The Global Economic Crisis Has Only Just Begun After an ineffective weekend flurry of phone calls among world leaders, confidence in governments’ ability to react is eroding. And the uglier it gets, the more politicians will focus on their own skin rather than finding a common solution. Buckle up. MUNICH – This was the…
Europe’s Economic Gap Sparks New Internal Immigration, From Spain To Germany Spurred by soaring unemployment at home and Berlin’s active recruitment of skilled workers, young educated Spaniards are heading for Germany like southern Europeans last century. By Freia Peters Even though she’s lucky to have a job in Spain, Julia Casado Marco wonders if…
The Global Temper Tantrum Fury is spreading. But the mobs ignore the real culprit behind broken economies. Yiorgos Karahalis / Reuters-Landov Riot police at a protest against austerity measures in Athens on June 28, 2011. This is the age of indignation. Politics in the Western world are becoming more emotional—because our problems are so intractable….
Stubborn refusal of an order untenable The protests that break in Europe this year against the austerity policies – in Greece and France, but also to a lesser extent, Ireland, Italy, Spain – gave birth to two fictions. The first forged by the authorities and the media, based on a depoliticization of the…
The Rage of the ‘Indignants’ A European Generation Takes to the Streets By Mathieu von Rohr and Helene Zuber For weeks, hundreds of young people have been camping out in central Madrid. And others across Europe have now begun following their example. Protests in Lisbon, Paris, Athens and elsewhere show that Europe’s lost generation has…
Update Headline July 1, 2011 Prosecutors to release Strauss-Kahn on ‘own recognizance’ STRAUSS-KAHN INQUIRY Live: Strauss-Kahn’s surprise court appearance Former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn is making a surprise court appearance in New York Friday following revelations that prosecutors in the sexual assault case against him are having problems with the accuser’s credibility. Follow our live…
Eurozone interest rates raised to 1.25% by ECB The European Central Bank has kept rates low for almost two years Global Economy ECB urged Portugal to seek rescue Q&A: Why is Portugal in trouble? Will the rate rise damage growth? EU austerity drive by country Eurozone interest rates have been raised to 1.25% from the…
Greece’s government must cut spending and improve tax revenue in order to greatly reduce or eliminate its need to borrow, reduce the cost of its output (via domestic deflation or leaving the Euro and depreciating a new currency) in order to restore the external balance between its imports and exports, and to reduce the impediments to economic efficiency and productivity growth so that its economy can grow more rapidly. How did it get in such a mess? What role was and is played by its use of the Euro? And what are its options?