Debt

The credit default swap market is pricing in a 65% probability of a default within the next five years.

Would it be conceivable that top-quality corporates can take over the baton of being the “risk free” investment of choice? Nestle default protection is cheaper than German sovereign protection and Wal-Mart default protection is cheaper than United States sovereign protection

According to Mandarine Gestion, current valuation levels in the banking sector constitute opportunities rarely seen over a medium-term horizon. However, over the short term, investors are preferring to focus on two factors while at the same time exaggerating in our view their consequences and therefore provoking excesses: sovereign debt and liquidity levels.

According to a publication of Prof. Richard Roll in the Financial Analyst Journal, most explanations of the 2007–08 financial crisis are inconsistent with elementary principles of finance. The article explains the inconsistencies and suggests an alternative diagnosis that is fully compatible with rationality.

The real estate bubble was huge and now Spanish banks are in a mess. Two questions come to mind: why does this comes into the spotlight so late ? what is the exact size of the mess and what is the possible impact of a full stress scenario on financial markets ?