GROWTH WORRIES RISE
WSJ’s Brian Blackstone, Jon Hilsenrath and Marcus Walker: “Five years after the financial crisis ended, soft growth in Europe, a stop-and-start U.S. recovery and waning momentum in China have policy makers groping for what to do next. A spate of worrying economic data Thursday shook stock and bond markets. Economic activity in the 18-country euro zone expanded at a weak annual rate of 0.8 percent during the first quarter, … [ECB] officials are now moving toward enacting additional low interest-rate policies to prevent the region from sliding into a lengthy period of economic stagnation, while the U.S. Federal Reserve guardedly tries to wind down a bond-buying program meant to revitalize economic growth.
“Meantime, Chinese authorities are trying to prod banks to lend more to first-time home buyers shut out of their real-estate market. U.S. officials privately say they expect Chinese officials to act to boost their economy and support banks if growth slows severely … New U.S. data released Thursday showed the mixed economic backdrop that Fed officials confront as they scale back a bond-buying program aimed at lowering long-term interest rates, and consider how much longer to keep short-term rates near zero." http://on.wsj.com/1sTM4F8
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MARKETS SINK
FT’s Michael Mackenzie in New York, Claire Jones in Frankfurt and Stephen Foley in Las Vegas: “Investors continued to retreat from stocks in Asia on Friday morning after poor eurozone data increased pressure on the [ECB] to take aggressive action to bolster the region. … US and European investors responded to the data by switching into top-tier government bonds. Investors in Asia, similarly spooked by stuttering growth in a market on which the region relies on to buy its exports, began their day dumping shares.
“Japan’s Topix index was down 1.7 per cent in early morning trading, while Korea’s Kospi slipped 0.5 per cent. Hong Kong also opened lower, with the hang Seng Index down 0.4 per cent. Mario Draghi, ECB president, and other policy makers including Bundesbank president Jens Weidmann, have dropped hints in recent weeks that they are ready to act … But investors fear the ECB has mistimed its moment to act and that the region is slipping into a deflationary spiral, sapping growth and increasing debt burdens. Weakness in Europe also poses risks to other parts of the world, putting pressure on the global recovery and potentially weighing on the US.”
http://on.ft.com/1ovyLeC
WSJ’s Brian Blackstone, Jon Hilsenrath and Marcus Walker: “Five years after the financial crisis ended, soft growth in Europe, a stop-and-start U.S. recovery and waning momentum in China have policy makers groping for what to do next. A spate of worrying economic data Thursday shook stock and bond markets. Economic activity in the 18-country euro zone expanded at a weak annual rate of 0.8 percent during the first quarter, … [ECB] officials are now moving toward enacting additional low interest-rate policies to prevent the region from sliding into a lengthy period of economic stagnation, while the U.S. Federal Reserve guardedly tries to wind down a bond-buying program meant to revitalize economic growth.
“Meantime, Chinese authorities are trying to prod banks to lend more to first-time home buyers shut out of their real-estate market. U.S. officials privately say they expect Chinese officials to act to boost their economy and support banks if growth slows severely … New U.S. data released Thursday showed the mixed economic backdrop that Fed officials confront as they scale back a bond-buying program aimed at lowering long-term interest rates, and consider how much longer to keep short-term rates near zero." http://on.wsj.com/1sTM4F8
*****
MARKETS SINK
FT’s Michael Mackenzie in New York, Claire Jones in Frankfurt and Stephen Foley in Las Vegas: “Investors continued to retreat from stocks in Asia on Friday morning after poor eurozone data increased pressure on the [ECB] to take aggressive action to bolster the region. … US and European investors responded to the data by switching into top-tier government bonds. Investors in Asia, similarly spooked by stuttering growth in a market on which the region relies on to buy its exports, began their day dumping shares.
“Japan’s Topix index was down 1.7 per cent in early morning trading, while Korea’s Kospi slipped 0.5 per cent. Hong Kong also opened lower, with the hang Seng Index down 0.4 per cent. Mario Draghi, ECB president, and other policy makers including Bundesbank president Jens Weidmann, have dropped hints in recent weeks that they are ready to act … But investors fear the ECB has mistimed its moment to act and that the region is slipping into a deflationary spiral, sapping growth and increasing debt burdens. Weakness in Europe also poses risks to other parts of the world, putting pressure on the global recovery and potentially weighing on the US.”
http://on.ft.com/1ovyLeC
