Economist Tim Duy discusses the weaknesses in the debt deal designed to save the Eurozone, and explains why it was destined to fail. It appears Greek leaders were never comfortable with the parameters of the agreement formed by other European politicians last week, and holders of Greek bonds even less so. It appears bondholders are not as willing to take a 50% loss on investment as once though, and now Spain is showing further signs of weakness as its GDP grinds to a halt. Duy speculates that deal details that were expected to take a few months to iron out will now take much longer while the Eurozone sinks deeper into debt and the U.S. teeters on the edge of another full-blown recession. For more on this continue reading the following article from Economists View.
Tim Duy:
Did The European Deal Just Collapse?, by Tim Duy: To be sure, I have been bearish on Europe. From last week:
I remain something of a Euroskeptic at this point.
Consumer packaging maker Silgan Holdings Inc. said Wednesday it will acquire Graham Packaging Co. in a cash-and-stock deal valued at $1.28 billion.
The companies say the deal will create a stronger force in creating packaging for beverage, food and consumer products ranging from sports drinks and beer to personal care products and motor oil.
Silgan said it will have 17,000 employees and 180 manufacturing facilities in 19 countries once the deal is completed. It expects the combined company will achieve $50 million in cost savings by the third year after the sale closes.
The companies expect the sale to close in the third quarter if regulators and shareholders approve.
Silgan is offering 0.402 shares and $4.75 in cash for each Graham share, valuing the company at $19.56 per share. That’s a premium of 17.1 percent to Tuesday’s closing price.
Graham shares rose $2.54, or 15.2 percent, to $19.25 in premarket trading. They have traded between $10.32 and $18.07 in the last year.
The U.S. Open is in full swing, and ticket resellers are serving great deals—at least if you’re interested in catching players in early rounds before the competition really heats up.
Prices for the first rounds of the tournament, which began Monday and wraps up Sept. 12, are lower than last year’s. First-round tickets are currently going for $109, a 13% decrease, according to ticket-search site FanSnap.com. Even quarterfinals prices, at an average $247 per ticket, are 12% cheaper than in 2009.
Like other major sporting events, the U.S. Open is still recovering from consumers’ cutbacks during the recession. “Demand is starting to pick back up,” says Robert Tuchman, the executive vice president for Premiere Sports Travel, which creates sports travel packages. “If [the Open] is something on your bucket list, this would be the year to cross it off.”
Would-be attendees can expect more movement in the price market as early matches determine which fan favorites move forward, says Christian Anderson, a spokesman for FanSnap.com. In pa