Europe

Europe: It could be a case of Super Thursday for Spain this week, when the country holds its first bond auction since being hit with a two-notch downgrade from S&P and plays host to the ECB monthly policy briefing. No change in interest rates is expected from the ECB, but governor Mario Draghi's press conference is sure to be scrutinized for evidence of fresh stimulus after he proposed a "growth compact," with parts of the euro zone locked in a recessionary cycle and resistance to austerity measures growing. By then, the ECB will have a clearer idea about the state of the broader economy, including any trickle-down effects from its long-term refinancing operations (LTRO), with the publication of private-sector loan data Monday and manufacturing data Wednesday. France also holds a bond auction on Thursday, which could be the last under President Nicolas Sarkozy if the main opposition leader and current favorite Francois Hollande wins a second-round election vote May 6. Greece also goes to the polls that day. Elections in Greece are expected to underscore widespread public anger with the country's two mainstream parties and result in no clear winner. Also on the agenda this week is a meeting of EU finance ministers Wednesday to settle rules over how much additional capital that banks in the bloc should be forced to hold on their balance sheets. This is the known worry list: --Wednesday: Euro-zone April manufacturing PMI data. EU finance ministers EGM to discuss new bank capital requirements. --Thursday: Spanish, French bond auctions. ECB rate decision and press conference in Barcelona. --Friday: Euro-zone April services PMI data. --Sunday: Second round of French presidential election. Greek national elections. --Monday, May 7: German March manufacturing-orders data. --Tuesday, May 8: German March industrial-production data. Greek T-bill auction [tentative]. Dutch 10-year government bond auction: EUR2 - 3b target --Friday, May 11: Italian T-bill auction.