Now that the LTRO flop has been digested, one of the more curious explanations for the failure comes from Citi's Steven Englander, who suggests that, surprise, surprise, Italian banks were lying yesterday when they said that they were ready and willing to buy Italian debt with LTRO proceeds.And:
To wit: " One dose of cold water were comments from the Italian Bank Association that EBA rules won’t permit Italian banks to buy sovereign debt – this is a complete reversal from reports yesterday that indicated that Italian bank collateral would benefit from government guarantees in going to the ECB and lead to incremental Italian bank buying of sovereign debt."
Gee: someone lying? NAR who could possibly conceive of that... And more to the point, Englander has an interesting observations on the market reaction to the upcoming French downgrade: "the S&P downgrade of euro zone sovereigns is hanging over the market but there is no definite timing – every day brings one rumor or another of an imminent moves....MORE
In Renewed Push For QE3, Bank Of America Says EURUSD Squeeze Has Run Course, Sets New Short With 1.2510 Target
It is no secret that US banks are pushing hard for a big market dump: after all that is the only thing that could unleash QE either in Europe, or far more likely, in the US. Whether that means the Fed will much more aggressively monetize US or, as discussed yesterday European debt, remains unclear, but one thing is certain: US and European banks for the most part loathe the LTRO as it simply delays the day of printing and buys the banks time they don't need and can't afford. Which is why Bank of America, as it is the most exposed to a world without QE, was the first to jump in and demand the market crash itself, by presenting an FX note saying the EURUSD "squeeze has run its course" and is proceeding to sell the EURUSD at 1.3045 with a target of 1.2510....MORE
