Top Interest Rate Headlines 03-12-2012: Deficit Rose In February, On Pace To Top $1T Again

Deficit rose in February, on pace to top $1T again
Associated Press
The U.S. federal deficit was slightly smaller through the first five months of the budget year than the previous year. Still, the imbalance is on pace to exceed $1 trillion for the fourth straight year, which could be an issue in this year's presidential election.
http://jlne.ws/zpsrtB

Egypt Budget Deficit May Reach $25 Billion, Official Says
Bloomberg
Egypt’s Ministry of Finance expects the budget deficit for the fiscal year that ends in June to widen to 150 billion Egyptian pounds ($25 billion), higher than previously forecast, the state-run Middle East News Agency said.
http://jlne.ws/x8TXjT

Juncker Expects Spain to Reach Its 2013 Budget-Deficit Goal
Bloomberg
Spain will reach its goal of getting its budget deficit within the European Union’s limit next year, said Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker, who also heads the group of euro-area finance chiefs.
http://jlne.ws/xAGqc2

Bond holders seek court date with Greek banks and state
Athens News
Lawyers in Germany representing 110 Greek bond holders said on Monday they have formed a class action group and intend to sue banks and the Greek state following last week's Greek bond swap, which slashed more than 100 billion euros from Athens' debt.
http://jlne.ws/AFkxGk

Treasury 3-Year Notes Go At 0.456% High Yield
The Bond Buyer
The Treasury Department Monday auctioned $32 billion of three-year notes with a 3/8% coupon at a 0.456% yield, a price of 99.758927.
http://jlne.ws/AdsFFo

DTCC Prepares to Launch New Central Counterparty for Mortgage-Backed Securities Trading
Zecco
The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) announced today that the Securities and Exchange Commission has approved its application to operate a new central counterparty (CCP) designed to reduce risk and costs in the $100-trillion-a-year market for U.S. mortgage-backed securities (MBS).
http://jlne.ws/wpwui9

Portugal Yield at 13% Says Greek Deal Not Unique
The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) announced today that the Securities and Exchange Commission has approved its application to operate a new central counterparty (CCP) designed to reduce risk and costs in the $100-trillion-a-year market for U.S. mortgage-backed securities (MBS).
http://jlne.ws/zb6hqo

Meredith Whitney was right
CNN Money/Fortune
The more general point that Meredith Whitney was trying to make about public debt -- that municipal finances in this country were a mess that was only going to get messier -- was dead on.
http://jlne.ws/yfyL5r

NYSE Euronext and Bloomberg Deliver a Fully Integrated OMS for Fixed Income Clients
Press Release
NYSE Euronext's fixed income trading platform, NYSE Bonds, and Bloomberg Trade Order Management Solutions (TOMS) now offer sell-side fixed income dealers an integrated platform to access the U.S. corporate bond market. Dealers using Bloomberg TOMS, the leading order management platform for U.S. fixed income securities, can now trade on the NYSE Bonds marketplace via the Bloomberg Professional® service, which is used globally by more than 310,000 subscribers.
http://jlne.ws/AC5gka

Vietnam Central Bank to Cut Rates
The Wall Street Journal
Vietnam's central bank cut interest rates Monday in response to markedly lower inflation, in a well-flagged move that some analysts say could put some strain on weaker banks.
http://jlne.ws/zuPuZq

Wells Fargo May Lead Payouts After Fed Test
Bloomberg
Wells Fargo & Co. (WFC) and Citigroup Inc. (C) may join banks unleashing more than $9 billion in dividend increases and share buybacks if they get passing grades this week on the Federal Reserve’s annual stress test.
http://jlne.ws/AzUnGH

Portugal Gradually Shuffles Its Way Up Towards The Front Of The Debt Queue
CreditWriteDowns
Well, a weekend during which Greece seems to have been finally able to pass muster on its bond deal, while Mario Draghi has given the official “all clear” on the debt crisis seems to be as good a moment as any to have a look at where the country which many investors consider likely to be the next to enter the restructuring process is up to.
http://jlne.ws/w1EQOO

Credit Event Auction Primer
The credit markets have experienced a wave of continuous global innovation since the advent of credit default swaps. Indeed, single-name credit default swaps have continually been improving to make the product as useful and liquid as the market can make them.
http://jlne.ws/xa1Wzz