We had already warned of this in the first part of this article. It has been a masterstroke, not because it has outmanoeuvred Merkel and her reluctance to let the ECB assume the country risk of the periphery, but because it has squared the circle at a political and pseudo-economic level. It is called LTRO (Long-Term Refinancing Operations). This move is nothing other than the ECB opening the floodgates for European banks to borrow € (and $) without limit. But the secret of the potion lies in the repayment term, as the funds have been lent on demand, at a ridiculously low rate, but for a whopping three years. That is the key. And consequently, a second round has been announced for February this year, for those who were too slow off the mark to catch the first train to the paradise of infinite and cheap liquidity. (more…)

We have already pointed this out in previous articles
«Some central banks in Europe are beginning to assess contingency plans for the possibility that some countries may leave the euro area or that the monetary union may collapse completely».» This is the headline of the
These days we are seeing how the moment of truth is slapping Eurozone politicians in the face. The risk premium, i.e. the market's disdain for Italian debt is throwing the country, and therefore the rest of the Eurozone, into bankruptcy. Watching the Italian giant teetering on debt feet worth more than 120% of its vast GDP, Greece's bankruptcy may seem like child's play.
Hoy os presentamos una auténtica perla en forma de entrevista. Se trata nada más y nada menos que de la que concedió el mejor gestor de la primera década del siglo XXI, Bruce Berkowitz, a la prestigiosa periodista financiera Consuelo Mack hace tan solo 7 días. Resulta interesantísimo leer los argumentos y convicciones de Berkowitz hoy, precisamente en plena tormenta financiera, cuando su fondo estrella Fairholme ha perdido casi un tercio de su cotización (¿valor?) desde principios de año. Un batacazo en el que muchos ven su declive como gestor, pero en el que algunos ven una grandísima oportunidad. Su entrevistadora, Mack, está considerada por la revista Money Magazine como «the best money TV host», y sus programas gozan de una enorme audiencia. Disfrutad las reflexiones de Berkowitz mientras el mundo financiero se hunde a nuestro alrededor (próximamente colgaremos la traducción íntegra al español):