Sarkozy Papandreou Talks

(IFR) - When we first walked in this morning, with Dow futures up over 100, we thought the window for corporate issuance might be open despite continued massive Greece uncertainty and the fact that issuers typically avoid FOMC statement day. Since then, bad PMI data out of Europe and news that the EFSF 10yr issue is going to be postponed until after the G20 meeting, has helped the market re-focus on the negative. Risk is flat, which is a lot better than yesterday, but does still does not make the most ideal backdrop for new issues. MARKETS - PMI AND EFSF REVERSE CORRECTION After the bloodbath in credit and peripheral markets yesterday that caused the second biggest rise ever in the iTraxx Main index -- the biggest rise of 25bp came just prior to the first Greek bailout in May last year -- ...

(Reuters) - The euro slid for a third straight session against the dollar on Tuesday, hitting a near three-week low as Greece's surprise call for a referendum on an EU bailout plan fueled fears of an imminent default. The Greek government faced possible collapse as ruling party lawmakers demanded Prime Minister George Papandreou resign for throwing the nation's euro membership into jeopardy with a shock call for a referendum. France and Germany summoned Papandreou to crisis talks in Cannes on Wednesday to push for a quick implementation of Greece's new bailout deal ahead of a summit of the G20 major world economies. The Greek government believes it will win a confidence vote on Friday and will hold a referendum on an EU aid deal as planned, a spokesman said after several ruling party ...

Forex News and Events: The shock downgrade of New Zealand’s credit rating by Fitch not only made the number of countries with a triple-A rating one smaller today, but it also came as a rude reminder to the markets that economic strife is not wholly limited to the Eurozone. Greece’s woes and in turn Europe’s dreadfully disjointed attempts to address the crisis have hogged the spotlight and the media pages for most of the past few weeks, leaving the discussion of risks elsewhere sorely neglected. The impact on New Zealand’s currency has been relatively limited taking into consideration the moves in most commodities currencies this morning, and indeed the country’s headline equity index, the NZX 50, has actually posted strong gains today of 1.3%. However, the lingering effect of Fitch’s ...

(Reuters) - The euro fell on Wednesday and stayed within sight of a seven-month low plumbed this week as investors showed no confidence that talks between Greece, France and Germany would mark a significant step toward resolving the euro zone's debt crisis. It came off lows, however, in tandem with a recovery in European stocks, after European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said options for the introduction of euro area bonds would soon be presented. The euro was 0.15 percent lower at $1.3660, off a low around $1.3590. Traders said it was held up by sovereign demand around the $1.3600 level. A break below there, however, could see it target Monday's seven month trough at $1.3495. "One piece of negative news is enough to erase any recovery in euro/dollar at the moment," said ...

Forex News and Events: Market attention today is fixed firmly on the upcoming talks between Greece’s PM Papandreou, German Chancellor Merkel and French President Sarkozy, with a conference call scheduled to take place at 4pm GMT. Thus far, markets are hoping for optimistic developments from these discussions, and in turn, EURUSD has stabilized around 1.3650 levels. The risks to investor sentiment are great however; if the market does not believe that any new progress has been made between the sides, there is plenty of bad news swirling that could send the markets spiralling lower once more. Not only has the past 24 hours presented a downgrade to French banks from ratings agency Moody’s, but also the worrying realisation that China is losing its appetite for European debt. China’s ...

USD The dollar has generally kept a bid tone overnight as markets remain wary ahead of further Eurozone event risk this week. The Greek parliament is due to vote on last week’s agreed austerity package on Wednesday/Thursday and many fear a repeat of last week’s politically-induced volatility. Despite some positive headlines both from within Greece and the Eurozone, as well as pledges of further Chinese support from Premier Wen Jiabao – who arrives in Berlin this week for talks – the lack of a comprehensive solution continues to undermine the currency. On the US side, the Fed’s relevant decisions last week have clearly given the dollar a boost, but there is still a material difference between ceasing fresh easing and tightening, and questions remain over the US’ ability to weather more ...

Previous session overview The dollar reversed its overnight decline Monday, with the euro and the U.K. pound slipping into negative territory versus the greenback as demand for stocks and other riskier assets wilted. The euro continued to hover just above the CHF1.4620 area against the Swiss franc, near the levels suspected of prompting intervention by the Swiss National Bank to weaken the franc in the past. The ICE U.S. Dollar Index, which tracks the greenback against a trade-weighted basket of currencies, was at 80.468 from 80.571. Demand for risk whetted by the strong U.S. jobs report Friday, favorable developments in Greece and positive data from Japan had lifted the euro and other risk sensitive currencies earlier Monday. Over the weekend, French President Nicholas Sarkozy helped ...