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.
Europe
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.
Worse Than The Infamous Lehman September: France’s Private Sector Gets Kicked Off A Cliff
by Wolf Richter • • 3 Comments
The Paris auto show should have been exciting. Over 100 new models from econo-boxes to exotic prototypes. Chicks next to some of them. Nausea-inducing colors, downsized motors. Something for everyone. But it had been preceded by supplier events loaded with the dire verbiage of an industry on a death march. Particularly in France, whose private sector is veering into economic fiasco. And on Monday, it became official.
Greece, Tell Brussels “To Take A Hike” And Let The Troika Bail Out The ECB Instead
by Wolf Richter • • 3 Comments
Awful as Greece’s GDP has been, it doesn’t do justice to the economic fiasco. Take new vehicle registrations: in August, they plunged 46.7% from prior year. Only 3,886 new vehicles were sold. A collapse of 80% from August 2008 at the cusp of the crisis. For the first eight months of 2012, sales were down 42% from prior year, and 65% from 2008. People have stopped buying new cars. And not just cars.
The Eurozone Con Game Just Keeps Cracking
by Contributor • • 3 Comments
“European leaders have not been able to meet their responsibilities,” French Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said about Germany and some other countries that are reluctant to pile more taxpayer money on Greece, whose economy is grinding to a halt, and whose government can no longer fulfill its promises. Yet, the very “responsibilities” of these “European leaders,” many of them unelected bureaucrats, have turned into a can of worms.
Catalonia Cries for Independence, Spain Might Break Apart, And Its Military Threatens To “Crush” The “Vultures”
by Wolf Richter • • 9 Comments
Spain has enough problems: a debt crisis, a hangover from a housing bubble, unemployment of over 25%, youth unemployment of over 50%, massive demonstrations against “structural reforms” that the government is trying to implement in its desperate effort to keep its chin above water…. And now it has a new one: the possible breakup of the country. The military has already chosen sides.
Monetary Schizophrenia in Germany
by Wolf Richter • • 2 Comments
A pact with the devil—that’s now the official metaphor for the European Central Bank’s “unlimited” bond purchases that are supposed to save the Eurozone. Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann himself referred to it when he discussed the “dangerous correlation of paper money creation, state financing, and inflation.” But it’s too late. Germany has cracked in two. And part of it has embraced that pact with the devil.
French Rebellion Against Unelected Bureaucrats: “European Coup D’Etat And Rape Of Democracy”
by Wolf Richter • • 1 Comment
When the German Constitutional Court nodded with a stern smile on the ESM bailout fund and the Fiscal Union treaty, the world, or at least the politicians at the top, breathed a sigh of relief. After months of verbal warfare, the German revolt was over. But steam is billowing once again from the rusty pipes of the Eurozone. This time in France, where the Fiscal Union treaty has been silenced to death—and it could blow apart the whole construct.
Power Grab: The Noose Tightens On National Sovereignty in Europe
by Wolf Richter • • 1 Comment
When French and Dutch voters were given an opportunity to vote for the European constitution in 2005, which would have transferred considerable sovereignty from their countries to the European government and its unelected bureaucrats, they “unexpectedly” killed it. An unforgettable lesson for politicians: don’t let the riffraff decide. Such matters are best handled by the elite—politicians, bankers, and unelected bureaucrats. And on Wednesday, they were busy handling such matters.
The French Government Gets Whacked, Even The Left Is Angry, And Hollande Gets Slapped In The Face
by Wolf Richter • • Comments Off on The French Government Gets Whacked, Even The Left Is Angry, And Hollande Gets Slapped In The Face
France is mired in a stagnating economy. The private sector is under pressure, auto manufacturing in a depression. Unemployment hit a 13-year high. Over 3 million people are out of work. Youth unemployment of 22.7% belies the catastrophic jobs situation in ghetto-like enclaves. Gasoline and diesel prices are near record highs. So there are a lot of very unhappy campers. And it could turn ugly.