Power Lunch Power Lunch Europe

Bond traders and officials at the European Central Bank have been unified in their warnings that a restructuring of Greece’s debt would set off an investor panic similar to the one that followed the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers, the New York Times reports. 

The French finance minister, Christine Lagarde, was on a panel at the World Economic Forum in Davos this January when her usual smile turned into a frown. Next to her, Robert E. Diamond Jr., chief executive of Barclays and one of the most powerful bankers in the world, thanked regulators and finance ministers for their role in shaping a better environment after the financial crisis.

Restructuring Greece’s debt is both desirable and inevitable, despite insistence from European Union officials over the weekend that the idea is off the table, reports the New York Times.

The most sought-after pundits have been signed to long-term contracts worth over $100,000; some even have deals with several outlets.  "As long as you have an English accent," one expert joked, "you'll work." The New York Times reports.

At least two sons of Col. Muammar el-Gaddafi are proposing a resolution to the Libyan conflict that would entail pushing their father aside to make way for a transition to a constitutional democracy under the direction of his son Seif al-Islam el-Qaddafi, a diplomat and a Libyan official briefed on the plan said Sunday, the New York Times reported.

As Europe struggles to come to grips with its debt crisis, which has deepened with the collapse of Portugal’s government after it pushed for yet another round of budget cuts, three numbers stand out: 12.4, 9.8 and 7.8, reports the New York Times.

As Japan’s nuclear crisis intensified Wednesday, governments across Europe remained at odds over whether to scale back nuclear power programs or continue plans to expand, reports the New York Times.

Many economists think he should be the next person to run the European Central Bank. But among government leaders in Berlin and Paris, where many of Europe’s most important decisions are made, Mario Draghi, the governor of the Bank of Italy, generates a palpable lack of enthusiasm, reports the New York Times.

The Egyptian military defends the country, but it also runs day care centers and beach resorts.  Since the ouster last week of President Hosni Mubarak, of course, the military also runs the government. And some say it has already begun taking steps to protect the privileges of its gated economy, reports the New York Times.

Spanish savings banks, which have been ordered to raise more capital by the government, are facing an uphill struggle to persuade investors to help them improve their balance sheets, reports the New York Times.

The French financial markets regulator has begun to require hedge funds and other investment managers to disclose their short positions when they reach 0.5 percent of a company’s outstanding stock, reports the New York Times.

A central banker need not be loved, but at the least he should command respect — and in Britain these days Mervyn King cannot count on either, reports the New York Times.

As protests continued for a 12th day, Egypt's newly named vice president and other top military leaders were discussing steps to limit President Mubarak’s decision-making authority and possibly remove him from the presidential palace in Cairo, the NYT reports.

When the heads of the EU meet in Brussels on Friday, they will hear new ideas on how to save the euro, delivered by Mrs. Merkel and the French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, but written largely in Berlin, reports the New York Times.

Chief executives, government leaders and academics around the world are headed to Davos, Switzerland, for the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting this week — a heady power gathering that mixes business, politics and Champagne in the Swiss Alps.

On Saturday, Estonia completes its trip from Soviet republic to full-fledged member of the euro zone, reports the New York Times.

The euro once meant flush banks and easy credit, but these days it has laid bare a cold reality: Portugal shares the high wages and prices of richer northern European neighbors, but not their competitiveness, reports the New York Times.

When interest rates soared last week on Irish government bonds, it served as a warning to other indebted nations of how difficult it could be to roll back decades of public sector largess. The New York Times reports.

Covered bonds, a financing tool that has been popular in Europe since the 18th century, are winning converts here as a new way to finance residential and commercial mortgages, reports the New York Times.