The Really Useless Thread

1. 2:51 PM Details of the draft Troika accord on Greece are beginning to hit the wires: The group expects 2012 GDP to shrink 5%, returning to growth in 2013. Greece agrees to 15K state job cuts in 2012, and 150K over the coming years. The minimum wage is to be cut 20%. Among state assets to be sold in H1 are Hellenic Petroleum, in H2, several ports and airports. 6 Comments
2. 
   12:20 PM Eurozone finance ministers will meet tomorrow in Brussels at 6 PM local time. The meeting presumably means Greece's ruling coalition members have agreed to the Troika's bailout terms, notes the FT's Chris Adams. Whatever. The euro and shares move a bit higher on the news. Comment!

1. 7:43 PM Japanese shares are lower today, as lack of a Greek debt deal weighs on the markets. The Nikkei Average is currently down -0.3% at 8,992, with major exporters leading declines: Sony (SNE -1.2%), Sharp (SPCAY.PK -0.7%), Elpida Memory (ELPDF.PK -2.1%) and Fujitsu (FJTSY.PK -1%). Comment!
2. IRL, EIRL
   3:39 PM Irish finmin Noonan suggests any help the ECB gives to Greece for its restructuring would be a precedent Dublin would use to gain similar concessions. Irish leaders talk a good game on home turf, but can be counted on to back down after being summoned to Brussels. 3 Comments
3. 
   3:22 PM The eurozone's EFSF rescue fund is looking to return to the bond market late this month or early next to raise funds necessary for Ireland's next disbursement. The fund is also moving forward with plans to leverage its capacity, with one of two mechanisms expected to be in place by month's end. 3 Comments

3:03 PM The euro and equities briefly poke a bit higher, but it's hard to construe anything bullish out of the Greek agreement, other than a staving off of a sloppy default for a few more weeks or months. The accord consigns the economy to even steeper contraction and may end up handing the government to the hard left in 2 months time