Europe

Unemployment Crisis Hits Economic Wunderkind Austria

by Wolf Richter •  • Comments Off on Unemployment Crisis Hits Economic Wunderkind Austria

In Eurostat’s “harmonized” unemployment rates for EU Member States, Austria is the glory land for job seekers: 4.8% unemployment, in first place, a universe apart from Spain (26.7%) and Greece (27.3%). But this “harmonized” rate is bologna. Austria is facing a growing crisis.

Freedom Or Subjugation? It’s (Not) Your Choice

by Don Quijones •  • Comments Off on Freedom Or Subjugation? It’s (Not) Your Choice

By Don Quijones: While many Spaniards may spit bile and venom at the merest suggestion of Catalonian autonomy, they would do well to ask themselves what happened to their own national sovereignty. How is it, for example, that Spain is taking orders on virtually all economic matters from men in black dispatched from Brussels and Frankfurt?

The Rajoy Horror Picture Show Lumbers On

by Don Quijones •  • Comments Off on The Rajoy Horror Picture Show Lumbers On

By Don Quijones: Two years ago, Mariano Rajoy rode a wave of public anger to victory in Spain’s general election. The man who could never win anything was suddenly gifted the closest any politician can hope to get to absolute power in an ostensibly democratic society. 

French Megabank: “Germany Should Leave The Eurozone”

by Wolf Richter •  • Comments Off on French Megabank: “Germany Should Leave The Eurozone”

Suddenly, there’s a solution to France’s economic crisis. Unlike the cacophonous clamor from the far right to drop the euro, this one is attractively presented with graphs and in terms that even a French politician might understand. And it’s not contaminated by partisanship.

Seems The NSA Spied On Me When I Lived In Belgium

by Wolf Richter •  • Comments Off on Seems The NSA Spied On Me When I Lived In Belgium

Another Edward Snowden revelation indicates that I, a humble, incoherent, harmless, and (mostly) law-abiding American, may have gotten tangled up in the NSA’s vast spying dragnet for inexplicable reasons of national security. It’s getting personal.

The Most Despised Tax-And-Retreat French President Sinks Deeper Into Economic Quagmire

by Wolf Richter •  • Comments Off on The Most Despised Tax-And-Retreat French President Sinks Deeper Into Economic Quagmire

“Insurrection” is showing up in the French media, though it’s still more an exaggeration than a description. “Fiscal discontent” is better, but not broad enough. Now François Hollande, the most despised French President in the history of polls, is going to turn this mess around.

Gagging Doubt: French Crackdown On French And American Bloggers Who Question Megabank Balance Sheets

by Wolf Richter •  • Comments Off on Gagging Doubt: French Crackdown On French And American Bloggers Who Question Megabank Balance Sheets

France’s Financial Markets Authority slapped fines on two bloggers, Frenchman Jean-Pierre Chevallier and American Mike “Mish” Shedlock, “for having spread inexact information about the level of indebtedness” of megabank Société Générale. Instead of going after banks, bank regulators are going after bloggers! It’s more convenient.

Extortion Over Minimum Wage In Germany: BMW, Daimler, VW Threaten to Offshore Production

by Wolf Richter •  • Comments Off on Extortion Over Minimum Wage In Germany: BMW, Daimler, VW Threaten to Offshore Production

Germany has neither a minimum wage nor a government. Someday it might. If not, there will be new elections, and Chancellor Merkel might get pummeled because she’d be blamed for them. So she’s trying to form a coalition with the left-leaning SPD on whose list of campaign promises was a decent minimum wage.

Catalan Politician Does Unthinkable, Threatens Spain’s Creditors

by Don Quijones •  • Comments Off on Catalan Politician Does Unthinkable, Threatens Spain’s Creditors

By Don Quijones: There are things politicians should never do – assuming they want to hold on to their jobs. Using the dirty “s” word (sovereignty) is a definite no-no. Also high up on the list of “don’t dos” is threatening the interests of foreign creditors and bondholders.

EU Citizenship Goes On Sale, Price War Breaks Out

by Wolf Richter •  • Comments Off on EU Citizenship Goes On Sale, Price War Breaks Out

The huddled masses yearning to breathe free in the EU drown by the boatload in the Mediterranean. They languish in detention centers in Greece and elsewhere. They’re maligned, hounded, sometimes killed. But it’s getting cheaper and easier for the rich.