this as the change in the structural primary fiscal balance). And while it remains to be seen whether the fiscal targets will be met, it is a safe bet that fiscal policy will not be expansionary in the Euro-zone for quite some time.

It can also lead to inflation if there is an excessive debt overhang, i.e. the fiscal position of a country is clearly unsustainable. Put differently the expansion of the monetary side is, even in the long run, not backed by a similar expansion of the real side of the economy. As we have argued in the past we see this only as a remote risk.

What the ECB is currently doing under its SMP is essentially swapping one savings instrument (peripheral sovereign debt) for another (cash) as private sector investors, for various reasons, no longer want to hold peripheral debt. But this has no inflationary implications unless one assumes that investors are spending the cash thereby stimulating demand which then leads to inflation. But these investors are not holding cash because they want to increase their spending, but because they think, rightly or wrongly, that cash is more rewarding from an investment point of view.

There are no easy choices and it would have been, no doubt, better if the ECB had never got in the position it is in now. But the current situation demands a careful weighing of the risk involved with any decision taken. The inflationary risk thereby seems to be getting an unduly high weight in the consideration of German policy makers.

Dirk Schumacher

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Franco-German Spat on Role of ECB Renewed

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Not long ago France would have conducted a nuclear test to make the point.
Today, it takes a core meltdown to make the point:

Franco-German Spat on Role of ECB Renewed

By Tony Czuczka and Mark Deen

November 18 (Bloomberg) — The failure of European leaders to end the debt crisis with their broadest effort yet has revived a Franco-German dispute over theEuropean Central Bank’s role and fueled investor concerns over policy makers’ economic impotence.

ECB chief Mario Draghi today slammed governments for failing to implement policy commitments as holders of Greek debt began talks in Athens on structuring a 50 percent writeoff that was the cornerstone of a deal pieced together last month at an all-night summit. Officials in Berlin and Paris yesterday swapped barbs and European borrowing costs outside of Germany rose to euro-era records.

The discord highlighted markets’ brushoff of a package that included a scaled-up rescue fund, proposed guarantees of sovereign debt and a bid to attract more international loans. The accord, which finance ministers aim to implement next month, was at least the fourth plan billed as a comprehensive strategy to end the crisis born in Greece in 2009, none of which provided a lasting fix.

“Where is the implementation of these long-standing decisions?” Draghi said in a speech in Frankfurt today. “We should not be waiting any longer.”

Stocks slid, dragging the MSCI All Country World Index to a six-week low. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index decreased 0.7 percent. The premium France pays over Germany to borrow for 10 years jumped to a record 200 basis points yesterday, as yields on bonds of countries from Portugal to Finland, the Netherlands to Austria also rose relative to Germany.

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My big fat Greek MMT exit strategy

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Due to popular demand, I’ve begun outlining a Greek exit strategy to exit the euro currency,
and instead use its own new currency to provision itself:

1. The Greek government would announce that it will begin taxing exclusively in the new currency.
2. The Greek government would announce that it will make all payments in the new currency.

That’s it, deed done!
The govt can now provision itself and continue to function on a sustainable basis.

Now some Q and A:

Q. How will the new currency exchange for euro?
A. The new currency will be freely floating, with exchange between willing buyers and sellers at market prices.

Q. What about the existing euro debt?
A. Announce that it will consider it on a ‘when and if’ basis with no specific payment plans.

Q. What about existing govt contracts for goods and services?
A. They will be redenominated in the new currency.

Q. What about euro bank deposits and euro bank loans?
A. They remain in place.

Q. What about foreign trade?
A. Markets forces will function to adjust the trade balance to reflect foreign desires to accumulate financial assets denominated in the new currency.

To maintain full employment and internal price stability, I would further recommend the following:

1. The govt would fund a minimum wage job for anyone willing and able to work.

2. For any given size government, taxes should be adjusted to ensure the labor force that works for that minimum wage be kept to a minimum.

3. I would recommend the govt levy only a tax on real estate for the following reasons:
   a. Compliance is maximized and compliance costs and related issues are minimized- if the
       tax isn’t paid the property can be simply sold at auction.
   b. Everyone contributes as either an owner of the property or as a renter as the owner’s costs
       are ultimately passed through to renters.
   c. Transactions taxes are eliminated, thereby removing those restrictions on transactions.
       Freedom to transact is the source of that substantial contribution to real wealth.

4. A zero rate policy where govt deficit spending remains as non interest bearing balances held by counter parties at the Bank of Greece, and no govt securities are permitted.

5. All bank deposits in the new currency will be fully insured by the govt.

6. Banks will be govt regulated and supervised, which will include a 15% capital requirement, govt guaranteed liquidity, and a prohibition from any secondary market activity.

Comments welcome with additional questions, thanks!

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CNBC’s John Carney on Krugman and MMT

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>   
>   (email exchange)
>   
>   On Sat, Nov 12, 2011 at 2:19 PM, Stephanie wrote:
>   
>   John Carney loving on us again

Yes!

