Euro worst crisis not yet over - FITCH
According to Fitch Ratings' quarterly investor survey, the majority of European investors believe buoyant financial markets do not reflect underlying weaknesses in the eurozone.
The doubters are in two camps; 29% who feel that this is a short lived period of market calm; and 30% who said markets are irrationally exuberant, ignoring the weak economic outlook for Europe. The remaining 41% of survey respondents think the worst of the crisis is over due to strong support from the ECB and policy makers.
There is a stark dichotomy between the continuing recession with rising unemployment across Europe and the rally in financial markets, in Fitch's view. If the latter is not validated by economic stabilization and progress towards banking union, the danger is that market volatility will return with a vengeance over the summer, as it did in 2012 and 2011.
In the survey, concern for the economy was also evident in investors' views on recession and inflation risk. 86% said a prolonged recession poses a high risk to the European credit markets, up from 69% in the last survey and an all-time high.
In a further indication of the low confidence in economic recovery, the survey respondents regarded inflation as unlikely, with only 9% of respondents ranking it as a high risk while more than three times as many (29%) regard deflation as a high risk.
Fitch conducted the Q2 2013 survey between 3rd April and 7th May. It represents the views of managers of an estimated EUR8.6trn of fixed income assets. We will publish the full survey results in mid May.
Source - Strategic Research Institute