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Saturday, April 5

5th Apr - W/E: Best of the Week



Here are the ”best” from my posts of the ending week. Last week’s edition here.


EUROPE
Delivering the Eurozone ‘Consistent Trinity’voxeu.org
Marco Buti, Maria Demertzis, João Nogueira Martins: Although progress has been made on resolving the Eurozone crisis – vulnerable countries have reduced their current-account deficits and implemented some reforms – more still needs to be done. This column argues for a ‘consistent trinity’ of policies: structural reforms within countries, more symmetric macroeconomic adjustment across countries, and a banking union for the Eurozone.

  EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK
Why is the ECB hesitating on monetary easing?Sober Look
Ultimately the ECB could be right and some day, as the banking system is "restructured", the Eurozone's economy will heal itself. But that was also the attitude in Japan years ago when the nation undertook its banking reform. Yet deflation in Japan persisted for years since then, becoming heavily entrenched in the economy. Is the ECB now willing to take that chance?

Spain, the ECB and the power of talkForbes
Frances Coppola: I do not expect the ECB to do any significant easing at the moment. But that doesn’t mean they won’t continue to talk about it. After all, signalling has worked well so far.

Draghi Europe Scenario Points to Lowflation Still PainfulBB
For all the fears of a Japan-style era of deflation, a more likely threat for Europe is what IMF officials are calling lowflation.

Euro zone inflation drops to lowest since 2009Reuters

ECB hints at QE, but it is really in troubleTradingFloor
The ECB left rates unchanged and presented no new measures, but revealed unanimous support for unconventional easing. That will be easier said than done.

ECB Does Nothing. Yada, Yada, YadaMarc to Market

UNITED STATES
5 Reasons Why Janet Yellen Still Sees Slack in EconomyWSJ

How Our Big Banks Really Make Their MoneyBB
The eight biggest U.S. banks earned more than $80 billion last year, with much of that coming from government subsidies, according to a new report from the IMF..

Fed of 1970s Shows Capacity May Mislead: Cutting ResearchBB
The decision of central banks to focus more on economic slack as a barometer of when inflation will become a problem could backfire, if history is any guide.

ASIA
China - Government announces mini-stimulusDanske Bank
Economists React: China’s Mini-Stimulus a Break from the PastWSJ
China Outlines Measures to Support Growth as Goal RecedesBB
China outlined a package of measures including railway spending and tax relief to support the economy and create jobs after a slowdown endangered Premier Li Keqiang’s target of 7.5 percent growth this year.

OTHER
Sovereign rating bias, a clanging gauntlet landsFT
Unicredit: We suggest that credit rating agencies should be stripped of their regulatory powers and these transferred to an international body. Failing that, the ratings agencies should be forced to substantially increase transparency, including publishing a separate breakdown of the objective and subjective components of ratings, the minutes of the rating committees, and the voting records.

Why Minsky MattersBBC
His key idea is simple enough to be a t-shirt slogan: "Stability is destabilising". While the mainstream view has been that markets tend towards equilibrium and the role of banks and finance can largely be ignored, Minsky argued that in the good times the seeds of the next crisis are sown as the financial sector engages in riskier and riskier lending in pursuit of profit.

FINNISH
Taloustanssia tulisilla hiilillä – mikä ihmeen pakko?Jan Hurri / TalSa
Talouden vyötä on pakko kiristää koska sitä on pakko kiristää. Näin väittävät talouspolitiikan päättäjät, mutta Suomen valtion alijäämiä rahoittavat suursijoittajat ovat täsmälleen toista mieltä. Valtion rahoitusasema ei sanele minkäänlaista pakkoa vyönkiristyksiin.

Tämä säästökepponen pahentaa kestävyysvajettaJan Hurri / TalSa
Valtion eläkerahaston osittainen purkaminen budjetin tilkkeeksi on kumma kestävyyskepponen vailla tolkkua: se pienentää valtion tämän ja ensi vuoden alijäämää mutta pahentaa sitäkin enemmän pitkän ajan kestävyysvajetta. Tällainen "säästäminen" on hölmömpää kuin hölmöläisten peiton jatkaminen.

Euroopassa luottamus piristyy, Suomessa eiRoger Wessman

Navigaattori: Venäjä on valinnut toisinNordea
Ruotsin kasvunäkymät povaavat vahvempaa kruunua * Korkomarkkinat ravistivat Ukraina-efektin pois * Venäjä-riski heiluttaa raakaöljyn hintaa * Venäjän näkymien heikentyminen painaa edelleen osakkeita * Kiinan tie kohti kelluvaa valuuttaa * Markkinakorot nousuun Fedin jälkeen * Kolme näkökulmaa rahoitusriskien hallintaan – johto, käytäntö ja riskipolitiikka * Euroalueen inflaatiota seurataan EKP:n korkopäätöksen kannalta tarkkaan

Perussuomalaiset EU-vaaliohjelmaPS

EU:n poliittinen kenttä muutoksessaBrysselin kone / YLE
Haastateltavana valtio-opin professori Jan Sundström.

Suomi sosialisoidaan – Jo riittääPauli Vahtera / IL