Joint Supervisory Teams, led by the ECB, have been established for carrying out the day-to-day supervision of significant banks. They integrate the ECB and national authority staff into single supervisory units. It is fair to say that full harmonisation in the supervisory approach has not yet been reached, but significant progress can already be observed.
All US share indices have risen appreciably, as have bond yields, consumers have continued to spend, and the first quarter GDP figure was better than expected. These developments are good news for Australia, at least in the short term. On the other hand, US employment has fallen over the past two months and businesses do not seem to be as cheerful as financial markets.