Wren-Lewis, S. (2014) “Why the Eurozone suffers from a Germany problem“, Mainly Macro Blog, 26 Οκτωβρίου. When, almost a year ago, Paul Krugman wrote six posts within three days laying into the stance of Germany on the Eurozone’s macroeconomic problems, even I thought that maybe this was a bit too strong, although there was nothing in what he wrote that I disagreed with. Yet as Germany’s stance proved unyielding …Read More
Greece’s Economic and Political Traps
Konstandaras, N. (2014) “Greece’s Economic and Political Traps“, The New York Times Opinion Pages, 26 Οκτωβρίου. Five years into the Greek crisis, it is becoming increasingly difficult to hope that it will end anytime soon. Perhaps we expected too much: that the largest international bailout in history would help set the economy back on its feet within a couple of years; that we could put the problems that had …Read More
The Scariest Number Revealed Today: $1.114 Trillion In Eurozone Bad Debt
Durden, D. (2014) “The Scariest Number Revealed Today: $1.114 Trillion In Eurozone Bad Debt“, ΘZeroHedge, 26 Οκτωβρίου. As we previously reported, the ECB’s latest stress test was once again patently flawed from the start. Why? Because as we noted earlier, in its most draconian, “adverse” scenario, the ECB simply refused to contemplate the possibility of deflation. And here’s why. Buried deep in the report, on page 75 of 178, …Read More
How Germany Conquered Europe in 25 Years
Mishra, P. (2014) “How Germany Conquered Europe in 25 Years“, Bloomberg View, 26 Οκτωβρίου. On Nov. 9, Berlin will celebrate the 25th anniversary of the fall of the wall that divided the city during much of the Cold War. At the time, images of exuberant wall-breakers signaled the end of communism. A quarter-century later, the event seems to have also been a prelude to the rebirth of Berlin and …Read More
Britain’s EU membership hangs by one less thread
Salamone, A. (2014) “Britain’s EU membership hangs by one less thread“, Britain’s Europe Blog, 27 Οκτωβρίου. Britain, it seems, owes the European Union a certain sum of money. In every year since 2002, it has underpaid into the EU budget and the day of reckoning has finally arrived. However, as usual when it comes to ‘Europe’ for the UK, symbolism triumphs over substance. The country has been hit with …Read More
Eurozone battle lines being drawn again with Germany on the other side
Mitchell, B. (2014) “Eurozone battle lines being drawn again with Germany on the other side“, Bill Mitchell Blog: Modern Monetary Theory – Macroeconomic Reality, 27 Οκτωβρίου. The battlelines between the European Commission and France and Italy over the – Corrective arm – of the Stability and Growth Pact are firming up after the Italian Government publicly released a ‘strictly confidential’ letter from the Vice President of the European Commission …Read More
Remember Europe’s “austerity”, or rather as we dubbed it, fauxterity?
Durden, T. (2014) “Remember Europe’s “austerity”, or rather as we dubbed it, fauxterity?“, ΘZeroHedge Blog, 24 Οκτωβρίου. Of course, how could you forget: after all everything that is wrong with Europe is blamed not on government corruption and the complete lack of reform, enabled so gloriously by Goldman’s custodian of Europe’s money printer who would do “whatever it takes” to mask Europe’s sad reality that without reform the continent …Read More
Banking Business Models Monitor 2014: Europe
Ayadi, R. & De Groen, W. P. (2014) “Banking Business Models Monitor 2014: Europe“, CEPS Paperbacks, Financial Markets, 14 Οκτωβρίου. CEPS and the International Observatory on Financial Services Cooperatives (IOFSC) at HEC Montreal have initiated an annual monitoring exercise on banking business models in the EU. Based on their balance sheet structures, 147 European banks that account for more than 80% of the industry assets were categorised in four …Read More
Europe’s fiscal wormhole – with all of the rules pointing toward recession, how can Europe boost recovery?
Wolff, B. G. (2014) “Europe’s fiscal wormhole – with all of the rules pointing toward recession, how can Europe boost recovery?“, Project Syndicate, 24 Οκτωβρίου. Τhe International Monetary Fund now estimates a 30% risk of deflation in the eurozone, and growth figures within the monetary union continue to disappoint. But policymakers seem trapped in a cat’s cradle of economic, political, and legal constraints that is preventing effective action. The …Read More
The Eurozone’s Problems Are Based in Politics
Nixon. S. (2014) “The Eurozone’s Problems Are Based in Politics“, Wall Street Journal, 19 Οκτωβρίου. Some say the euro crisis is back; others argue that it never really went away. A gloomy forecast from the International Monetary Fund suggesting a 40% chance of a slide back into recession and a flurry of weak data pointing to a faltering recovery, particularly in Germany, have spooked markets. Once again, the eurozone …Read More