• Investors looking for a quick boost to IMF firepower were dealt a set back yesterday as both Japanese and German officials insisted that a lot more progress had to be made on EU fiscal integration. This point was made as various governments were bemoaning the difficulty of pushing a far-reaching EU integration pact through their national parliaments. From the Financial Times.
• The Italian 5-year bonds auctioned today yielded 6.5%, an euro-era high. The yield was off the highs in the secondary market leading up to the auction, but the rate is clearly unsustainable in the long run. From Reuters News.
• CME Group Chairman Terrence Duffy told a Senate panel yesterday that Jon Corzine knew MF Global had made a loan out of segregated customer accounts. He was told of the discrepancy last week as CME auditors recounted their conversations with MF Global employees while examining money differences. The information is third hand, but it may point investigators in the right direction to track missing funds. From Bloomberg News.
• OPEC officials predict a status quo outcome for production quotas today. Venezuela was a hold out, but it appears production at 30m barrels a day will prevail. From the Wall Street Journal.