Research: Eur Review
Quotes from RBC Capital Markets:
-EUR: The ECB's Draghi spoke in London, repeating that the risks to growth are still on the downside but he sees a fragile and gradual recovery. He reminded that exit from exceptional monetary policy remains distant and that "we stand ready to act again when needed" but there are limits to what monetary policy can achieve. He says policy will remain accommodative for the foreseeable future. Elsewhere, the FT and La Repubblica quote a report by the Italian Treasury detailing the country's debt transactions for H1 2012 and suggesting the restructuring of eight derivatives contracts with foreign banks during that period could lead to up to EUR8bn in losses for Italy.
-The FT says the restructuring allowed the Tsy to stagger payments to foreign banks (on derivatives with a total notional value of EUR31.7bn) but the Italian govt had to accept more disadvantageous terms in some cases. The Italian Tsy has issued a statement in response saying the contracts were used to hedge against exchange rate/interest rate risks at the time of Italy's entry to the Euro, and carried a cost which is "justified by the need to protect against serious risks". Italian spreads are tighter on the day, largely ignoring the derivatives story in favour of the short-covering mood.
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