When will Greece finally default?
From time to time European policymaking descends into evasion and double talk. This is such a time as steps are taken to stave off Greece’s inevitable default. No one should be fooled. The financial...
View ArticleWill it work?
At the end of this month–around October 27th–the latest plan to stabilise the Eurozone will be made public. The question at the top of everyone’s mind should then be “Will it Work?” Not “Can it Work?”,...
View ArticleThe Debtors’ Latest Gambit
With the failure to agree on a truly comprehensive package to counter Europe’s growing sovereign debt and banking crises, the baton has been passed back to the financial markets and the leading debtor...
View ArticleHave the Hawks Effectively Won the Lender of Last Resort Argument in Europe?
Despite consistent demands to the contrary from German leaders and economic experts, many analysts still hope that the European Central Bank (ECB) will ultimately step in and perform the traditional...
View ArticleTwo more mantras now in trouble
Major economic crises don’t just claim the reputations of the odd banker, finance minister, or two. Part of the ensuing blame game also discredits certain widely held mantras that guide policymaking....
View ArticleDraconian proposals from Germany
The Germans have made some pretty draconian proposals if the Greeks are going to get more cash. The proposals are reported on the front page of Friday’s (27th Jan) FT. Surely any analysis of the...
View ArticleThe World Has Moved On—But Has “Davos Man”?
Last weekend saw the conclusion of the latest World Economic Forum in Davos. For an event that doesn’t produce a communiqué–let along anything as grand as a treaty or even a lesser governmental...
View ArticleWashington DC’s Parlour Games
Every now and then, events reveal the harsh realities of global affairs, in so doing, making a mockery of the rhetoric used by both the powerful and the powerless. Last week’s spring meetings of the...
View ArticleMaking the best of opportunities in Switzerland
Last Friday brought the depressing news that nearly one in four Spaniards are now unemployed. Jobless rates among younger people are nearly 50%. Analysts talk of a “lost generation” but, as one famous...
View ArticleMaking sense of economic policy
The past week has seen a marked deterioration in economic sentiment. Job creation numbers in the US were lousy. More evidence of a growth slowdown in China was made public. India’s political paralysis...
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