Europe versus Markets: Europe wins 750 Billion!

Strong EU signal sent to the financial markets

Sunday was the celebration of the 60th anniversary of the foundation of Europe. An appeal launched May 9, 1950 by French politician Robert Schumann***. The least we can say is that this celebration took place in a climate of crisis in Europe. Happy birthday but champagne lacked bubbles.

Still one thing puzzles me. I know about EU VIPs assignments, but guess that the EU foreign policy chief, the British Baroness Catherine Ashton of Upholland will be in a laborious posture to explain outside and in the Union that her own country, GB, does not show support to the European effort. Unmanageable. I also wonder what it will happen the day when England (who is in bad shape like Spain and Greece) will need a hand.

Quotes: "The key is that something strong" was thrown down as a gauntlet to speculators, said French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde. Eager to prevent a haemmorhaghing of confidence on markets with debts and deficits already engulfing Portugal, Spain and Italy, Berlin bit the bullet with an aid model that goes far beyond the system put in place for Greece, which won loan commitments over three years in exchange for radical cuts and other economic reforms.

European Union finance ministers agreed, after marathon talks lasting more than 11 hours, that 440 billion euros would come from the troubled eurozone plus another 60 billion euros from the European Commission coffers. That would be backed by "at least half as much" again from the International Monetary Fund, or another 250 billion euros. The overall package was described as a series of "far-reaching steps" by IMF managing director Dominique Strauss-Kahn. The plan "proves that we shall defend the euro whatever it takes," said the EU's commissioner for economic and monetary affairs, Olli Rehn."

Germany in crisis

Merkel lost her coalition's majority in the upper German house yesterday, as angry voters punished Berlin for its U-turn in agreeing a 110-billion-euro international bailout for Greece... "Talking about arrogance"... as Bernard Kouchner said recently at a press event I organized at the FCCJ Tokyo. Or is Germany simply loosing EU foundation's memory... Amnesia?

The Bank of Japan joined the European Central Bank (ECB) and those of Britain, Canada, Switzerland and the United States in coordinated moves aimed at nudging global money, debt and currency markets forward, which drew ringing endorsements from the Group of 20 leading world economies.

In Tokyo, stocks rose Monday on the news that the European Union and the International Monetary Fund had agreed on a massive plan to ensure euro-zone stability. The stocks won over 1,60%. The Euro currency closed at 120 Yen 56, up +3,38 % on Monday morning as I reported for Paris

"750 milliards débloqués pour stabiliser la zone Euro" http://tinyurl.com/2d53lnd

Les marchés asiatiques répondaient positivement au soutien de la zone euro tôt lundi matin

*** Twice Prime Minister of France, Robert Schumann was a reformist Minister of Finance and a Foreign Minister, he was instrumental in building post-war European and trans-Atlantic institutions and is regarded as one of the founders of the European Union, the Council of Europe and NATO.