Europe

The Confidence Crisis In Spain Sends Out Shock Waves

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.

The Putrid Smell Suddenly Emanating From European Banks

By now we should have gotten used to the odor emanating from banks—bailouts, money laundering, Libor rate-rigging, the other misdeeds. But in Europe over the last few days, it was particularly dense. “In this uncertain world, I cannot exclude anything,” said Deutsche Bank co-CEO reassuringly.

“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

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?

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

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

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

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

France’s economic foundations are cracking. Unemployment is rising incessantly. The private sector is comatose. Car sales sank 13.9% in 2012, from a lousy 2011; sales by its native automakers plunged even more. Now home sales are grinding to a halt. And the finger-pointing has already started.

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.