Germany
Buba’s Sarrazin under racial hatred investigation
German prosecutors launch investigations into racist comments made by Bundesbank executive board member Thilo Sarrazin; central bank maintains silence over controversy
ECB will always end up bailing out sovereigns: Buiter
Former Bank of England rate-setter Willem Buiter says ECB will lose in “game of chicken” with finance ministries over who rescues sovereigns
Differing sovereign debt haircuts to be included in EU stress tests: reports
Reports quote German banking officials as saying that extreme scenarios will apply steep haircuts to PIIGS sovereign debt, but none to bunds or French paper
Buba’s Sarrazin renews racism controversy
Bundesbank executive board member Thilo Sarrazin says Germany is getting “dumber” because of Turkish, Middle Eastern and African immigrants; comments follow similar remarks last year and intensify calls for his removal
German economic strength 'a fallacy': Charles Dumas interview
The Lombard Street Research chairman tells Credit the German economy is far weaker than has been supposed
German rumours of French pact with ECB display tensions
Coverage of German magazine article alleging European Central Bank's bond purchase programme was aimed at helping the French indicative of fertile breeding ground for conspiracy theories
Berlin hastily bans naked CDS, short-selling
Supervisor places temporary ban on naked credit default swaps, eurozone bond short sales, citing market volatility; analysts say uncoordinated move is further sign of fragmentation within eurozone
Market puzzled by Bafin ban
Traders incredulous as Bafin acts unilaterally to calm “extraordinary volatility”
Trichet reaches out to German public
European Central Bank chief Jean-Claude Trichet participates in several interviews with German media to assuage fears over the central bank’s entry into bond markets
Trichet to rally German support for Greek bailout
European Central Bank president Jean-Claude Trichet expected to urge German lawmakers to stop dragging their feet over the Greek bailout, markets suffer as uncertainty persists
Buba's Weber says Greece will need up to €80 billion: reports
Bundesbank president Axel Weber reportedly tells German parliamentary group Greek bailout costs could soar
Greece’s $40 billion bailout an improvement, but issues remain
Markets soothed as firm details of Greek rescue plan are announced, eurozone will provide €30 billion at discounted 5% rate for year forward, analysts less convinced
ECB: German bonds the European safe-haven
ECB paper shows investors sought refuge in German bonds as crisis struck
Merkel and central bankers clash over Greek fix
Bundesbank shows reluctance to back Merkel; ECB president Trichet pushes for European rescue fund to aid beleaguered eurozone members
Only the IMF can save Greece: Berlin
German government backs away from a European bailout for debt-ridden Greece, Fund rescue looks increasingly likely
Major economies must heed Greece lesson: Carmen Reinhart
Co-author of This Time is Different warns sovereigns on debt sustainability
Brussels and Paris push for European monetary fund
Finance ministries of France and Germany begin devising proposals for Europe’s own Fund, body would be geared at removing bailout security net as well as providing help to euro countries
Germans in favour of kicking Greece out: poll
Survey in leading newspaper shows 53% of Germans think Greece should be kicked out of the eurozone if its debt troubles cannot be resolved, 67% want no part in a bail-out
Bundesbank – Monthly Report (January)
German central bank’s monthly report shows that although the recovery lost momentum at the end of the last year, the process was still carrying on
Great Depression spread by Germany, not US
A new paper argues that the 1931 crisis was propagated by the collapse of Germany's banking system
Buba’s Weber: Germany finance held its own
Bundesbank’s Axel Weber says Germany’s financial sector coped well with the crisis overall
Buba upbraids board member after racist remarks
Thilo Sarrazin, a member of the board of the German central bank, has remit reduced after comments on Berlin’s Turkish and Arab communities
Interventions helped creditors not shareholders
Bank for International Settlements reviews market reaction to bank rescue packages during the crisis
Triple A ratings safe for now
Moody’s says Aaa countries have stable outlooks