SHARE
COPY LINK

PRESIDENTIAL

French bonds down after Hollande win

The interest rate on France's benchmark 10-year bonds opened down slightly on Monday then stabilised after Socialist candidate Francois Hollande won the French presidential election.

The measured reaction contrasts with concerns that his victory could trigger a run on French debt, force up bond yields and derail Paris’ deficit-cutting plan.

At 0610 GMT yields were 2.810 percent, up from 2.809 at Friday’s close.

However, at Capital Spreads in London, trader Nam Truong commented that the votes in France and Greece “brought eurozone fears back to the fore.”

He said: “The strong bond formed between Merkel and Sarkozy has been broken and investors are concerned that austerity talks between Merkel and Hollande will collide and if additional stimulus will be used to prop up ailing eurozone economies.”

He noted that “Hollande told supporters in Tulle in central France – ‘Austerity is not an inevitability’.” 

And he commented that in Greece “if a majority coalition cannot be agreed another election is likely to be called bringing new political and economic uncertainty.”

At IG Markets, institutional trader Chris Weston said that among negative headlines for financial markets as the week begins were “Mr. Hollande’s (much expected) victory in the French elections” and “most prominently uncertainties around the Greek election.”

He suggested that a coalition to emerge from the Greek election may seek changes to austerity measures demanded by the European Union and International Monetary Fund in return for releasing rescue funds by stages. He also noted that the IMF had suggested it would “withhold aid if the new austerity measures are not finalised.”

Weston said that it might not matter who formed the new Greek government “as long as the $3 billion (2.3 billion euros) in initial spending cuts and $11 billion in cuts to be identified for 2013/14 are realised.”

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.

CLIMATE

Swedish central bank sells bonds ‘for climate reasons’

Sweden's Riksbank has sold government bonds issued by Canadian and Australian states "for climate reasons", in one of the first cases of a central bank joining the global divestment movement.

Swedish central bank sells bonds 'for climate reasons'
The Bulga Coal complex in New South Wales, Australia. Photo: Glencore
Deputy Governor Martin Flodén revealed on Wednesday that the bank had in April divested itself of bonds issued by the Canadian province of Alberta, and more recently sold bonds issued by the Australian states of Queensland and Western Australia. 
 
“We will not invest in assets issued by issuers with a large climate footprint,” he explained in a speech at Örebro University on Wednesday.  “Australia and Canada are countries that are not known for good climate work. Greenhouse gas emissions per capita are among the highest in the world.” 
 
Flodén said the move followed a decision last year by the bank's executive board to take sustainability into account when making investment decisions. 
 
“We can contribute to the climate work to some extent by giving consideration to sustainability aspects when investing in the foreign exchange reserves,” Flodén said. “We are now doing this by rejecting issuers who have a large climate footprint.” 
 
Alberta's tar sands are some of the most polluting hydrocarbons in the world, while Queensland and Western Australia host some of the world's biggest coal mines. 
 
In a statement emailed to reporters, Christine Myatt, spokeswoman for Alberta Premier Jason Kenney, insisted that Alberta had the “highest environmental standards in the world”.  
 
“If the Swedish central bank is really concerned with making a difference on climate change they need to be investing more in ethical producers such as Alberta which have shown dramatic gains in reducing emissions,” she said. 
 
The City of Örebro was the first Swedish city to commit to pull its funds out of fossil fuels, following the example of cities like San Francisco, Seattle and the Dutch town of Boxte.

 
In his speech, Flodén said he had doubts about taking a more active approach to sustainability, and investing foreign exchange reserves directly “in particularly climate-friendly assets, such as green bonds.” 
 
Sweden's reserves, he explained, are currently invested solely in government bonds, something the bank was reluctant to change.  
 
“This is partly to hold down financial risks, and partly because monetary policy, apart from determining the general interest-rate level, should disturb pricing on the financial markets as little as possible.” 
 
This means that central banks can only have a limited role in pushing the world towards a greener economy, he said. 
 
“This is entirely natural,” he said. “The important decisions on how climate change should be counteracted in Sweden are political and should be taken by the government and the parliament.”
 
SHOW COMMENTS