By Erik Kirschbaum BERLIN | Wed May 16, 2012 2:16am EDT BERLIN (Reuters) - Political spouses sometimes provide a spot of glamour. Then there is Joachim Sauer, a professor of theoretical chemistry. Sauer is the husband of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, arguably the world's most powerful woman. He never speaks to the media and only rarely appears in public with his wife. He skipped her inauguration in 2005, drawing media wrath for watching the event on TV at his Berlin university. A German newspaper once said he was as "invisible as a molecule." His surname means "angry" or "sour."He has made headlines for his frugality, too. In April, he flew alone on a budget airline to Italy, where he and Merkel were to holiday, instead ...
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15 May 2012 6:11 AM (EDT) Fitch Ratings-London-15 May 2012: European investors are moving towards the possibility of another long-term refinancing operation (LTRO) next year, according to Fitch Ratings' quarterly credit market investor survey. Fitch believes that another round of cheap three-year financing from the European Central Bank will be necessary for some banks because they will not have been able to deleverage sufficiently by the time the second LTRO needs to be repaid. The survey highlighted investors' concerns over eurozone banks' funding problems. 38% of respondents thought a third LTRO would be necessary compared with 16% who thought the near EUR1bn of three-year funding released so far should buy enough time to address banks' structural funding imbalances. Additionally, 25% of investors said they would ... Continue reading →
