USA doing precious little on climate change
April 30, 2010Labor Cost Arbitrage – Applied Materials moves to Asia
May 1, 2010Markets were back up to previous levels after a bailout package for Greece got an assent from the Germans and the IMF.But the condition of southern Europe continues to be precarious as unemployment continues to be high and the health of the whole European financial sector remains in a critical state.
Spanish unemployment tops 20% in first quarter – MarketWatch
It hasn’t exactly been a bumper week of good news for the Spanish economy.
On Friday, data that showed Spain’s jobless figure topped 20% in the first quarter of 2010 — 20.5% to be exact — served to highlight the tough job the government here is facing in trying to get its finances under control and light a fire under the economy. It marks the worst unemployment rate since 1997.
The total number of jobless in Spain now stands at 4.6 million, which was a gain of 286,200 on the fourth quarter of 2009, when the rate stood at 18.83%, according to Spain’s Office of National Statistics, or INE by its local acronym. Over the last 12 months, unemployment has increased by 602,000, the statistics office said
Moody’s downgrades nine Greek banks – MarketWatch
Ratings agency Moody’s Investors Service on Friday downgraded the bank financial strength ratings and the deposit and debt ratings of nine Greek banks. The move reflects “their weakening stand-alone financial strength and the anticipated additional pressures stemming from the country’s challenged economic prospects,” the agency said.
Not that I have a very high opinion on the rating agency’s rating of US mortgages but a ratings downgrade will cause more stress for banks because of their “official” status