Economics,Politics
Europe’s Dysfunctional Growth Compact
10.12.2012 10:06
ProjectSyndicate: BRUSSELS – Recently, a €10 billion ($13 billion) shortfall in this year’s European Union budget came to light. As a result, the EU cannot reimburse member states for recent unexpected expenditures, including emergency outlays, such as aid to Italian earthquake victims, and...
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Europe’s Economic War of Attrition
10.12.2012 10:02
ProjectSyndicate: NEWPORT BEACH – I was nine years old when Egypt entered what became known as its “war of attrition” with Israel. During this period of “no war and no peace,” underlying tensions festered, and a fragile tranquility was periodically interrupted by armed...
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Europe Protests Austerity With Strikes in Spain, Italy
14.11.2012 14:09
Bloomberg: Spanish workers staged a second general strike this year as unions across Europe prepared the biggest coordinated protests yet against budget cuts that policy makers say are needed to end the region’s debt crisis.
In Spain, unions said most auto and metal workers...
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Lagarde Woos Southeast Asia as Region Cuts IMF Reliance
14.11.2012 14:06
Bloomberg: Fresh from yet another meeting in Brussels on Europe’s debt crisis, International Monetary FundManaging Director Christine Lagarde today kicked off a three- country tour of Southeast Asia, which is thriving after emerging from turmoil more than a decade ago.
Her...
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European austerity protests far from revolution
14.11.2012 12:57
(Reuters) - In a cafe near the former site of Paris's Bastille prison, activists held a meeting last month to decide whether to join unions in protesting the French government's belt-tightening.
Only five people turned up at Cafe Maldoror, a favored haunt of the radical left.
Even in...
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Taking A Man At His Word
14.11.2012 12:47
EconoMonitor: Legendary hedge fund supremo Ray Dalio is in ebullient mood. Following a series of moves by Mario Draghi to underpin European government financing Dalio told Bloomberg that, in his opinion, the euro will now “likely” stay together because existing...
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By One Key Budget Indicator, the Structural Primary Balance, Even Greece Is Doing Better Than the United States. Why That Should Worry Us.
14.11.2012 12:45
EconoMonitor: We in the United States know that we have a deficit problem, but when we hear news of the ongoing crisis in Europe, we feel a little better. At least we’re in better shape than Greece, Italy, and the other Eurozone basket cases. Aren’t we?
Think again. By one key measure of...
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ZIRP and QE: Central Bankers’ Narcotics of Choice
14.11.2012 12:44
EconoMonitor: Singer Robert Palmer was “addicted to love”. The world is now addicted to low interest rates. Central banks also display signs of acronym-o-mania, an addiction to acronyms: ZIRP (Zero Interest Rate Policy), QE (Quantitative Easing) etc.
Following the global...
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Europe Protests Austerity With Strikes in Spain, Italy
14.11.2012 12:24
Bloomberg: Spanish workers staged a second general strike this year as unions across Europe prepared the biggest coordinated protests yet against budget cuts that policy makers say are needed to end the region’s debt crisis.
In Spain, unions said most auto and metal workers...
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Juncker Sees Definite Decision on Greece at Nov. 20 Meeting
13.11.2012 13:14
Bloomberg: Luxembourg’s Prime Minister Jean- Claude Juncker, who heads group of euro-area finance ministers, said he expects a definite decision on Greece at the finance chiefs’ meeting on Nov. 20.
“Greece has done a big part of what it was supposed to do, adopted an ambitious...
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