Europe’s Political and Economic Crisis
Some interesting news items this week on the European crisis: A “wild week” (Financial Times) “Fears of eurozone sovereign risk contagion to banks, tighter monetary policy in China and surprise intraday selling by electronic trading systems united to d …
READ MOREAnother Financial Crisis in the Making
World-wide stock markets plunged yesterday as the ongoing sovereign debt crisis in Europe is worsening. The Dow fell 1000 points–its worst ever intraday drop–before rebounding, but still ended down more than 3 percent (as did the S&P 500 and Nasd …
READ MORE“The euro: love it or leave it?”
“The world economy is continually changing, but one constant is dissatisfaction with the euro. Toward the beginning of the decade, the main complaint was that the euro was too weak for booming economies like Ireland. Now the complaint is that it is too …
READ MORE“How a Rich and Proud Nation Went Broke”
“On Loyalty Day, October 17, 1951, Evita declared, “I ask you today, comrades, only one thing — that we will all swear publicly to defend Perón and fight to the death.” She died in 1952 of cervical cancer, and to this day people leave flowers at her fa …
READ MORE“A Three-Point Plan to Save the Euro”
“The rescue package requested by Greece will, if endorsed, buy the eurozone six months, perhaps a year at most. By then, the Greek government will have exhausted the aid and be forced to ask for more or to borrow at astronomical rates. This assumes tha …
READ MORE“Greece’s Threat to the Euro”
“All too often in the midst of an economic and financial crisis, policymakers either engage in denial or else take flights into fantasy. Sadly, the present Greek crisis is proving to be no exception. Rather than recognising the Greek crisis for the sol …
READ MORE“Greece Formally Requests EU/IMF Aid”
“Prime Minister George Papandreou said Friday that ‘the time has come’ for Greece to request aid under a joint European-International Monetary Fund bailout mechanism following months of turmoil in Greek financial markets. ‘The time has come,’ Papandreo …
READ MOREDeflating China’s Bubble
Reining in China’s investment boom will be hard. The Chinese authorities are damned if they do and damned if they don’t.
READ MOREChina on a Tightrope
Economic reform requires political reform. China’s leaders must loosen control if they want harmony.
READ MORE“Euro Under Pressure As Greek Bonds Slump”
“The euro is slumping against the dollar Wednesday morning as Greek bond prices tumble and their yields surge higher against their German counterparts. The dollar is split against other major currencies, with little change against the yen, a retreat ag …
READ MOREHyperinflation
“Inflation is a sustained increase in the aggregate price level. Hyperinflation is very high inflation. Although the threshold is arbitrary, economists generally reserve the term ‘hyperinflation’ to describe episodes when the monthly inflation rate is …
READ MORE“Unemployment and Inflation Inch Up in Europe”
“The unemployment rate in the euro area inched up to touch double digits in February, while inflation accelerated more than economists had forecast, probably a result of higher food and oil prices, according to data released Wednesday. Eurostat, the Eu …
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