Italy: Sells EUR9bn of Treasury bills as rates rise on contagion
Italy sold EUR9bn of Treasury bills at the highest rate since December amid concerns that the EU summit this week will fail to solve the sovereign-debt crisis. The Rome-based Treasury sold the 185-day bills at 2.957%, up from 2.104% at the last sale of similar maturity debt on 29 May. Investors bid for 1.62 times the amount offered, similar to the 1.61 times last month. (Bloomberg)
Portugal: Pledges to honour bailout terms, reforms
Portugal signaled on Wednesday it had no intention of requesting changes to the terms of its EUR78bn bailout, arguing that sticking to the plan was the only way to win credibility, Economy Minister Alvaro Santos Pereira said. He said that the country's strong commitment to the bailout terms has boosted credibility in the country and helped reduce its bond yields. (Reuters)
Spain: Sends alarm signal ahead of summit
Spain is determined to retain access to market funding and will push for European institutions to use available options to stabilize financial markets, premier Mariano Rajoy said, maintaining his policy stance ahead of the EU summit. Rajoy said he would fight to secure aid for the country's banks directly and without enhanced creditor status from Europe's rescue funds, but admitted that Spain would not be able continue financing itself at current yields for long. (Reuters)
EU: France and Germany in last-minute talks
Germany's Angela Merkel held last-minute talks Wednesday with French President Francois Hollande before a crucial EU summit but warned she would not budge in her opposition to pooling eurozone debt. In brief statements here in Paris both leaders made conciliatory gestures, with Hollande indicating he was ready to discuss further integration and the German chancellor hailing measures to promote eurozone growth. (AFP)
EU: Angela Merkel dismisses Spain’s and Italy's pleas for aid
Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel angrily rejected desperate pleading by Italy and Spain as a Franco-German rift over eurozone debt sharing threatened to unravel efforts to find a fix for the single currency at the EU summit on Thursday. Merkel told German MPs that instead of more cash, the eurozone needed to step up debt reduction and economic reforms. "I fear that at the summit we will talk too much about all these ideas for joint liability and too little about improved controls and structural measures," she said. (Bloomberg)
US: Pending home sales climb to two-year high in May
Contract signings on home sales surged in May to the highest level in two years, a trade group said Wednesday, as the good news from the brow-beaten sector continued to accumulate. Pending home sales climbed 5.9% in May, with an index reaching 101.1, the National Association of Realtors reported. The index matched the best level since the initially planned expiration of the home-buyer tax credit and was 13.3% above May 2011 levels. (MarketWatch)
US: Orders for durable goods climb in May
Orders for long-lasting US goods bounced back in May after two straight declines, as demand for aircraft and heavy machinery such as farm tractors increased. Durable goods orders rose a seasonally adjusted 1.1% last month, led by the commercial-aircraft sector, whose orders rose 4.9%. Orders for motor vehicles increased by 0.5%. Excluding the transportation segment, orders rose a smaller 0.4%. (MarketWatch)
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