Hard hitting global and local news
Echoing the opinion of Steen, please consider Investors may be fooling themselves about an ECB rate cut High hopes ride on the European Central Bank, which is set to make its latest monetary policy announcement on Thursday.
Inquiring minds in the US note the upcoming German election and may be wondering about the platforms of the major political parties. Reader Bernd from Germany explains.
View article: Germany’s Net Foreign Assets Exceed €1 Trillion; 10 Compete Failures of the Eurozone
The Financial Times reports Poland opens way to euro referendum . " Donald Tusk, Poland’s prime minister, took a big political gamble on Tuesday when he opened the door to a referendum on joining the euro, in the face of strong public opposition to the common currency.
UPDATE: Â The Bunny is glad to see that Eli Rabett’s Simple Plan to Save the World is catching on Nations wishing to make major progress on decreasing greenhouse gas emissions should introduce emission taxes on all products. These taxes should be levied on imports as well as domestic goods at the point of sale, and should displace other taxes, such as VAT, sales taxes, and payroll (e.g. social security, health care) in such a way that tax revenues are constant, and distributed equitably
European bulls lauding the message “the worst is behind” received another dose of reality today. Data shows German car sales plunge as Europe’s auto crisis deepens . New car sales in Germany fell by more than 10 percent year-on-year in February, signaling the crisis for Europe’s auto makers is deepening as recession-hit consumers curb spending.
Via Email, Michael Pettis author of " The Great Rebalancing " (see "Great Rebalancing" Book Review: Two Thumbs Up ) dispels the myth that Spain and peripheral Europe are on a sustainable rebalancing path relative to Germany. Pettis writes …
California cap-trade passes second test better than first California’s cap-and-trade passed, barely, its first test last fall with an auction price that just barely exceeded the $10/ton minimum price. The second auction of carbon allowances last week went better, with all carbon allowances selling at $13.62/ton , right in the middle of the expected range of $11-15/ton. The amount of carbon allowances released for auction isn’t so big that regulated buyers figured they only needed to pay the minimal amount because it would only take minimal effort to comply with or buy allowances later, nor was it so little that buyers were forced to pay top dollar and would then come screaming that the political system is demanding more change than is economically feasible. Coming in at another $3/ton also means more money available to fund the other important parts of California’s climate mitigation plan. Finally, half the 2016 allowances were sold, which is fine – the market has another way to satisfy the same demand by selling them as futures . So far, the California system seems to be doing a lot better than Europe’s. Probably not a huge surprise – we got to see what didn’t work.
