Hopes Renewed for the EMU and the Sovereign Debt Crisis

Posted on September 19, 2012 by Giordano Lombardo

Cosimo Marasclulo is Pioneer’s Head of European Government Bonds and Foreign Exchange. He shared with me his thoughts on the German High Court’s decision to ratify the constitutionality of the European Central Bank’s European Stability Mechanism, ESM, and what it means. Its new program called the Outright Monetary Transaction (OMT) will buy up the debt of troubled countries for those that ask.

The strings attached to the ruling look consistent with the Court’s past record and were actually widely expected. As in its previous finding on the current emergency fund, which is being replaced by the permanent European Stability Mechanism with a 500-billion euros capital, the Court identified the German Parliament’s central role as the people’s representative. It calls for the Parliament to be informed on any change to Germany’s agreed contribution to the ESM (the least one could expect). (more…)

Filed under: Europe, Giordano Lombardo, Macroeconomics, Political | Leave a Comment »

Was QE3 Necessary? It Depends on Who You Ask ….

Posted on September 17, 2012 by Ken Taubes

Last week Chairman Bernanke and the Fed launched another aggressive stimulus program, QE3, saying that they will buy $40 billion in mortgage debt per month and continue to purchase assets in order to boost growth and reduce unemployment. He also announced that the Fed is not likely to raise rates from the current rock bottom lows until at least mid 2015, vs. 2014 as previously stated.

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Filed under: Equity Market Insights, Fixed Income Market Insights, Ken Taubes, Macroeconomics, Political | Leave a Comment »

The 300 Foot View: U.S., Europe and China Still Struggling

Posted on September 5, 2012 by Mike Temple

Recently I was discussing the current investment environments in the U.S., Europe, China and Emerging Markets with a few of my Pioneer colleagues. The fact of the matter is, there haven’t been a whole lot of changes in the critical issues out there facing the markets, but I thought I’d provide a summary, just to keep things in perspective.

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Filed under: Europe, Macroeconomics, Mike Temple, Political | Leave a Comment »

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