By Marc Chandler

This is a fairly busy week for European sovereign supply. Roughly 22 bln euros will be raised. This includes the 7.5 bln euros Italy raised yesterday by selling bonds and the 2.5 bln euros raised by Belgium in bills. Germany is seeking to raise 5 bln euros by selling 10 year bonds tomorrow and Portugal will sell bills. France and Spain plan on selling bonds on Thursday, Feb 2.

See results from the Mortgage Bankers Association's Refinance and Purchase Indexes as well as the weekly mortgage rates surveyed by Freddie Mac.

By Marc Chandler

The euro is racing higher after initially gapping lower in Asia on indications that the private sector involvement in Greece had hit another stumbling block ahead of today’s EU finance minister summit. It has moved above the $1.30 area in the European morning, for the first time since January 4. There are a few consideration prompting the continuation of the short-covering advance that began last week.

Colbert says "clearly, my fellow South Caroliniacs see me as the only viable "Mitt-ternative". Take a look.

So, is he running? Maybe. At least he’s got Jon Stewart to take over the Colbert Super PAC so he can run. It’s pretty easy too. Take a look and you’ll find out if he’s running.

By Claus Vistesen

Global stock markets are up about 10% since the beginning of the year, volatility has collapsed, US economic data continue to defy even the mild slowdown proponents and the ECB seems to have backstopped the European banking system.

By Edward Hugh

This post first appeared on my Roubini Global EconoMonitor Blog “Don’t Shoot The Messenger“.

That's the headline from my latest talk on RT's Alyona Show. Before I send you to the clip, let me explain my thinking because I don't think I was really clear in the video

Schneiderman Files Civil Fraud Lawsuit Against Three Major Banks for Use of MERS « naked capitalism New York filed a lawsuit against various units of JP Morgan, Bank of America, Wells, MERSCORP and MERS over their use of MERS in foreclosures. This civil suit alleges that the use of MERS has “resulted in a wide

First, the trajectory of monetary policy in the US, Europe, China and Japan is in a more accommodative direction. Second, the underlying economies are showing preliminary signs of stabilizing. Third, the combination of easing monetary conditions and economic stabilization has boost demand for higher risk assets. In addition to major equity markets, emerging markets off to a strong start. Funds that exited the emerging markets in Q4 11 return. This has helped fueled currency and asset (bonds and stocks) appreciation

By Marc Chandler

The Institute for Supply Management reports its January manufacturing survey on February 1. The Bloomberg consensus expects a small increase to 54.5 from 53.9. This would be the highest reading since last June. Yes, as the economy picked up some steam after a dismal first half, the manufacturing ISM trended lower.