Flaherty warns
Canada's finance minister issued a dire warning today, saying the euro debt crisis could take the world to the brink of another recession.
In a speech in Tokyo, Jim Flaherty urged the 17-member euro zone to take "concrete actions" to deal with the dual debt and banking crises.
"It could even, potentially, bring the world to the verge of another recession," Mr. Flaherty said, according to Bloomberg News. (I think we might already be on the verge, but I'm not quibbling.)
"Global growth is weakening, downside risks have heightened considerably, and confidence has waned," Mr. Flaherty added.
Markets on edge
Mr. Flaherty's comments came as bond yields in the monetary union bounced around amid talk of the European Central Bank buying, and Spain and Britain issued more bad news about the economy.
Tokyo's Nikke slipped 0.9 per cent today, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng 2 per cent. In Europe, London's FTSE 100 and Germany's DAX were down, though by less than 1 per cent, and the Paris CAC 40 was up slightly by about 7:45 a.m. ET.
Dow Jones industrial average and S&P 500 futures slipped.
"The tone in markets has see-sawed," said Benjamin Reitzes of BMO Nesbitt Burns.
"Through the Asian session, risk aversion was the name of the game, however, that temporarily changed in Europe after the ECB was rumoured to be buying Italian and Spanish bonds. Yields of both those sovereigns have fallen, with Italy 10-years dropping 16 basis points to 6.90 per cent, while Spanish 10-years dropped 4 basis points to 6.29 per cent. Both are still quite high, but any decline is welcome. After the rally early in the European session, optimism has faded, leaving equities lower and the euro below $1.35."
Brink?
Canada's finance minister issued a dire warning today, saying the euro debt crisis could take the world to the brink of another recession.
In a speech in Tokyo, Jim Flaherty urged the 17-member euro zone to take "concrete actions" to deal with the dual debt and banking crises.
"It could even, potentially, bring the world to the verge of another recession," Mr. Flaherty said, according to Bloomberg News. (I think we might already be on the verge, but I'm not quibbling.)
"Global growth is weakening, downside risks have heightened considerably, and confidence has waned," Mr. Flaherty added.
Markets on edge
Mr. Flaherty's comments came as bond yields in the monetary union bounced around amid talk of the European Central Bank buying, and Spain and Britain issued more bad news about the economy.
Tokyo's Nikke slipped 0.9 per cent today, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng 2 per cent. In Europe, London's FTSE 100 and Germany's DAX were down, though by less than 1 per cent, and the Paris CAC 40 was up slightly by about 7:45 a.m. ET.
Dow Jones industrial average and S&P 500 futures slipped.
"The tone in markets has see-sawed," said Benjamin Reitzes of BMO Nesbitt Burns.
"Through the Asian session, risk aversion was the name of the game, however, that temporarily changed in Europe after the ECB was rumoured to be buying Italian and Spanish bonds. Yields of both those sovereigns have fallen, with Italy 10-years dropping 16 basis points to 6.90 per cent, while Spanish 10-years dropped 4 basis points to 6.29 per cent. Both are still quite high, but any decline is welcome. After the rally early in the European session, optimism has faded, leaving equities lower and the euro below $1.35."
Brink?