Paul Krugman Goes MMT on Italy

By John Carney

November 11 (CNBC) — It seems pretty clear that the school of thought known as Modern Monetary Theory has made a big impact on Paul Krugman’s thinking.

As Cullen Roche at Pragmatic Capitalism points out, just a few months ago the spread between bonds issued by Japan and Italy, which have similar debt and demographic issues, was perplexing Krugman.

“A question (to which I don’t have the full answer): why are the interest rates on Italian and Japanese debt so different? As of right now, 10-year Japanese bonds are yielding 1.09%; 10-year Italian bonds 5.76%.

…I actually don’t have a firm view. But it seems to be an important puzzle to resolve.”

But today’s column is basically right out of MMT.

“What has happened, it turns out, is that by going on the euro, Spain and Italy in effect reduced themselves to the status of Third World countries that have to borrow in someone else’s currency, with all the loss of flexibility that implies. In particular, since euro-area countries can’t print money even in an emergency, they’re subject to funding disruptions in a way that nations that kept their own currencies aren’t — and the result is what you see right now. America, which borrows in dollars, doesn’t have that problem.”

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Merkel comments

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*DJ Merkel: “Euro Zone Solidarity Must Be Combined With Sound Budget Measures”

To make sure unemployment never comes down and unit labor costs stay down.

*DJ Merkel: Italy Will Put Through Planned Austerity Measures Soon

Also to make sure unemployment never comes down and unit labor costs stay down.

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Talk still cheap – ECB writes the check again

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Lots of talk, particularly from Germany about the ECB not writing the check, due to (errant) inflation concerns.

But to no avail. In fact, with the Rubicon crossing decision to haircut Greek bonds 50% for the private sector’s holdings, expect the check writing to continue to intensify.

And expect economies to continue to slow under the pressure of continuing austerity demands that also work to make their deficits higher.

From today’s headlines:

Italian Bonds Advance as ECB Purchases Debt; French, Belgian Spreads Widen
A Successor, Picked by a Tainted Hand
EU Lowers Euro-Region Growth Forecasts
Italy’s Senate Speeds Austerity Vote
Merkel’s Party May Adopt Euro-Exit Clause in Platform, CDU’s Barthle Says
Greek President to Meet Party Leaders as Unity Aim in Disarray

Italian Bonds Advance as ECB Purchases Debt; French, Belgian Spreads Widen

By Paul Dobson

November 10 (Bloomberg) — Italian government bonds rose as the European Central Bank was said to purchase the securities and after the nation sold the maximum amount of one-year bills on offer at an auction.

The advance pushed the yield on 10-year securities below 7 percent. Italy’s senate is set to vote tomorrow on a package of austerity measures designed to clear the way for establishing a new government and restore confidence in Europe’s second-biggest debtor. The nation sold 5 billion euros ($6.8 billion) of bills at an average yield of 6.087 percent, up from 3.570 percent on similar-maturity securities sold last month.

“Together with reported ECB buying, this auction result should support further Italy outperformance,” said Luca Jellinek, head of European interest-rate strategy at Credit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank in London.

The yield on two-year Italian government notes slid 55 basis points to 6.66 percent at 9:43 a.m. London time. The 2.25 percent securities due November 2013 rose 0.915, or 9.15 euros per 1,000-euro face amount, to 92.205.

The ECB bought Italian government bonds, according to five people familiar with the transactions, who declined to be identified because the deals are confidential. It also bought Spanish securities, two of the people added. The ECB was not immediately available for comment when contacted by telephone.

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For BTPS & SPGBs all inter dealer screens have gone blank

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As previously discussed, it’s hard to see how anyone with fiduciary responsibility can buy Italian debt or any other member nation debt after EU officials announced the plan for 50% haircuts on Greek bonds held by the private sector.

Yes, all governments have the authority, one way or another, to confiscate an investors funds. But they don’t, and work to establish credibility that they won’t.

But now that the EU has actually announced they are going to do it, as a fiduciary you’d have to be a darn fool to support investing any client funds in any member nation debt.

The last buyer standing is and was always to be the ECB, which will now be buying most all new member nation debt as there is no alternative that includes survival of the union.

And when this happens there will be a massive relief response, as the solvency issue will be behind them, with the euro firming as well.

Then the reality of the state of their economy take over, as GDP continues to fade and unemployment continues to rise until they figure out austerity can’t work and instead they need to proactively increase their member nation’s budget deficits.

Hopefully this doesn’t take quite so long as it took to figure out the ECB has to write the check.

But this one might take even longer as it will be a function of blood in the streets rather than funding capacity.

   
>   (email exchange)
>   
>   On Wednesday, November 09, 2011 5:37 AM, Dave wrote:
>   
>    For BTPS & SPGBs all inter dealer screens have gone blank and there is no liquidity left.
>    There are really no quotes for even 10y BTPs for example and the last bids were hit
>    about 80BP wider for the day vs Bunds.
>   

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