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Monday, December 19, 2011

The North Korean leader, Kim Jong-il, has deceased this weekend. Immediately after the announcement of his death the shares on the South Korea Stock Market in Seoul declined with 4,87%. In Tokyo, the shares on the stock market also declined. The South Korean army has been brought in the highest state of alert following the death of the leader of rival North Korea.

According to news agency AFP, the Finance Ministers of the Eurozone will have a telephone conversation Monday about the developments of the European Debt Crisis after the EU summit of 8 and 9 December 2011. Another theme that will be discussed is the bilateral loans to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) by the European Union. With these loans the IMF will support weaker countries in the Eurozone. According to sources, the conversation will be held at 4:00 p.m. Dutch time.

The head of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) announced Sunday that China will invest "appropriately" next year to support the economy during the global recession. China will do this by further stimulating domestic demand. China will, among other things, invest in education, low-cost housing and water supply. The Chinese government already announced last week that it will undertake all necessary measures to maintain economic growth next year.

The British Minister of Trade reported Sunday that Great Britain will require banks to separate retail banking activities from investment banking activities. With this announcement the government adheres to the recommendations of the Independent Commission on Banking (ICB) that was specifically designed to protect taxpayers against a new banking crisis in the future. The ICB released a report last September and mentioned a deadline of 2019 for the proposed plans. The ICB also mentioned that the separation of banking operations will have a negative effect on the earnings of banks. According to the ICB, the separation will cost approximately EUR 4-7 billion before tax. The acceptance of the proposal will be explained Monday to the parliament in an official statement.

According to official sources from the Greek government, 320.000 people have lost their jobs this year. This brings the total number of unemployment in Greece to 878.000 people, 18,4% of the Greek population. Greek unions warn that unemployment could reach 20 percent next year.

The 6M Euribor remained unchanged at 1,67%. The 10Y Swap declined by 4 basis points to 2,43%.

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