EUROZONE: Euro Declines Over Japan And Cracks In Bailout Fund As Finland Balks.

BLOOMBERG

  The bloom is off the bailout rose...as Eurozone finance ministers recently failed to bring its emergency aid fund up to the full 440 billion euros
($615 billion usd) from 250 billion euros.
  The market has noticed.
   And ECB head Jean-Claude Trichet (pictured) is frustrated.
   He does not want the ECB to be buyer of last resort of bonds from struggling debt-strapped EU nations.
  The EU parliament must also debate and approve any new measures.
   According to the WSJ, the weight of any fund increase will fall primarily on 5 nations, most prominently Germany and France...but also Finland.
   Finland is the only country to oppose an increase
   Finland faces a parliamentary election in mid-April. FM Jyrki Katainen said approving it would be...political suicide.
  Also, Greece may need more money and Moody's has downgraded Portugal debt by two notches meaning that its 12-month treasury bills rose to 4.331%, compared with 4.057% two weeks ago.
    Portugal may soon face a political crisis and thus a new EU bailout request.

BALTIC SEA: Finns OK Russia's Nordstream Pipeline.

BBC/ Russia cleared the last hurdle to build its 765 mile Nord Stream gas pipeline under the Baltic Sea to Germany after a Finnish environmental agency gave its approval. There are worries that the project would stir-up toxins and WW2 munitions lying on the Baltic's sea bed. Russia hopes to pump 55bn cubic meters of gas annually to Germany and other EU countries through Nord Stream.