Retirement Strategy: This Is Not A Dip, This Is What We Have Been Waiting For (Part 25)

By Simon Johnson The big question of the week in Europe is deceptively simple – will any countries that share the euro as their currency default on their government or bank debts in the foreseeable future?  The answer to this question determines how you regard bonds from countries such as Portugal, Spain, Italy, and Belgium.

It's been crystal clear for weeks, if not much longer, that Germany has been actively seeking to persuade Greece to abandon the Euro. Confirmation came on February 7 with Merkel's Official Denial "I will have no part in forcing Greece out of the euro"; Schäuble Starts Salami Tactics on German Participation, Calls for Vote .

Marc Chandler submits:German financial regulators announced an immediate ban on naked short sales of European government bonds, credit-default swaps, and shares of the top ten banks and insurers. This appeared to precipitate new euro selling that continued through the North American afternoon and into early Asian trading.Market participants concluded that the move was ill-thought out, uncoordinated, and likely ineffective.

By Regarded Solutions:This past week we have seen a bit of the pullback we have been waiting for. Moving ahead into this week, we face a weaker jobs number than expected and some headwinds from our favorite soap opera, the eurozone.

By Regarded Solutions:As promised in my previous articles, we will do a quick review today based on our purchases of additional shares during a "dip" (or actually starting a portfolio) on 11/23/2011.

The ECB stepped into the fray once again today but the the results of the Spanish debt auction today speak for themselves. The rate on 10-year bonds is close to touching the 7% mark. The BBC reports on the "Dreadful Result" The Spanish government sold 3.56bn euros (£3.04bn; $4.79bn) worth of bonds out of a maximum target of 4bn euros. The auction attracted bids worth 1.5 times the securities offered. The so-called bid-to-cover ratio was down from 1.8 in October.

Article written by Prieur du Plessis, editor of the Investment Postcards from Cape Town blog.Adam Hewison, charting strategist of INO.TV, brings you another edition of his invaluable service of daily technical updates on the ups and downs of various markets. This short analysis is a great tool for keeping one’s finger on the pulse and timing the markets.

Article written by Prieur du Plessis, editor of the Investment Postcards from Cape Town blog.Adam Hewison, charting strategist of INO.TV, brings you another edition of his invaluable service of daily technical updates on the ups and downs of various markets. This short analysis is a great tool for keeping one’s finger on the pulse and timing the markets.