Short-dated euro zone bond yields jumped on Tuesday, calmed by central banks' efforts to shore up liquidity, and as the focus turned to the Federal Reserve's two-day policy meeting that begins later in the day.
German investor sentiment tumbled in March as concerns about a new financial crisis ended a five-month streak of consecutive increases, the ZEW economic research institute said on Tuesday. The institute's index assessing the outlook for the economy over the next six months fell by 15.1 points to a reading of 13.0 in March, below the 17.1 forecast of analysts polled by Reuters.
* March reading of 13.0 vs expected 17.1. * Ends five-month streak of increases. * Uncertainty over banks reflected in dip. German investor sentiment tumbled in March as concerns about a new financial crisis ended a five-month streak of consecutive increases, the ZEW economic research institute said on Tuesday.
German investor sentiment fell more than expected in March, the ZEW economic research institute said on Tuesday. The institute's economic sentiment index decreased to 13.0 from 28.1 in February. A Reuters poll had pointed to a March reading of 17.1.
Greek central bank chief Yannis Stournaras sees no danger of a new banking crisis in his country, he told German business daily Handelsblatt in comments published on Monday. "Greek banks are more resilient than they were a few years ago and have more cushion to absorb the impact of a financial crisis," Stournaras told Handelsblatt.
Trading in short-dated German government bond futures was briefly interrupted due to volatility after the European Central Bank's rates decision on Thursday, a spokesperson for Eurex said on Friday. "There was a short volatility interruption in Schatz Futures from 14:15:11 14:15:44 yesterday," the spokesperson said, referring to derivatives tied to two-year German bonds.
The market for German government securities is functioning well, although current market volatility could affect how banks participate at auctions, the German debt agency told Reuters on Thursday.
Credit Suisse is not a core bank for Deutsche Post, the German postal company said on Thursday. Credit Suisse has assured Post that it has no liquidity problem, especially after support from Switzerland's central bank was pronounced, Post added.
A technical recession, consisting of two consecutive quarters of economic decline, can no longer be ruled out, the German economy ministry said on Thursday. "However, the positive trend in economic and leading indicators suggests that the expected economic downturn is likely to be rather limited and temporary," the ministry said in its monthly report.
The German economy will be unable to escape a recession in 2023, but following two quarterly contractions in the winter it will start its recovery in spring, the Ifo economic institute said. In the first quarter, gross domestic product is expected to contract by 0.2%, according to Ifo's forecasts published on Wednesday. A recession is commonly defined as two successive quarters of contraction.
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