In late 2001, German banks sold Euro Starter Kits—sealed pouches with €10.23 in coins. One of many steps in the arduous process of weaning Germans from their D-Mark. I bought one and still have it. It’s in the back of a drawer, next to a D-Mark coin. And that coin is part of a vast phenomenon: 13.3 billion in missing Deutschmarks. But now people see a reason to hang on to them.
Monthly Archives: December 2011
French CEO About Ratings Agencies: ‘We Have To Shoot All These Guys’
by Wolf Richter • • Comments Off on French CEO About Ratings Agencies: ‘We Have To Shoot All These Guys’
“We’re experiencing the beginning of the repercussions of the financial crisis,” said Michel-Edouard Leclerc, CEO of the second largest retailer in France. He has never seen so much “rational behavior among consumers” and so much “fear of getting screwed.” Until now, the crisis has touched mostly the financial world, but in 2012, it will hit the real economy. “It’s always the people who end up paying,” he said.
The US Auto Industry Drifts Off To China
by Wolf Richter • • Comments Off on The US Auto Industry Drifts Off To China
Practically every car or truck sold in the US today contains Chinese-made components, though Chinese-designed vehicles haven’t made it yet. Chinese automakers scramble to move from nice-looking but shoddy copy-and-paste models to reliable products that would be competitive in the US. It’s a government priority. And they’re getting there through the back door.
The Endgame: Japan Makes Another Move
by Wolf Richter • • Comments Off on The Endgame: Japan Makes Another Move
The cabinet approved a doozie of a budget with a horrid deficit. Yet it relies on accounting shenanigans. In reality, the government will borrow a disastrous 56.2% of every yen it spends. The vaunted trade surplus has become a trade deficit, the working population is declining, the savings rate plummets…. But the government has a solution: a miracle.
Culture Shock
by Wolf Richter • • Comments Off on Culture Shock
Bali, 1996: The taxi driver honks his way from the airport through Denpasar’s polluted, dusty chaos and drops me off at a walled compound in Kuta by the beach. From the gate, I see a tropical garden, a pavilion with a pointy ceramic-tile roof, a swimming pool, and two-story guest buildings. A girl in red flowery sarong and sheer blouse….
CEO of Dexia: ‘Not A Bank But A Hedge Fund’
by Wolf Richter • • Comments Off on CEO of Dexia: ‘Not A Bank But A Hedge Fund’
The Most Disparaged Profession
by Wolf Richter • • Comments Off on The Most Disparaged Profession
Congress is the ideal American institution: it spends far more than it takes in and borrows the difference. We love that. To heck with the future. It means free money, services, wars, and other goodies. At least some of us get to profit from it. And then we blow it or invest it, and we lose it or make money on it. It all adds up to that glorious GDP. It’s the American dream. And yet….
The Previously Unthinkable Becomes A Planned Event
by Wolf Richter • • Comments Off on The Previously Unthinkable Becomes A Planned Event
Governments and companies around the world have been preparing for a collapse of the Eurozone—simple prudence requires them to do that. Theoretical exercises for a hypothetical scenario, they call it. But recently, these theoretical exercises have taken on practical overtones. And even the public is now encouraged to prepare for the demise of the euro.
Mainstream Media Discover Ron Paul
by Wolf Richter • • Comments Off on Mainstream Media Discover Ron Paul
The Wall Street Journal, NPR, The New York Times, and other mainstream media have engaged in an obvious and silly boycott of presidential candidate Ron Paul. Report after report about the Republican primary excluded him, though occasionally they’d mention his name—to be fair and balanced. But if you haven’t read The New York Times recently, you missed something BIG.
Practically Naked
by Wolf Richter • • Comments Off on Practically Naked
Australia: A tall chick in a bikini walks along the beach, face shaded by a floppy hat. She carries a bag in one hand, sandals in the other. Her boobs sway and her hips swing and her inner thighs rub together as she puts foot before foot in the loose sand.
“Look at that babe,” he says.
“Holy moly,” I observe in my perspicacious manner.