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Strategies & Market Trends : 2026 TeoTwawKi ... 2032 Darkest Interregnum -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Snowshoe who wrote (90542)	5/23/2012 6:23:16 PM
From: Haim R. Branisteanu	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 217917

German 2Q GDP Growth To Be Slower Than Expected - Government 23-May-2012 BERLIN (Dow Jones)--German economic growth will be slower in the second quarter than previously expected, the finance ministry said Thursday, citing expansion in the first three months of the year that exceeded expectations. The ministry didn't give a figure. The second quarter will show a "technical backlash," the ministry said in its May report. First quarter growth was 0.5% on a quarterly basis and compares with a 0.1% contraction for the 17-nation euro zone, forecast by the European Commission. It shows how Germany, the currency bloc's biggest economy, is supporting a region gripped by the sovereign-debt crisis that threatens to spread from Greece to other fiscally fragile economies such as Spain and Italy. "Overall, the fundamental economic trend during the first half-year is in line with the government's expectations," the ministry in Berlin said. Its "growth forecast for a real 0.7% on average in 2012 is well supported." It said it expects a notable global economic recovery this year, though euro-zone weakness will curb German exports. Germany's labor market remains robust, it said, with slower employment growth and falling joblessness expected. Recent wage deals in the country "currently pose no inflation risk," it said. Greece holds elections next month after an inconclusive vote May 6 raised concern it won't meet conditions for international bailout funding and will be forced from the euro zone. Against this backdrop, investors have seen German bonds as a safer bet and demand has driven their yields to record lows. -By Andrea Thomas

To: Snowshoe who wrote (90542)	5/24/2012 8:31:49 AM
From: elmatador	Respond to of 217917

“European countries have enjoyed the good life for too long,” Jin, who is chairman of CIC’s supervisory board, told an audience of business people in the City of London on Tuesday night. “the Greeks should be encouraged to work harder.” I think this advice is not ging to be welcomed... CIC’s Jin on eurozone: time for a little Thatcher work ethic May 23, 2012 5:05 pm by Alexandra Stevenson As markets wait once again for European leaders to bring the eurozone crisis back from the brink, there is one man who is more than happy to lend some advice: Jin Liqun. What he thinks about Europe carries weight because the institution he chairs, China Investment Corporation, is one of the world’s most important sovereign wealth funds. “European countries have enjoyed the good life for too long,” Jin, who is chairman of CIC’s supervisory board, told an audience of business people in the City of London on Tuesday night. CIC, the world’s fifth largest sovereign wealth fund with an estimated £410bn in assets, has been busy snapping up European assets of late and, until recently, promising to help bail out eurozone countries by buying their debt. But a few weeks ago the sovereign wealth fund said that it had stopped buying European government bonds. Thankfully, Jin steered clear of giving too gloomy a prognosis on Tuesday. On preventing a Greek exit from the eurozone he said: “I do not believe all possibilities have been exhausted,” but added, “politicians should have a major departure from the kicking-the-can-down-the-road approach.” Jin offered his own diagnosis on the crisis, pointing to a lack of leadership. He pointed to the Asian financial crisis in 1997 as an example of how countries can work together to pull themselves out of an economic quagmire. Recalling one particular meeting of Asian leaders during the crisis in Kuala Lumpur, Jin said the IMF asked China to lend to $2bn to South Korea immediately. “I said, I hope China could give South Korea $2bn by 4 o’clock this afternoon… but our internal process doesn’t work this way,” he said. Despite this currency swaps were put in place – Asian governments didn’t have the “luxury” of entertaining multiple solutions, Jin said. In case his point was not clear, Jin emphasised: “actions should have been taken long ago.” Jin also channelled Margaret Thatcher, saying “the Greeks should be encouraged to work harder.” Which was entirely appropriate for the evening, given Jin’s host -the Centre for Policy Studies, a think tank co-founded by the Iron Lady herself. But, he added: “they should be given respite” and time to implement reforms.