They estimate that 33% of outstanding government debt matures in the next 2 yrs. Again, per this criticism, Ireland would be looked on positively, with only 20% of all of our outstanding debt maturing between now and the end of 2012 (so two and a half years).

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2010/0513/breaking44.html

Fascinating link.
It seems that the OECD reportings and comparisons between member countries provoked competition to improve rankings funded through borrowing??
Can we have our mmbership fees back?

I’d still like to see empirical evidence of bearish speculation in the peripherals having caused recent spread-widening. Measures of the size and cost taken by the EU should be only be directed against definitely-existing targets. (Tho’ I have the impression all the speculator talk is just political sugar-coating and misdirection).

I thought this was a slow train wreck we are watching, not a horror movie.

http://www.voxeu.org/index.php?q=node/5004

By the way, anyone know where in Ireland you can open an account in Swiss Francs or Canadian dollars?

With food inflation running away there as reported today….. Your guess is as good as mine.

http://ftalphaville.ft.com/blog/2010/05/11/227461/welcome-to-the-oecd-debt-trap/

Even the most fervent Hellenophile would never at the best of times have dubbed Greek bonds a liquid market. Nor Portuguese, nor Irish. I’ve no doubt of the existence of speculators, nor of their presence in these markets. What I do doubt is their size and significance in current events, certainly relative to the significance of fundamentals.

Like I said, I’d love to see numerical evidence that sheer big bad meanie speculators caused the blow-out in yields in peripherals. My own opinion is it had more to do with the laws of supply and demand, with naked speculation playing a small part.

Membership of the Eurozone was a major reason for the Irish bubble (i.e. low interest rates, easy access to wholesale markets).

It was foolish to allow countries like Ireland and Greece with poor governance systems and corruption cultures to join the EMU.

Do you seriously believe that countries in the Eurozone which survived intact were run by clones of the Irish poltroons who ruined their economy?

The political leadership, the central bank, the regulator etc were all victims of the ECB!!

The fact that Harney, Cowen, Martin, Dempsey etc are still in charge, speaks volumes for the failed system that is tolerated.

The dog eat my homework Sir!!

“By the way, as an fyi on the ECB buying bonds, the focus seem to be on shorter end Greece, Portugal and Ireland (in that order), and yields are getting squeezed in massively. Ireland is actually lower than Spain right now.”

So we have survived last Friday!

Where is the next shock coming from? China?

Does any know where you can get daily data? I’m interested in removing the cointegrating relations to get a ‘pure’ Irish bond price movement, and then see if movements coincide with particular events (such as publication of the McCarthy report, the budget, or imposition of pension levy).

B Peter Woods is as usual, correct. There will be no growth for a long time and capital will be scarce indeed. Expect house lending to dry up even more? Radical, more radical than to date, measures will be needed. The sooner the better.

Australia uses a productivity commission, replete with economists and analysts, to examine aspects of the economy. McCuts and a razor gang. Certain luxuries are no longer affordable!