Sunday, March 28, 2010

International Headlines(Greece bond Auction, IRAN, China, UK Sterling and ECB $EWG

International Headlines

         Greece is expected to come to market this week w/a 3-7yr ~EU5B bond sale in what will prove to be a critical test of the recently signed EU-IMF rescue package.  FT 

         UK Sterling – some of the UK's largest HFs have made large returns speculating on a decline in the sterling; several funds expect further downside.  FT 

         UK-US relations – an influential panel of UK lawmakers is calling for the US-Britain relationship to no longer be described as "special"; Parliament's Foreign Affairs Select Committee said the government should be "less deferential" toward the Americans and take a more realistic view of the relationship. In a report published Sunday, the committee said that, while ties with America remain close, it is important to recognize that Britain is just one of many countries with important U.S. links. – AP

         European Central Bank Governing Council member Axel Weber said current interest rate levels are appropriate, signaling that the central bank will stick to low rates for some time, the Nikkei newspaper reported on Sunday.   Reuters 

         China – the country ordered its lenders to take more care when making real estate loans; banks shouldn't lend to developers found by state agencies to have held land w/o building houses – Bloomberg 

         Sovereign Wealth Funds - The head of Abu Dhabi's sovereign wealth fund, the largest such fund in the world, has gone missing after his glider crashed – Thestreet.com

         Israel – the country's Labor Party may consider leaving PM Netanyahu's coalition over the government's policies re peace talks – Bloomberg

         Iran – members from both parties are growing increasingly frustrated by the slow pace of progress on the Iranian issue and are pushing Obama to immediately impose crippling sanctions on the country.  TheHill.com.    

         Iran – int'l inspectors and Western intelligence agencies now believe that Iran is preparing to build more nuclear sites in defiance of UN demands.  NYT  

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