JAPAN - The Tokyo market slumped to a 28-year low on Monday as Asian shares dived on fears of a nightmare scenario of eurozone breakup, US economic relapse and a sharp slowdown in China. "Investors are just fleeing risk assets," said ATI Asset Management chief investment officer Simon Burge.
EUROPE - Eurozone governments have around three months to ensure the survival of the single currency, billionaire investor George Soros said in a speech on Saturday. “We are at an inflection point. After the expiration of the three months’ window, the markets will continue to demand more but the authorities will not be able to meet their demands,” he warned in a speech at the Festival of Economics in Trento, Italy.
EUROPE - The euro has essentially broken down as a viable economic and political undertaking. The latest rush of events reeks of impending denouement. Switzerland is threatening capital controls to repel bank flight from Euroland. The Swiss two-year note has fallen to -0.32 per cent, not that it seems to make any difference.
GERMANY/ISRAEL - Israel is arming submarines supplied and largely financed by Germany with nuclear-tipped cruise missiles, influential German news weekly Der Spiegel reports in its issue to be published on Monday. The magazine said in a cover story that Berlin had until now denied any knowledge that German submarines were being used as part of an Israeli atomic arsenal.
VATICAN - Pope Benedict got no rest on Sunday from a leaks scandal when an Italian newspaper published documents showing that his butler was not the only person in possession of confidential correspondence indicating a Vatican in disarray.
USA - Fear and uncertainty are preventing companies from making long-term investments in America, says former Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan. Meanwhile, investors could turn on the country in a moment's notice thanks to political unwillingness to tackle deficits, which would send markets tanking and interest rates soaring, Greenspan adds.
INDIA - Jintu Gogoi's neighbourhood in Sadiya, Upper Assam, is no longer friendly. Over two weeks ago, an army of eight-legged freaks invaded it. It all happened in the evening on May 8.
USA - Head of World Bank warns Europe is heading for 'danger zone' as world markets suffer bleakest day of the year so far. Raft of dismal news from around world wreaked havoc on market. Manufacturing output crashed in Britain, jobless up in Europe and US. Fast-emerging economies such as Brazil and China running out of steam
USA - A confidence-crushing May jobs report has turned market talk back to the idea of more Federal Reserve easing. But the question is: How much more can the central bank do with Treasury yields at record lows.
EUROPE - The summer of 2012 is looking like an “eerie” echo of 2008 but euro zone sovereign debt has replaced mortgages as the risky asset class that markets are anxious about, said Robert Zoellick, President of the World Bank.
VATICAN - The murky saga of the leaked Vatican documents has damaged the worldwide image of the Catholic Church, just as it was trying to recover from the paedophile priest scandals, writes Nick Squires. Its massive walls, topped by stone eagles and statues of saints, dwarf the crowds of tourists queuing to see the treasures inside its museums.
GERMANY - Violent clashes have broken out in Germany between the supporters and opponents of the neo-Nazi movement. Hamburg police have detained over 700 people after the demonstrators started throwing projectiles, injuring several officers.
SPAIN - Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy tried to play down fears the country would need an international bailout, saying the country would eventually find its way out of the financial crisis on its own. After a dismal week that saw the country's borrowing costs soar, Rajoy, speaking at an economic forum in Sitges in eastern Spain, said he was sending a "message of calm".
GERMANY - German Chancellor Angela Merkel hardened her opposition to joint debt sharing in the euro region as President Barack Obama singled out Europe’s leaders for not doing enough to arrest the financial crisis.
LONDON, UK - All eyes on Threadneedle Street this week as the City waits (prays) for the Bank of England to fire up its magic money machine at the June gathering of the monetary policy committee. Apart from the economic repercussions of the MPC's deliberations, the two-day meeting gives it a shot at making history and becoming the first body to summon the fortitude to resist the charms of Christine Lagarde, beguiling head of the International Monetary Fund.