07/02/2010

Volatility again

Stocks plunged around the globe, the euro slid to the lowest level since May. Benchmark equity indexes for Portugal and Spain plummeted the most in 15 months. Oil lost 5 percent, the biggest drop in six months, and gold tumbled the most since 2008 as a stronger dollar curbed demand for commodities, some European nations will struggle to finance their budget deficits.
There will be a dramatic increas in volatility again... Even Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. was stripped of its last AAA credit rating by Standard & Poor’s.
Greece’s ASE Index lost 3.3 percent, Portugal led declines in government bonds, with the premium investors demand to hold the nation’s two-year securities instead of benchmark German bunds widening to 156 basis points, the biggest margin since 1997. Confidence in Portugal was shaken yesterday when it cut an issue of 12-month bills to 300 million euros ($417 million) from a planned 500 million euros.
Credit-default swaps on Portugal’s government debt soared 27 basis points to a 223, the most since at least 2004, according to CMA DataVision prices. Contracts on Greece jumped 14 basis points to 411.5, approaching the record 422. Spain CDSs increased 13 basis points to 165, Italy’s were up 7 at 138 and Ireland climbed 6.5 basis points to 169.5.
The focus is shifting toward Spain and Portugal, where the deficit-reduction plans have now been introduced, in the case of Portugal to finance their budget deficits they must also reduce and freeze the salaries of the "government" employees that number above 700 thousand public servants, some frinch benefits should also be stopped.
Energy companies should restrain from constantly incresing consumer prices such as Galp, BP, Cepsa and Repsol, there is no reason for Portugal to have one of the highest final consumer prices for petrol in the world, crude oil for March delivery fell 5 percent to $71.14 a barrel, however consumers are paying a price equivalent to $92.14 a barrel.
What these companies dont realise is that unemployed people don’t spend money....

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