Country Profile: Ireland

Eurozone mortgage borrowing grew last month at the fastest pace in almost two years in a sign that bank lending across the 16-country region may be flickering back to life. Lending for house purchases rose at an annual rate of 3.4 per cent in June – the fastest since September 2008, according to European Central Bank data published on Tuesday. The acceleration pointed to a revival in consumer confidence and an increased willingness by banks to fuel the economic recovery with loans to the private sector.

So is this really the good news it seems to be? Well the answer is (as usual) yes and no. The problem is that behind the positive aggregate data lie the individual national details (you know, the place where the devil is usually to be found), and when.....

"Eurozone mortgage borrowing grew last month at the fastest pace in almost two years in a sign that bank lending across the 16-country region may be flickering back to life. Lending for house purchases rose at an annual rate of 3.4 per cent in June – the fastest since September 2008, according to European Central Bank data published on Tuesday. The acceleration pointed to a revival in consumer confidence and an increased willingness by banks to fuel the economic recovery with loans to the private sector."

Euro banks rallied nicely on Monday after results of the EU's stress test indicated there are essentially no problems in the European banking system. The stress tests have been heavily criticized as a whitewash and a cynical PR maneuver, however. Nevertheless, rallies in bank stocks are continuing today on earnings reports from UBS (UBS), Deutsche Bank (DB), Societe Generale (SCGLY.PK) and Credit Agricole (CRARY.PK).

Of the 91 EU banks analyzed for the stress tests, only seven failed - five in Spain, one in Germany and only one in Greece. No bank in Portugal

A Morgan Stanley report called "Transparency & Spanish stresses help, although lots of missed opportunities" shows how Europe's bank stress tests were far more harsh towards nations such as Greece and Spain vs. other European nations such as Germany, France, the U.K., and Ireland.

While it makes sense to assume harder conditions in weaker economies, when creating a negative economic scenario in a stress test, were the stress tests too easy for certain nations?

Like a swart rider thundering across the plains of Europe and the misty steppes of Asia, the black iPhone 4 is entering Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, New Zealand, Singapore, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland on Friday, adding to those countries’ already high happiness indices.

Not much more than that (I’m sure your local blogs will share with you the local prices in drachmas, pesos, pfennigs or whatever it is .....

The iPhone 4’s international roll-out begins in earnest this week. Come Friday, July 30, the device will go on sale in 17 more countries–Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, New Zealand, Singapore, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland. Left off the roll-out roll call, much to the dismay of its citizens, is South Korea, where regulatory issues are reportedly slowing things down. By September, the iPhone 4 should be in stores in 87 countries, making its global

Pretty weak based on this WSJ article. Notably because:

The tests ultimately didn't look at the possibility of a sovereign default

Yeah, because that's a super low probability event that would cause a massive problem across a multitude of European banks.