Nothing. That is the outcome of EU finance ministers in Brussels on November 16. The “Statement of the Eurogroup on Ireland” couldn’t have been less void of content (“The Eurogroup welcomes the significant efforts…”). Ireland resisted a bail-out package which officials from the ECB, Spain and Portugal had been pressing for (the contagion effect on…

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Austrian Finance Minister Josef Proell said the December tranche of Austria’s contribution (EUR 190m) will only be paid out if Greece can show that it has raised the amount of money it pledged to take in through taxes. Proell told reporters Tuesday that “at this stage that target does not appear to have been met.”…

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Irish 10yr yields continued to drop (7.96%) on rumors the country will be forced to accept a bail-out. Other peripheral Euro-zone members, like Portugal, have suffered under contagion effects and want the Irish to end the crisis. Irish 10-year government bond yield. Source: Bloomberg.com According to The Guardian, Portugal, Spain and the ECB have given…

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November 15, Monday morning. Asian markets open. And no word regarding a bail-out for Ireland. According to the FT (“Concern grows as Dublin spurns help”) Senior European officials held “informal” discussions late into the night to discuss whether Ireland needed an aid package. The meeting broke up without any action to be taken. Apparently German…

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Germany’s handling of the Euro crisis has been anything but stellar. It all begins in October 2009, when the newly elected Greek government reveals the 2009 budget deficit to be 12.5% of GDP, far above the 3.7% predicted only 5 months earlier. Markets barely notice. On December 8, rating agency Fitch strips Greece off its…

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