Worth reading today

Chinese whispers drive up Greek yields
Yesterday's FT story that Greece was wooing China to buy up to 25 billion euros' worth of bonds helped drive down the Athens Exchange almost four points and opened up spreads to a historic high of 3.6 percent. Greece bought money yesterday at interest rates of 6.92 percent. The FT reports today: "For the eurozone, “a member country implicitly rescued by China would be an even worse signal than an IMF programme,” said Marco Annunziata, chief economist at Unicredit."

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/65ac74fc-0aaf-11df-b35f-00144feabdc0.html
Comment by John Authers: "The market mistrusts Greek data; and it can see the logic of the situation. Its deficit is deep-seated and pre-dates the crisis. Only truly austere economic measures (“plan A”) can counter it, and these may curtail economic growth or stoke social discontent."
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/864d085a-0b74-11df-8232-00144feabdc0.html
Concerns at 'overmarketed' bonds
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/9e6b3de6-0b72-11df-8232-00144feabdc0.html

BoG sues for fast fiscal discipline
Bank of Greece Governor Yiorgos Provopoulos visited the prime minister yesterday to press for a quicker implementation of the fiscal measures provided in the stability and growth plan submitted earlier this month. (In Greek).
http://news.kathimerini.gr/4dcgi/_w_articles_economy_100031_28/01/2010_388474

Barack Obama's first State of the Union address
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/remarks-president-state-union-address/