Europe Update: Prepare to be underwhelmed

Europe Update: Prepare to be underwhelmed: A few articles ahead of the meeting this weekend ...



From the Financial Times: Eurozone leaders meet in Frankfurt

France’s president Nicolas Sarkozy flew to Frankfurt on Wednesday night for an emergency meeting with leading players in the eurozone crisis including German chancellor Angela Merkel, as Franco-German differences bedevilled attempts to agree a comprehensive package of measures.

excerpt with permission

From the NY Times: Leaders in Europe Take Time From a Farewell to Negotiate a Bailout Deal

Angela Merkel, the chancellor of Germany, tried to play down expectations, saying that it would not be possible “to erase the mistakes of the past in just one stroke.” A European summit meeting Sunday ... will be just “one point” in “a long journey.”

From the WSJ: Doubts Grow on Euro Fund

European officials are discussing a scenario in which governments issuing bonds would borrow from the bailout fund to guarantee a portion of the bond issues—a move that would increase debts for already troubled economies.



Pressure is rising ahead of a weekend summit of European leaders billed as critical to stemming the region's deepening debt crisis.

And from the Financial Times: EU bank recap could be only €80bn. The IMF was calling for a €200bn plan, and some estimates were for €275bn. Maybe they should do another stress test and announce all the banks passed - that has worked well before - Not!



Earlier:

• Housing Starts increased in September

• Rate of increase slows for Key Measures of Inflation in September

• AIA: Architecture Billings Index declined in September

• 2012 Social Security Cost-Of-Living Adjustment approximately 3.6% increase