Five banks pleaded guilty to criminal charges related interest rate manipulation on Wednesday. This is literally admitting guilt of a felony. But no one is going to jail. In fact, the banks are simply paying a combined fine of roughly $5 billion that is funded from funds that would otherwise go to shareholders. And unlike most felons, the banks are allowed to carry on business as usual thanks to a special waiver from the SEC. And the Market reaction? – This seems to just be the price of doing business.
Greece made a scheduled 460 million euro loan repayment to the IMF today, but they are just entering a crucial period between now and September when over 20 billion euros of debt are due to be paid. The pictures below from the Wall Street Journal illustrate the staggering magnitude of these obstacles. The IMF has given Greece 6 business days to work out a solution…
It seems fitting that data released in Ireland just before St. Patrick’s Day revealed a strong economy that is far outpacing the rest of Europe. In fact, as the graph below highlights, Ireland’s roughly 5 percent GDP growth in 2014 is almost five times that of the Eurozone average. It’s been a long road back for Ireland since the collapse of an overheated housing market in 2008 which forced the country to concurrently seek an $85 billion bailout package from the E.U.
