Citi chief economist Willem Buiter is credited with inventing the term Grexit (or Greek exit from the Euro) according to William L. Watts of MarketWatch. Only a year ago, big firms, countries (and panicked pundits) were preparing for Greece to exit the Eurozone and start using its old Drachma currency. Now not only do few see that as a possibility but even Buiter has thrown in the towel. According to a new report from Citi, Buiter sees a Grexit as unlikely....
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After a decade long rally, gold recorded its biggest two-day drop in 30 years during April. What triggered this sudden decline? Is this precious metal in bubble or is inflation going to revive its status as a safe haven asset? See the Great Gold Rout infographic from Saxo Capital Markets and have your say. The Great Gold Rout infographic 'Get ValueWalk's Daily Edition By Email and Never Miss Our Top Stories'
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The former Chief Executive of Spanish Bank Caja Madrid, Miguel Blesa, has become the first Spanish banker to be jailed for his part in the country’s financial crisis. Caja Madrid is now a part of the country’s BANKIA SA (OTCMKTS:BNKXF). Blesa is accused of saddling the bank with major losses after a takeover of a bank in Miami, Florida. Bankia was taken over by Spain’s government last year after a series of losses were...
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Tiger cub Robert Citrone’s Discovery Capital initiated a new short position in Banco Sabadell SA (MCE:SAB) (PINK:BNDSY). Boston based Wellington Management Company also opened a short in Banco Sabadell. Both funds are holding the same number of shares short which roughly amount to $30 million each at 0.5 percent of outstanding shares. Banco Sabadell, one of Spain’s largest banks, has a chunk of bad loans that have made Banco Sabadell’s survival difficult. However the bank still has...
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On March 26, the Belgian federal police’s counterterrorism force, or Special Units, conducted a felony car stop on Hakim Benladghem, a 39-year-old French citizen of Algerian extraction. When Benladghem reacted aggressively, he was shot and killed by the police attempting to arrest him. The Special Units chose to take Benladghem down in a car stop rather than arrest him at his home because it had intelligence indicating that he was heavily armed. The authorities...
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Lets take a look at how hedge funds have been moving in their short positions in Spain. For the entire list of current shorts positions in Spanish equities, visit Hedge Funds Short Positions In Europe. Spanish Banking Sector As we noted in an earlier post, there are not very concentrated short positions in Spanish banks as there are in Italian banks. Hedge funds covered their bets to below 0.5 percent in Banco Popular Espanol SA (MCE:POP),...
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Cyprus bailout the latest…. Now things percolate – and thanks to a debate forum – things are much clearer. It seems like German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble’s idea was that the minor depositors (below 100,000 EUR) would get off. He now points to the Cypriot government and the ECB, for not choosing that solution. Schäuble said to the German channel ARD: ”They had decided this solution, and will now have to answer to the Cypriot people”. On...
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While the Western media loved to portray the so-called “Arab Spring” as a Western style Democracy revolution the reality was far more complex. One of the largest motivating factors behind revolutions across Libya, Egypt, and elsewhere was the lack of economic opportunity, particularly for younger generations. The battle against high unemployment rates was just as important as the battle for political representation. Now with jobless rates among younger generations at historical highs across Europe...
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Wilbur Ross was on Bloomberg TV today for a very lengthy interview on his investment ideas. Ross can be credited as one of the first investors to hunt for value in distressed Europe. We noted in a recent article how many value investors are now scouring Greece, Portugal, Italy, Spain and Ireland for investments. In this interview, Ross discusses why he is still bullish on Ireland and also has hope for Greece. The full...
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We have repeatedly seen Odey Asset Management’s funds in several of the top performing hedge fund lists of 2012, including our own. Odey European returned 27.89 percent YTD through 14 December 2012 and manages $1.4 billion in assets while Odey Absolute Return was up 33.3 percent till November of last year. The flagship Odey funds is its Equity Long/Short. The more recent numbers from Crispin Odey’s Odyssey and OPUS fund also speak of similar...
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Monday the 14th of January, will see several big companies announce their earnings for the Q4 2012. Here’s our run down of the top five earnings reports to watch. Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS): This is the big one on Monday. Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) is one of the most important banks in the United States, and the world. Analysts are looking for earnings of $0.58 per share from the investment bank. In the fourth quarter of...
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