The talks between private creditors and Athens they will resume tomorrow. Greece, spokesman Pantelis Kapsis said, hopes to conclude the negotiations within the week. The eyes of operators are looking at the debt restructuring negotiation, necessary for the release of the new aid but which has been dragging on for some time between stops and recovery. The Athens Stock Exchange jumped by 4,81% and the European markets trimmed their losses towards the end, even if they confirmed their caution. The main lists closed in negative territory with the exception of the Dax which recovered the plus sign at +0,04%. The Ftse 100 and the Ftse Mib lose 0,5% (with Milan dragged down in the afternoon by the recovery of banks), the Cac is 0,31%. On Wall Street, the Dow Jones lost 0,46% at the close of the European markets and the Nasdaq gained 0,65%. Apple leaps 8,1% at the opening after a profit more than doubled in the first quarter of the year and a revenue growth of 73% thanks above all to the iPhone.
In the day the spread rises above 430 and at the close of the markets it is at about 428 points. In recent days, the differential has started a downward trend together with the liberalizations put in place by the Monti government. But the markets are looking at the uncertainties still on the table. 'The strong acceleration of the reforms achieved in recent months has already started the strengthening of confidence in our country. The determination to bring them to full fruition is now decisive to get out of stagnation and to avert the risks of a dangerous drift", said the president of the ECB Mario Draghi in a message sent to the Leonardo Prize, which awarded him a special recognition. And he adds: ”The sovereign debt crisis has exposed many long-neglected weaknesses, above all the inadequacy of European governance; all member states are now called upon to act with dramatic urgency to overcome it”. The spread reached 433 points with a yield of 6,29% after the successful German auction of 30-year bunds for 2,458 billion, slightly less than the maximum expected amount of around 3 billion, against a demand for 5,04 billion (bid to cover ratio to 2,1 from 1,1). Rates are still falling: the average yield fell to 2,62% from 2,82% in the last similar auction in December. And precisely the success of the German auction indicates that fears about the Eurozone and peripheral countries are still there, with investors favoring the German safe haven despite meager yields.
IMF PRESSING ON ECB FOR PARTICIPATION IN GREEK DEBT
PRAET, CHIEF ECONOMIST EUROTOWER, ECB FOLLOWS GOVERNMENTS
If the markets haven't crashed under the specter of default, which could become reality as early as March in the event of no agreement on debt restructuring, and they believe that in the end the agreement will somehow be found, however they remain cautious awaiting new indications on the various open fronts. The Ft revealed that the IMF is putting pressure on the ECB, which holds 40 billion bonds and does not participate in the private agreement, to contribute more to debt support. From the IMF President Christine Lagarde the indirect confirmation arrives: "Public creditors will have to participate in the financial effort" if the participation of the private sector in the rescheduling of the Greek debt should not be sufficient, he said. But the Eurotower is not opening up: “The ECB is sticking to what has been agreed with the governments – said the chief economist Peter Praet to the German newspaper Allgemeine Zeitung -. The waiver of private creditors will therefore be a one-off event. If the right measures are taken, in particular structural reforms, the program defined (for Greece) can work". Moreover, he added "a default on payments would be dangerous for the financial markets".
On the table is poi the topic of strengthening funds to support Europe, starting from the international IMF's goal of raising another 500 billion: "countries that are not members of the euro area will contribute to the increase in the resources required by the International Monetary Fund, on condition that the monetary union adopts a system anti-crisis "strong enough": said Lagarde. Just as there is still discussion, amidst the ambiguous and contradictory signals launched by Germany, on the strengthening of the Save States fund. Topic on which Prime Minister Mario Monti was clear: "Italy's position on firewalls is clear: we need to provide the European financial safeguard fund and the future stability fund with adequate resources and human governance and not superhuman and not surrounded from constraints and quibbles,” he said today in his speech to the Senate. While for Eurobonds the road is still long and tortuous: it will be possible to think of Eurobonds only after a more profound European integration, which provides for example "that the European Court of Justice controls national budgets", explained Angela Merkel in an interview which La Stampa will publish tomorrow, together with 5 other newspapers. Meanwhile, on Monday evening, barring surprises, the final draft of the Fiscal Compact will come to light.
BANKS GROW, UNICREDIT VOLATILE CLOSES IN THE POSITIVE
LUXOTTICA RUNS ON RECORD TURNOVER
They return in the afternoon bank purchases. Banco Popolare, already positive in the morning, accelerates to +11,69%, as do Bmps and Bpm (on which Citigroup has raised its rating to neutral) which extend the increases to +7,83% and +2,20%. Ubi +3,34%. Turn positive Unicredit up 1,28% on a volatile day because it is conditioned by the capital increase still in progress destined to close on Friday with full retail subscriptions. Cordusi Square announced that it has launched a buyback program of preferred securities and debt securities for a nominal value of 5,5 billion euros. Arriving from the bank are then covered bonds for 25 billion euros which can be used as collateral for the ECB. Intesa, on the other hand, lost 0,34%.
They confirm the Diasorin rally +7,07% and Luxottica + 3%, after the record turnover achieved in 2011. The falls in the Ftse Mib are driven by Tod’s (-4,73%), which accelerates downwards in the afternoon, despite 2011 revenues beating expectations (preliminary data at 893,7 million euros +13,5% on 2010) and Diego Della Valle's declarations expects “excellent” income results. In the red by 2,82% Stm after the disappointing results of the fourth quarter of 2011 and the weak indications on revenues for the current quarter and Eni -2,60% on which the market fears disappointments in the fourth quarter accounts.
