As the euro debt debacle unfolded, Germany benefited from a reputation as safe haven: yields on its 10-year bonds dropped below the rate of inflation while yields spiked in other countries. So when it offered €6 billion in 10-year bonds at a record low yield of 1.98%, it expected them to fly off the shelf. They didn’t. “Disaster,” the media screamed worldwide. But….
Euro
Euro Schizophrenia in Germany
by Wolf Richter • • Comments Off on Euro Schizophrenia in Germany
My German contacts want to keep the euro. They’ve gotten used to it. They like it in their wallets. It’s so convenient for cross-border travel and commerce. And it has been strong. But now that the European bailout fund has descended into irrelevance, they fret about the euro’s future. They want it saved. And they’re increasingly willing to pay a price.
Germany Sees Greece’s ‘Worst-Worst-Case-Szenario’
by Wolf Richter • • Comments Off on Germany Sees Greece’s ‘Worst-Worst-Case-Szenario’
Judging from the stream of rumors and energetic denials, German bureaucrats, experts, and politicians are furiously working on dozens of projects that all deal with the debt crisis, and they go off in as many directions. But at the end, there is what they call in their inimitable German a Worst-Worst-Case-Szenario.
The Eurozone Turns Down Chinese Money And Quid Pro Quo
by Wolf Richter • • Comments Off on The Eurozone Turns Down Chinese Money And Quid Pro Quo
For months, rumors China would use its foreign exchange reserves to bail out the Eurozone with the stroke of a plastic pen goosed financial markets. But China has a list of demands. German industry refuses to cede ground. People shudder at becoming dependent on money from the communist regime. Clearly, the debt crisis isn’t deep enough yet.
Germany at Its Rubicon
by Wolf Richter • • Comments Off on Germany at Its Rubicon
No country is economically more dependent on the survival of the euro than Germany: the export powerhouse thrived because Eurozone countries could borrow unlimited amounts of euros to buy German goods. But now that the gravy train has stopped in front of a mountain of unmanageable sovereign debt, Germany finds itself at war—with itself.
Greece’s Extortion Racket Jumps To The Next Level
by Wolf Richter • • Comments Off on Greece’s Extortion Racket Jumps To The Next Level
Participants in the G-20 meeting in Cannes thought it would be a relaxed affair of photo ops, handshakes, and fancy dinners, interrupted by rubber stamping the Grand Plan of bailing out Greece, bondholders, and European banks. But then Giorgios Papandreou, prime minister of Greece, fired his bazooka. And the Greek extortion racket was back on.
Just Say No, Germany … and Don’t Listen to Geithner
by Wolf Richter • • Comments Off on Just Say No, Germany … and Don’t Listen to Geithner
The German parliament has a historic opportunity to say no to the bankers: it gets to vote on expanding the European bailout fund to €1 trillion, though it had just been expanded to €440 billion. Since no one has any money, it will be in form of leverage, the very mechanism that has wreaked so much havoc already.
Berlusconi, waiting for money.
Germany and France Kiss and Make up, But it’s hard
by Wolf Richter • • Comments Off on Germany and France Kiss and Make up, But it’s hard
Greece’s Extortion Game
by Wolf Richter • • Comments Off on Greece’s Extortion Game
“Tax fraud is a national plague,” said Greece’s finance minister after he found that Greeks owed $50 billion in back taxes. But it’s complicated. And not much will happen to collect them though Greece might go bankrupt in weeks. Meanwhile, civil servants paralyze the country with strikes because salaries and bonuses are on the chopping block—the most curious bonuses….
France’s Fishy Denials as Mega-Banks Teeter
by Wolf Richter • • Comments Off on France’s Fishy Denials as Mega-Banks Teeter
“We don’t have any doubt about the solidity of French banks,” said the French government—a week after the collapse of Dexia. All eyes are now on Société Générale and BNP Paribas. BNP is the world’s largest bank with assets of $2.8 trillion, dwarfing France’s $2.1 trillion economy. And they’re desperately trying to sell assets to stay afloat.