Over the weekend…
we saw the first proposal for a Libor reform from Martin Wheatley of the FCA (Financial Conduct Authority and successor of the FSA), who told the FT about the Libor 2.0, which could look something like this:
[...] a dual-track system with survey-based lending rates running alongside transaction-linked indices as soon as next year.
In the US however, Gary Gensler of the CFTC calls for an immediate switch to transaction-linked rates. read Financial Times
Meanwhile, the G7 met just outside London to talk about monetary policy and how much liquidity is too much with the conclusion that money is something you can never have enough of: Go ahead Japan, ease some more. read Businessweek
In the US, WSJ correspondent Jon Hilsenrath published two articles on the future of the Fed, both in terms of staffing and monetary policy. Until yesterday, Friday’s article (read ZeroHedge annotations) was pretty much the most talked about news of the weekend, discussing how the central bank will unwind its QE program that is worth $85bn a month. It was followed it up with a piece on Janet Yellen, [probably] the next Ben Bernanke. read Friday’s Wall Street Journal read Sunday’s Wall Street Journal
This morning…
David Cameron is meeting with Barack Obama on future trade agreements, something that is being interpreted as a potential first step for the UK to leave the EU. A free trade agreement between the new and old world could be worth up to £10bn for the British economy. read Bloomberg
The Eurogroup is kicking of with both Cyprus and Greece on the agenda. Cyprus is seeking approval of the first chunk of its bailout program, worth €3bn, while Greece is set to receive €7.5bn in the latest bailout payment. read BBC read comment on Reuters MacroScope
As for the rest of the week, we’ll get all kinds of data from the US, including industrial production and inflation and housing. Same goes for the eurozone and Germany; the UK reports unemployment figures and Japan will give us preliminary Q1 GDP figures.
So long.
