The next strategic target: De Gaulle’s EU legacy
Kirkegaard, Jacob Funk. The ECB seems to be in the background during this crisis – almost helpless due to Treaty obligations and dogmatic adherence to old monetary theories. This column argues that quite the opposite is true. The ECB is a full-blooded political actor engaging in a strategy aimed at forcing EU political leaders to […]
Νίκος Κουτσιαράς: Ένα e-mail για την ευρωζώνη
Μου ‘στειλε ένας φίλος μου σε e-mail το ερώτημά του: «Νίκο καλημέρα. Όλα καλά; Έχω μία απορία κι αν έχεις χρόνο, πες μου. Γιατί το άνοιγμα της κάνουλας της ΕΚΤ δεν μπορεί από μόνο του να λύσει το πρόβλημα; Μου είχες πει πριν μέρες ότι χρειάζεται να ανακάμψει και η ζήτηση. Να υποθέσω με αναίρεση […]
An Avoidable Crisis
Surowiecki, James. The financial crisis in Europe, seemingly never-ending, has now entered a potentially disastrous phase. With interest rates on Italian and Spanish debt soaring, France looking shaky, and even Germany having trouble in the debt market, there’s a real possibility that the euro zone might just break apart—with dire consequences not just for Europe […]
The Euro Area Is Coming to an End
Boone, Peter, Johnson, Simon. Investors sent Europe’s politicians a painful message last week when Germany had a seriously disappointing government bond auction. It was unable to sell more than a third of the benchmark 10-year bonds it had sought to auction off on Nov. 23, and interest rates on 30-year German debt rose from 2.61 […]
Greece: The way forward
Jacobides, Michael, Portes, Richard & Vayanos, Dimitri. After a period of intense political turmoil, Greece has converged on a coalition government tasked with implementing reforms. This column argues Greece should now change from fiscal targets and debt restructuring to operational restructuring. It proposes three independent authorities with tight governance and accountability to manage healthcare procurement, monitor structural […]
Why the ECB refuses to be a Lender of Last Resort
De Grauwe, Paul. The euro has a matter of weeks to save itself, with several institutions now preparing for its collapse. Given this, why does the ECB still refuse to bail out Europe’s heavily indebted countries? This column provides an explanation. It says that the ECB may well be behaving rationally but adds that such […]
Occupy Economics
Folbre, Nancy. The Occupy Wall Street movement, displaced from some key geographic locations, now enjoys a small but significant encampment among economists. Concerns about the impact of growing economic inequality fit neatly into a larger critique of mainstream economic theory and its deep faith in the efficiency of markets. Πηγή: The New York Times πλήρες […]
What Are They Thinking?
The common European currency seems well on its way toward annihilation, and the demise is more likely to happen with a bang than a whimper. One might have thought that the looming catastrophe would elicit a sense of urgency in the statements and actions of European officials. “Depend upon it, sir,” Samuel Johnson once told […]
The emperor has no clothes
Tabellini, Guido. Last week’s failed German government bond auction raised alarms across Europe; some say the Eurozone only has days to avoid collapse. This column argues that unless the Eurozone and particularly the ECB changes its anti-inflationary stance, the troubles will only get worse. The Eurozone is broken, and it is time to admit it. […]
Thinking the unthinkable on a euro break-up
Davies, Gavyn. It has suddenly become respectable to ask the question: what would happen if the euro broke up? Last week’s rise in German bond yields signals that a euro break-up is being taken more seriously by investors. I am told that London law firms are allocating large amounts of time to examining the validity, following […]