Yesterday…
David Cameron and his comrades of the Conservative Party published a policy draft for a referendum for a possible EU-exit of the UK. The draft says the referendum has to be completed by December 2017, given the Tories win the 2015 elections. I think the campaigning just began. read BBC
While the global “recovery” continues to force deficits to skyrocket and imports to slump, India has managed to become the outlier in the trend on Monday afternoon. Taking advantage of the low gold price, imports rose 138% since April 2012 to $7.5bn, or 18% of all imports, while the trade deficit hit 17.8bn. read Zerohedge
And of course the drama over Bloomberg‘s use of user data continued… read FT Alphaville
This morning…
there was a flood of data, with the German economy growing 0.1% from 4Q12 to the first quarter of 2013, undercutting the depressing estimate of 0.3% growth. The French economy contracted by 0.2% over the same period of time. read Bloomberg
Franco-German relations haven’t been great since Hollande got into office, but this morning’s result may just worsen the atmosphere of any policy discussion. The eurozone as such, contracted 0.2% in 1Q13. The recession continues…
Simultaneously, Mervyn “it’s-almost-his-last-day” King of the Bank of England raised the outlook for the UK economy [with lower inflation] and raised his eyebrows at eurozone performance, as well as the continental Financial Transaction Tax. read Guardian
Meanwhile, the US is preparing to become the model student again. The Congressional Budget Office is forecasting the deficit to fall as far as $378bn by 2015, much faster than anticipated. The 2013 forecast was cut by $203bn to an overall $642bn. read Reuters
And that is not all: Formerly the largest corporate debt market in the world, providing ample opportunity for the Michael Milken followers of the world to make money, China is going to take that spot within the next two years, according to S&P. Soon America will be debt and deficit free and flow with milk and vodka (we’re all grown-ups here). read Financial Times
In the kerfuffle over whether Jamie Dimon is allowed to stay in in his double-role as chairman and CEO of JPMorgan seems to be blowing over (much like Lloyd Blankfein expected), as fewer shareholders than expected are looking to back the leadership reform. Another bullet dodged for the industry. read Financial Times
And in case you’ve been in a good mood this morning, have a look at this: 10 Scenes from the ongoing global economic collapse (Zerohedge)
So long.
