DUE TO POWER OUTAGES, LAST WEEK ‘S BLOG WAS POSTED LATE. SORRY FOR ANY INCONVENIENCES.

1. White House to ease home refinancing — In an effort to boost the economy, President Obama is set to today announce an overhaul of the underused HARP program to make it easier for underwater homeowners to refinance their mortgages. The changes will include allowing borrowers to obtain cheaper loans regardless of how far their homes have dropped in value, thereby eliminating previous limits.
2. German parliament backs more EFSF firepower — the German Bundestag passed a motion effectively giving Chancellor Angela Merkel permission to work toward a plan to boost the lending power of the 440 billion euro ($613 billion) European Financial Stability Facility. The measure outlined two strategies for levergaing the fund that won’t require additional contributions from member states.
3. Italian government on the brink as EU plan stalls — the Italian government and a broad European plan to save the euro were both at risk, with Premier Silvio Berlusconi locked in a high-stakes battle with coalition partners to muster support for emergency growth measures demanded by the European Union.
4. U.S. economy grows 2.5% in third quarter — U.S. growth accelerated in the third quarter as consumers and businesses ramped up spending, a report that shows the economy remained resilient in the face of strong headwinds. Gross domestic product in the July-through-September period expanded at a 2.5% annual rate. That’s nearly double the 1.3% rate of growth in the second quarter and much faster than the first quarter’s tepid increase of 0.4%.
5. EU agrees debt deal; 50% Greek debt haircut — Europe will also boost rescue fund firepower, recapitalize banks; European leaders announced a deal in which private investors in Greek government debt will take a 50% writedown on the value of their holdings as part of a wide-ranging package of measures designed to stem the euro-zone debt crisis. Additionally, the European Financial Stability Facility will be increased by as much as five-fold or about €1 trillion. At present, the €440-billion fund has between €250 billion and €275 billion available after the bailouts of Greece, Ireland and Portugal.
6. Rail Traffic expand Year-over-Year — according to the weekly rail traffic, rail traffic continues to expand despite persistent fears of a renewed downturn. Chart courtesy from the Pragmatic Group.

7. Portugal enters ‘Grecian vortex’ — according to the UK Telegraph Data released by the European Central Bank show that real M1 deposits in Portugal have fallen at an annualised rate of 21pc over the past six months. The M1 data – cash and current accounts – is watched by experts as a leading indicator for the economy six months to a year ahead. It has been an accurate warning signal for each stage of the crisis since 2007.

The week ahead — Economic data from Econoday.com: