It should have been an exciting event for Spanish Prime Minister Rajoy: a tête-à-tête with German Chancellor Merkel. Afterwards, he’d stand next to her, illuminated by her glory. He’d brag about implementing structural reforms, cleaning up banks, and moving Spain forward. She’d endorse him with her benevolent smile. Instead, it was a slugfest about corruption.
Europe
The Putrid Smell Suddenly Emanating From European Banks
by Wolf Richter • • Comments Off on The Putrid Smell Suddenly Emanating From European Banks
“The Politics of Removal”: Dressing Up French Unemployment
by Wolf Richter • • Comments Off on “The Politics of Removal”: Dressing Up French Unemployment
Ugly unemployment numbers are politically inconvenient in democracies. Red-faced politicians have to come up with excuses. Elections are lost over them. So, countries use inscrutable statistical systems to make unemployment look better. But France also has an administrative tool: removing tens of thousands of people every month from the unemployment rolls for spurious reasons.
LEAKED: Mario Draghi And His Triumvirate Shut Up German Finance Minister To Keep Cyprus From Blowing Up The Eurozone
by Wolf Richter • • Comments Off on LEAKED: Mario Draghi And His Triumvirate Shut Up German Finance Minister To Keep Cyprus From Blowing Up The Eurozone
The state-sponsored chorus about the end of the debt crisis is deafening. It even has feel-good metrics: the “Euro Breakup Index” fell to 17.2%. In July, it stood at 73%. For Cyprus, fifth country to ask for a bailout, it fell to 7.5%. “A euro breakup is no issue anymore,” the statement says. Just then, top Eurocrats expose what a con game they think these bailouts really are.
Could 87% of the French Really Want A Strongman To Reestablish Order?
by Wolf Richter • • Comments Off on Could 87% of the French Really Want A Strongman To Reestablish Order?
Americans are cynical about politicians. Congressional approval ratings were mired just above single-digit levels in 2012, hitting 10% twice. An expression of utter disdain. But the French—with their economy spiraling deeper into crisis—expressed disdain for their political class, as they call it, in another way: with a desire for authoritarian leadership, a “real leader” who would “reestablish order.”
What the Japanese Trade Deficit Says About the Fraying Fabric In China And Europe
by Wolf Richter • • Comments Off on What the Japanese Trade Deficit Says About the Fraying Fabric In China And Europe
European talking heads are reassuring us on an hourly basis, lest we forget, that the worst of the debt crisis is over. The Japanese trade deficit, a measure of reality, not words, tells a different story about the crisis in Europe. And about troubles coming to a boil in China. But neither can be cured by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s plan to decapitate the yen.
A Year After Declaring War On The Banks
by Wolf Richter • • Comments Off on A Year After Declaring War On The Banks
On January 22, 2012, French presidential candidate François Hollande shook up the banks: “It has no name, no face, no party, it will never be candidate, it will never be elected, yet it governs: that enemy is the world of finance,” he said. Freed “from all rules,” it “took control of the economy, of society, and even our lives.” He’d fight it, and promised tough reforms. But these days, you’d think he is being tutored by JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon.
German Spy Agency: Geopolitical Consequences Of US Oil Boom
by Wolf Richter • • Comments Off on German Spy Agency: Geopolitical Consequences Of US Oil Boom
Much digital ink has been spilled about the US oil & gas boom, and whether or not it will lead to energy independence, or even turn the US into an oil exporter. Now a “confidential” report by the German version of the CIA, the Bundesnachrichtendienst, seeped to the surface. It sketched out the boom’s geopolitical consequences. Biggest loser? China.
The Next Shoe To Drop In France
by Wolf Richter • • Comments Off on The Next Shoe To Drop In France
A War To Reverse The French Government’s Descent Into Unpopularity Hell
by Wolf Richter • • Comments Off on A War To Reverse The French Government’s Descent Into Unpopularity Hell
Normally, the media would have given it priority: French President Hollande and Prime Minister Ayrault have become more unpopular than ever before. But the poll was shoved into the background by France’s bombing campaign in Mali—which released an avalanche of positive comments and support from all sides, at least in France. With impeccable timing.