Today's Headlines

Bloomberg:

• Third Greek Bailout Package Can't Be Exluded, Schaeuble Tells De Morgen. Greece can achieve the goal of cutting debt to 120.5 percent of economic output in 2020 though a third bailout for the nation can’t be excluded, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said in an interview with De Morgen. “Nobody can now exclude that Greece at a single moment may need a third bailout,” the Belgian newspaper quoted Schaeuble as saying. “I have all confidence that the measures that we have taken and that Greece must now implement -- no simple exercise -- will bring the country on the road to recovery.” Schaeuble also said he opposes broadening the European Central Bank’s mandate to something similar to that of the U.S. Federal Reserve, according to De Morgen. “The ECB cannot and must not finance state debt,” Schaeuble said in the interview. “The member states must do that themselves.”
• Portugal Yield at 13% Says Greek Deal Not Unique: Euro Credit. The good news is Greece won’t default on March 20, and 10-year borrowing costs for Spain and Italy have dropped below 5 percent. The bad news is similar- maturity Portuguese bonds still yield more than 13 percent. “The ECB liquidity is life support,” said Robin Marshall, director of fixed income in London at Smith & Williamson Investment Management, which oversees about $18 billion. “They’ve bought time but they must use the time to implement proper reform. It’s hard to see there not being more defaults, more private sector involvement. It makes it more likely we’re going to get another market rout later in the year.”
• Sovereign Bond Risk Rises After Greek Default Swaps Triggered. The cost of insuring against default on European sovereign bonds rose to the highest in eight weeks after the declaration of a credit event triggering $3.2 billion of Greek debt protection contracts. The Markit iTraxx SovX Western Europe Index of credit- default swaps on 15 governments rose four basis points to 355 at 11 a.m. in London, the highest since Jan. 18. Investors are betting against Europe's other troubled economies after the International Swaps & Derivatives Association's ruling bolstered confidence in the market for hedging sovereign bond holdings. "It was always likely that CDS would trigger," said Elisabeth Afseth, a strategist at Investec Bank Plc in London. "Confirmation may be giving bit of confidence that CDS is still useful as a hedge, and you could see the reason someone might want to protect the likes of Portugal on the back of that."
• Greece's College Students Fighting Stray Dogs as Austerity Deepens Despair. “People are pessimistic and sad,” said Konstantinos Markou, a 19-year-old law student, speaking in a lobby at the University of Athens, where dogs fought nearby and students say drug dealers and users congregate. “The sadness is all around the air.”
• Oil Declines on Signs Chinese Economic Growth Will Slow, Cutting Demand. Oil fell for the first time in four days after Chinese economic data signaled slower growth by the world’s second-largest user of crude. Futures dropped from a one-week high after China said on March 10 that the country’s trade deficit in February was the largest in at least 22 years. Government data also showed that China, the biggest consumer of crude after the U.S., had the weakest January-February factory-production gain since 2009 and retail sales below expectations. “The market is taking a hard look at what the situation is on the ground in China,” said John Kilduff, a partner at Again Capital LLC, a New York-based hedge fund that focuses on energy. “Their economic activity is very much in question.” Crude for April delivery declined $1.16, or 1.1 percent, to $106.24 a barrel at 1:10 p.m. on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Oil ended at $107.40 a barrel on March 9, the highest settlement since March 1. Prices are up 7.5 percent in 2012. Brent oil for April settlement on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange slid 87 cents, or 0.7 percent, to $125.11.
• Pandit Pay Climbs Toward $53 Million as Citigroup(C) Slumps. Citigroup Inc. (C), the second-worst performer in the KBW Bank Index (BKX) last year, is grappling with a revenue slump. Chief Executive Officer Vikram Pandit is not. Pandit’s $15 million pay package for 2011 and a multi-year retention package announced in May could total $53 million, based on regulatory filings and an analyst’s estimate. The CEO also received $80 million last year from the New York-based firm’s purchase of his Old Lane Partners LP hedge fund in 2007.

