Greece
S&P downgrades Japan
Standard and Poor's downgrades Japan by one notch to AA– on fears that aging population places greater fiscal burden on Tokyo
ECB - Monthly Bulletin (January 2011)
European Central Bank January 2011 Monthly Bulletin says data on bonds indicate rise in inflation expectations
Irish woes may spread to other PIIGS
European Union action on Ireland’s bank debts points to fears over contagion spreading across peripheral Europe
Make the right decision: Spain’s Ordóñez to Dublin
Governor of the Bank of Spain suggests Irish officials ask for help as fears grow that Dublin’s resistance to a bailout will trigger contagion
Bank of Italy’s Visco says Europe needs long term debt resolution plan
Bank of Italy deputy director general Ignazio Visco says successful fiscal consolidation in Europe will require voter backing
ECB sets stage to tackle ‘addicted banks’
European Central Bank publishes toughened rules that will allow it to limit individual banks’ access to short-term funds and exclude asset classes
CEPR: PIGS neglected current account deficits
Centre for Economic Policy Research study shows adoption of euro caused countries to relax current account discipline
Banks upped exposure to troubled eurozone states in first quarter: BIS
Bank for International Settlements says first quarter figures show exposure to Portugal, Greece and Spain grew, in spite of default worries
Ireland’s Honohan pushes for greater cooperation
Central Bank of Ireland’s governor Patrick Honohan says euro area needs to better exploit the benefits of tight cooperation
Greece passes first hurdle of bailout programme
European-IMF review of Greek economic programme says country is on track to receive second tranche of funds
Greece’s fiscal situation far worse than US: Atlanta Fed
Atlanta Federal Reserve study says Greece’s fiscal debts more worrisome than the United States’s
ECB closes in on inferior collateral with new haircut scheme
European Central Bank’s new discount schedule increases haircuts levied on troublesome collateral, such as asset-backed securities; analysts expect move to discourage pledging of risky assets
EU stress tests detail exposure to Piigs debt
Stress tests show which banks are heavily exposed to riskiest sovereigns
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
South Africa’s Gordhan stands up for inflation targeting, flexible rand policies
South African finance minister defends central bank’s key frameworks, lauding benefits to credibility and stability
ECB bond purchase effect wearing off, warns IMF
Fund cautions that stability risks are on the rise again as effect of European Central Bank’s foray into bond markets loses bite; southern eurozone to face refinancing contest with US, UK and Japan
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
Greek debt crisis sparks widening of almost all global CDS spreads
Cost of protecting against a Greek default up 190% in three months to mid-June as CDS spreads widened for 93% of sovereign debt on back of sovereign debt crisis in Europe
ECB handled Greek crisis well: CentralBanking.com readers
CentralBanking.com poll shows more than 40% approval rating for European Central Bank’s handling of the Greek debt crisis
Greece’s Provopoulos: fiscal policy has its limitations
Bank of Greece governor George Provopoulos says Greek crisis highlighted the limitations of fiscal policy
Bank of Finland Bulletin (2010/1)
Bank of Finland's bi-annual Bulletin shows Finnish economy was more sluggish than euro area as a whole during last six months
CentralBanking.com panel: ECB’s response to Greek crisis too slow
Mike Williams, Paul Mortimer-Lee, and Phil Davis say the ECB should have moved more swiftly to tackle the fiscal problems in Greece
Markets unfazed by Moody’s Greek walloping
Bulk of European bourses gain despite rating agency’s four notch downgrade of Greek sovereign debt; analysts link calm to tardiness of downgrade and renewed risk appetite
Low savings widened Southern Europe's fiscal gap: IMF paper
Fund study finds lack of savings in Southern European countries caused large current account deficits to form in the run-up to the global financial crisis