Obama’s watchdogs call AT&T’s $39 bln wager 31 Aug 2011 The No. 2 U.S. mobile company bet it could persuade regulators that buying No. 4 T-Mobile would benefit consumers. The U.S. DOJ senses a weak hand. With the industry a near duopoly, the government’s read looks right. AT&T isn’t folding but looks on the verge of a bad beat.
Diving bond yields mask investor ambivalence 25 Aug 2011 Fear still trumps greed in the minds of most investors. It allowed the German government to sell 10-year bunds at super-punchy prices on Aug. 24. There may well be enough buyers to push real yields negative. But the investment appetite is far from overwhelming.
Merkel and Sarkozy live down to low expectations 17 Aug 2011 The Franco-German summit produced proposals for further euro zone integration. But the demand for balanced budgets was unmatched by any promise of more aid for peripheral states, while the mooted tax on financial transactions misses the point. Investors are rightly sceptical.
Balanced budget laws are flawed but not useless 16 Aug 2011 Sarkozy and Merkel like them, and they feature in America, too. But politicians often fudge the numbers, or just change the rules. Nonetheless, in reasonably honest systems such laws slow the build-up of deficits. Perhaps as importantly, they also stigmatize bad behavior.
German slowdown adds to pressure on euro zone 16 Aug 2011 Weak Q2 GDP confirms fears that the EU’s largest economy has entered a soft patch. That makes it harder for Europe to grow its way out of crisis. The euro zone can’t afford to relax near-term fiscal austerity just yet. But further rate hikes by the ECB must now be on hold.
Solar firm’s demise signals gray industry forecast 16 Aug 2011 Onetime investor darling Evergreen Solar, among the first U.S. green energy companies to go public, just went bankrupt, victimized by a global supply glut. Growing Chinese competition and waning European subsidies mean the solar sector will probably get darker before the dawn.
Sweet Swiss-German tax deal will be hard to repeat 11 Aug 2011 Bern has agreed to collect tax and penalties from accounts held by tax-dodging Germans. But Swiss bank secrecy remains intact, and lenders will avoid prosecution for past crimes. The revenue hit is also manageable. An investigation by U.S. authorities is unlikely to end so well.