OECD Spoils European Bailout Party: Economic Activity Slowing Down; Libor Stays High

By the way, does anyone now what really happened to the German financial minister yesterday? We wonder if he refused to sign on the "plan".

Nevertheless, the OECD is spoiling the party a bit today by publicly stating that the world economy is slowing down. It includes not only European countries, but China and Brazil as well.

"10/05/10 - OECD composite leading indicators (CLIs) for March 2010 point to a slowdown in the pace of economic activity. In most OECD countries signs of slowing growth are tentative, but stronger signals have appeared in France and Italy, and some evidence of a potential halt in expansion is emerging in China and Brazil".

Those who down't use straddles like myself may wish to consider this an opportunity to exit.

Libor Stays High

The Libor, the rate banks say they pay for three-month loans in dollars "stayed near the highest level in about nine months on concern an almost $1 trillion European loan plan may not be enough to restore confidence in markets".

The reports quotes M. Oswald, a fixed-income strategist in London: “The package has only partly given the all-clear to money markets,” “There’s still a little bit of wariness over counterparty risk. In many ways, the problems that already exist in terms of exposure haven’t been expunged. The financial sector is still in a pretty dicey situation.”