Many of you may be asking yourself, “what’s changed since last week with the EU bailout?” One would think there would surely be some sort of news or development concerning the exact structure of this plan, rumored to be a sovereign debt backstop of $1 trillion USD. Is there surely some plan moving forward?

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While history may paint our stance with the heavy brush of criticism, we’re going on the record to call increased volatillity and a lower close on the S&P 500 by week’s end. We feel it is our duty to yell from the rooftops just how treacherous the current developments in world markets have become. While we won’t stamp corny metaphors to the ailing sovereign debt markets, wasting your time with visions of ships and storms, we do pray that readers appreciate the urgency of this week’s Weekly Spectrum.

In plain English and within the scope of Econ 101, the infamous Nouriel Roubini weighs in on the recently announced $1 Trillion EU debt purchase backstop; discounting its potential for success and identifying roadblocks that may lead to failure.

Specifically, Roubini states that despite the “money on the table”, the following three headwinds oppose a return of normalcy in the European Union’s debt markets.

Last week was a ROUT. There’s no other way to put it. While we suspect this week will start off with some trading traction, it may not end looking much better. What is certain, is that geopolitical uncertainties in Europe look to be trumping economic data in a slow week for U.S. macro indicators. This week’s Weekly Spectrum is then more focused on the geopolitical risks surrounding the EU TARP style debt purchase program nearly $1 Trillion large, power transitions in the UK and Germany, and a few economic reports due out later in the week in the U.S.

With the Euro diving, Greek Bonds selling off, CDS spreads widening, and now members of the EU fearing contagion risks are growing, the importance of budget cuts in Greece coming to pass has come to center stage of the European debacle.

What will happen if the citizens of Greece defy these cuts and drag out the process until market speculators have driven the continent and it’s mutual currency to it’s breaking point?

Greece, Greece, Greece… Is that Papa guy ever going to get his act together and accept a check from the EU? is it 45 billion or 100 billion Euros now? What’s the deal with these riots in Athens?

Chances are you have answers to these questions, and a few extra cents to contribute to the issue. Frankly, that’s what the comment box is for, and we won’t waste time on the issue beyond these next few words.

If you ducked out of the office for a three day weekend and missed the news regarding Goldman Sachs and Greece on Friday, you may be rolling up your sleeves to a few surprises that will cast a dark shadow on the April 19 week’s market action.

Mainly, Goldman Sachs (GS) has been charged with fraud by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), linked to a Credit Default Swap (CDS) mechanism known as “Abacus”.

The “bond king” of PIMCO, Bill Gross, tells Bloomberg and the world his strategy on the issue of Greek debt… “Stay away!” In the interview, Gross explains recent moves of the Absolute Return PIMCO fund, including record low holdings of Long Term U.S. debt and increased holdings of “core” European bonds, most notably Germany. Having
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Even after the TARP fund liquidity injections in the U.S. financial sector in 2008, the E.U. has decided to bail out one of it’s member states, Greece, from insolvency. How can this even be considered? Yes, the EU constitution is a whopping 7 years young and therefore demands a minuscule thread of adherence by member states,
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Following the pre-market release of earnings from Bank of America (BAC) on Monday, U.S. equity futures were down sharply across the board. BAC reported 2009 Q1 earnings of $0.44 per share compared to $0.23 per share a year earlier and analysts expectations of $0.04. B of A will present the firm's financial situation in a
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