Money Snatchers

Oh, and the haircut assumed by the ECB on sovereign debt in its stress tests?

The Greek press has started naming names as it looks for the culprits betting against its debt and the euro, and its accusation has been taken up by the blogosphere.

The IMF and the World Bank announced Tuesday they will support an international debt relief program of 1.6 billion dollars for Afghanistan after the war-ravaged country completed a number of important reforms.

A judge Friday halted Argentina’s plan to use $6.5 billion in reserves to pay the country’s debt — the issue in a feud between President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner and the central bank president she fired for trying to stop the procedure.

Officials in the United Arab Emirates tried Tuesday to calm investors and the public over the Dubai World debt crisis, and the company itself said it was seeking to renegotiate only the obligations held by its troubled real estate …

Unless we value fairness, reciprocity, and honest dealing, and the concept of balances — for debt and credit depend on them — and unless we are able to trust our systems, we would not be able to have debt and credit — no one would lend, because there would be no expectation of ever getting paid back.

We often talk about the bailout in terms of the increase in the national debt and the lack of transparency at major banks. Rarely do we discuss it in terms of the jobs and opportunities lost as a result of it.

The U.S. government has been plunging deeper and deeper into debt, and the White House expects the budget deficit to get close to $2 trillion by the end of the year.

May 27 — Sony Corp. had its debt rating cut one level by Moody’s Investors Service on concern slowing demand, increased competition and the stronger yen will erode earnings.