Wall Street Journal:

• Baker Hughes(BHI) Joins BP(BP), Schlumberger(SLB) On Talks to Upgrade Iraq Kirkuk Oil Field - Source.
• Four Veteran Ex-OPEC Oil Ministers Set Up Energy Alliance. Four former oil ministers of OPEC member states Iraq, Libya, Algeria and Nigeria have set up an international energy alliance to tackle various energy issues, the four said in an announcement late Sunday.
• French Authorities Reject Finance Pact. France's local authorities have refused to sign a stability pact with the government to help shore up the country's finances, said French Budget Minister Valérie Pécresse Monday.
• Angola Oil Minister Says Return to 2008 Oil Prices Could Endanger Economy. A return to oil prices not seen since 2008 could endanger the global economy, Angola's oil minister said Monday, the latest crude producer to acknowledge Middle-Eastern tensions may be pushing oil futures too high.
  

CNBC.com:

• High Gas Prices Threaten Stock Market Gains: Report. If history is any indication, the stock market could soon lose the resilience it has shown so far in the face of soaring oil and gasoline prices, says a new report from Morgan Stanley.
• Romney Hits Obama on Jobs. A day before two Southern primaries, Mitt Romney campaigned in Alabama on Monday, his 65th birthday, talking of eating catfish and hunting and appearing with comedian Jeff Foxworthy, famous for his "redneck" jokes.

Business Insider:

• The Chinese Housing Bust in 3 Huge Slides.
• The Mobile Gold Rush Is Not Even Close To Peaking.
• Brand New Numbers: Here's Who's Footing The Bill For Greece's Default.
• Obama's Poll Ratings Are Tanking Again. Obama's poll ratings are falling, and he's looking weak against his Republican opponents. That's the gist of a new WaPo/ABC poll. In the new poll, 46 percent approve of the way Obama is handling his job; 50 percent disapprove. That’s a mirror image of his 50 to 46 positive split in early February. The downshift is particularly notable among independents — 57 percent of whom now disapprove — and among white people without college degrees, with disapproval among this group now topping approval by a ratio of more than 2 to 1, at 66 versus 28 percent. These groups are also the ones whose shifting support has re-shuffled prospective general-election matchups. Among registered voters, Obama is now on par with Romney (47 percent for the president, 49 percent for Romney) and Santorum (49 to 46 percent). Previously, Obama held significant advantages over both.

Zero Hedge:

• The Greek PSI Lawsuits Begin.
• Mark Grant on the Increased Risks of Owning European Sovereign/Bank Debt.
• Market Shorts at 4 Year Lows, In Hibernation for Second Straight Month. (graph)
• Is The ECB Masking Accelerating Deposit Flight In Italy and Spain?
  

New York Times:

• Report Shows Depth of the Distress in Europe. While the European Central Bank’s emergency loan program late last year helped avoid a banking crisis, there is doubt over whether the action will promote economic growth by encouraging lending to businesses and consumers, according to a new report by the Bank for International Settlements.

Reuters:

• Copper Snaps 3-Day Rally as China Concern Weighs.

Telegraph:

• Forget 'Economic Spring' - Greek Outlook is Stormy. While last week's debt swap was obviously important, there is still a very real danger of Greece needing yet another bail-out quite soon and eventually leaving the euro.

Financial Post:

• High-Yielding New Greek Bonds Fail to Lure Investors. Investors shied away from new, post-swap, Greek bonds on their first trading day on Monday, as some of the highest yields in the government debt universe were not enough to offset fears of another default or a euro zone break-up. Investors demanded yields of between roughly 14 and 19 percent to buy the new bonds. Unusually, yields on the paper maturing earlier were higher than on longer-term debt. This inversion can indicate investors fear a default. Exotix, a brokerage firm specialised in distressed debt, said Greece was the third highest yielding country in the world behind Cyprus in first place and the central American state of Belize. Debt issued by countries that rating agencies view as “highly speculative”, such as Pakistan, Iraq or Venezuela yielded less than the new Greek bonds.

Shanghai Daily:

• Sales and Supply of New Homes in Shanghai Fall. THE sales and supply of new residential properties in Shanghai declined last week, snapping a five-week rally that began from the end of the Spring Festival holiday, according to market data released yesterday. The buying of new homes, excluding government-funded affordable housing, fell 25.8 percent on a weekly basis to 149,400 square meters over seven days ended Sunday, Shanghai Deovolente Realty Co said.

Economic Information Daily:

• China's debt for road construction may have exceeded 5 trillion yuan, citing Li Zhijun, a member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference. Outstanding debt on toll roads was 2.35 trillion yuan at the end of 2010, Li said.