“Do you want Catalonia to become a new state within the European Union?” That may be the question on the referendum that is causing a constitutional crisis in Spain even before the final wording has been decided. Efforts by Artur Mas, President of Catalonia, to pry his region loose from Spain are not only shaking up Spain but are pushing the European Union deeper into the conflict—just as Spain is plunging into a demographic nightmare.
What do Henry Kissinger, Le Duc Tho, Yasser Arafat, Barak Obama, And The EU Have In Common?
by Wolf Richter • • 1 Comment
Maybe the Norwegian Nobel Committee ran out of candidates for this year’s Peace Prize and didn’t want to transfer the money to the Main Fund, as they’d done in the past. So they handed it to the European Union, which triggered an avalanche of snickering and mocking. Its government is engaged in a phenomenal power grab, and its Eurozone is mired in an extraordinarily screwed-up debt crisis with bloody protests in the streets. But peace is a new phenomenon in Europe.
Fear Mongering And Hysteria About The Fiscal Cliff
by Wolf Richter • • Comments Off on Fear Mongering And Hysteria About The Fiscal Cliff
It’s been a phenomenal circus, the screaming and hollering on all sides about the “fiscal cliff,” in the media, from lawmakers, from chieftains of our industries, particularly those that feed at the government’s big trough, such as defense contractors, which include some of the largest global corporations. Even NPR this morning postulated that it would cause a million job losses. Hysteria comes to mind.
Gold, Molotov Cocktails, Rubber Bullets, And Teargas: A Rift In Greece
by Wolf Richter • • 2 Comments
A Greek economist’s terse sarcasm: “GDP has decreased by €47 billion in the last five years. Economy is expected to contract by 3.8% in 2013, the 6th straight year of recession! Unemployment has reached 24.7%. Youth unemployment… 55.4%! No worries though—we have the sun, the sea, our cultural background.” And GOLD.
Merkel Hides Behind The Troika Report, The Greeks Seethe, And The Drachma Advances
by Wolf Richter • • Comments Off on Merkel Hides Behind The Troika Report, The Greeks Seethe, And The Drachma Advances
When an acquaintance of mine in Greece had dinner with one of his relatives, a ranking official at the Bank of Greece, the discussion inevitably came around to the Troika—the bailout and austerity gang from the EU, the ECB, and the IMF—and how Greece should send them packing. “Of course,” the central banker said, “it would help considerably if we actually had a functioning government these past 182 years.”
Punishment Of The Spanish Political Class By The People
by Wolf Richter • • 4 Comments
Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy has a singular problem: 84% of all voters have “little” or “no” confidence in him. The fate of Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba, leader of the opposition Socialist party, is even worse: 90% of all voters distrust him! Those are the two top political figures of the two major political parties, and the utterly frustrated and disillusioned Spaniards are defenestrating them both.
The Noose Tightens On Germany’s “Success Recipe”
by Wolf Richter • • Comments Off on The Noose Tightens On Germany’s “Success Recipe”
Deceptive calm and optimism have settled on the German financial markets. But Germany, after hyperventilating for two years about its superior economic model, is worried about exports. And Chancellor Merkel about the elections next year. It would be a heck of a lot easier to hang on to power if Germany isn’t in a deep recession because exports dried up. And they are drying up. But suddenly, domestic demand is getting hit.
Chinese Strawberries Sicken 11,200 German Children
by Wolf Richter • • Comments Off on Chinese Strawberries Sicken 11,200 German Children
The Incredibly Ballooning Bailout Of Cyprus
by Wolf Richter • • Comments Off on The Incredibly Ballooning Bailout Of Cyprus
Cypriot President Christofias dug in his heels. On Greek TV. Not behind closed doors with the Troika, the austerity gang from the European Commission, the IMF, and the ECB that have performed such miracles in Greece. But as Cyprus veers toward bankruptcy, his game of playing the Russians against the Troika has fallen apart, banks are in worse condition than imagined, and the bailout amounts jumped again.
A Capitalist Revolt in Socialist France
by Wolf Richter • • Comments Off on A Capitalist Revolt in Socialist France
The French government is trying to reign in its deficit by jacking up taxes, including the capital gains tax—an old philosophical pillar of the French left. But an explosive essay published last Friday hit a nerve with entrepreneurs, venture capital investors, artisans, and mom-and-pop business owners. And their anger, which spread across the social media, the papers, and finally TV news, turned into an open revolt.