Between the lines

The EBA (European Banking Authority) have issued a statement/edict suggesting that banks within the European Union must raise circa 114.7 billion euros in fresh capital in order to comply with measures introduced to respond to the euro area’s sovereign-debt crisis. Specifically German banks will need to raise an additional 13.1 billion euros, Italian banks 15.4 […]

S&P went a step further on Tuesday evening, following its threats of Euro nation credit downgrades, by placing the top-notch rating of the euro zone’s 440 billion euro rescue fund, the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF), on negative watch as it depends on the creditworthiness of the currency bloc’s six AAA-rated countries. European Council President

In computer security, AAA commonly stands for authentication, authorization and accounting. The American Anthropological Association (AAA) also share the same initials. “Triple A” has now entered our daily lexicon and as a reference to ‘credit ratings’ it’s been quickly absorbed by the masses given its ease of interpretation. Most of us quickly redress to and reference our

“When you woke up this morning everything you had was gone. By half past ten your head was going ding-dong. Ringing like a bell from your head down to your toes, like a voice telling you there was something you should know. “Last night you were flying but today you’re so low – ain’t it

The USA raised it’s debt ceiling by $2.1 trillion on August 1st 2011, from $14.3 to $16.4trillion. It’s taken four months to ‘burn’ through $800 billion and on current trajectory, with a burn rate of circa $200 billion a month, the new ceiling raise will be breached in late April 2012, it will have taken

When you have a outlier market event, such as the unified central bank rescue affirmation on Wednesday, it’s natural to do two things. Firstly to ‘join up the dots’ to find any clues that led up to the event and secondly to question where the evidence is, other than rhetoric? Evidence is simple, the dollar

There’s not much we can thank Sarah Palin for, given that she lowered the pantomime that is USA politics to new depths. But her one liner directed at Barack Obama must have cut him to the quick. “How’s that hopey changey thing working out for ya?” was a world class put down that at a

“It isn’t easy for an idea to squeeze itself into a head filled with prejudice.” The adage “the market can stay irrational longer than you can stay solvent” may have been in traders’ minds during the two trading sessions on Monday, or perhaps they considered the quirky alternative; “the market can stay solvent longer than