The Eurozone wasn’t supposed to be a house of cards. And as long as there was “confidence” that it would work, it worked: the financial markets offered cheap no-questions-asked loans to the most profligate governments that sucked up phenomenal amounts of money. But all that remains from this drunken frenzy are mountains of decomposing debt. Now taboos are violated, sacred cows are slaughtered, and the euro has been tossed on the chopping block.
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Is The Inexplicable American Consumer Rebelling?
by Wolf Richter • • Comments Off on Is The Inexplicable American Consumer Rebelling?
The strongest and toughest creatures out there that no one has been able to subdue yet, the inexplicable American consumers, are digging in their heels though the entire power structure has been pushing them relentlessly to buy more and more with money they don’t have, and borrow against future income they might never make, just so that GDP can edge up for another desperate quarter. But it’s been tough.
Beer, A Reflection Of The World Economy?
by Wolf Richter • • 7 Comments
As a kid in Germany, I engaged in underage beer drinking. I was too young to drive, so it didn’t bother anyone, except me the next day. It was when German beer consumption peaked at 151 liters per capita, the highest in the world. But then I went to America … and German beer consumption took a multi-decade dive. In the US and other Western countries, the beer industry is now morose as well, but it’s booming elsewhere.
Foreign Money in US Elections: And There Is A Winner
by Wolf Richter • • 2 Comments
Mitt Romney is venturing overseas to spend two days each in the UK, Israel, and Poland. It will hone his international credentials, give him an opportunity to look “presidential,” and allow him to establish or refine connections. He will also court Americans living abroad. Every vote counts. Campaign brawls will stay “at the water’s edge,” so no speeches or news conferences. But there will be fundraisers. And foreign corporations are donating to both sides.
The Extortion Racket Shifts to Spain
by Wolf Richter • • 2 Comments
After 21 summits to save the euro, followed by dog-and-pony shows to calm the markets, followed by confidence-inspiring pronouncements about insurmountable firewalls and pandemic structural reforms, the euro is in greater danger than ever before. Spanish Prime Minister walked away from the last summit in June with a victory smile. Now, Spain is on the brink. And word is out: default.
Whitewash versus Reality: “Disaster Made in Japan”
by Wolf Richter • • Comments Off on Whitewash versus Reality: “Disaster Made in Japan”
Today Japan brought its first nuclear reactor back on line, after having been nuclear-power free for two months. The government had stress-tested the reactor and had declared it safe—despite strong evidence to the contrary. Ironically, on the day that the reactor started generating electricity again, the Nuclear Accident Independent Investigation Commission released its report on the Fukushima disaster—and it’s a doozy.
Merkel’s Big Blink?
by Wolf Richter • • 6 Comments
Markets were soaring in Asia, Europe, the US, everywhere. Spanish stocks skyrocketed 5.7% and Greek stocks 7.5%. Let the good times roll. The euro jumped to the highest level in two weeks. Yields on Spanish bonds fell off a cliff, with the 10-year benchmark down from over 7% to 6.38%, the lowest since, well, Monday. A miracle had happened. Chancellor Angela Merkel had blinked. Um, a little bit.
Cyprus and the EU: Bitter Medicine
by Wolf Richter • • Comments Off on Cyprus and the EU: Bitter Medicine
In Cyprus, it’s panic time. €1.8 billion is needed by June 30. That’s just the beginning. Its banks have been eviscerated by Greek government bonds, Greek corporate debt, a real estate bubble that collapsed, and a title-deed scandal that they colluded in. It has a communist president and vast deposits of natural gas. Russia and China hover nearby. And it points out, unwittingly, why no country should ever do what the EU Summit will focus on: transfer even more sovereignty to the EU.
The EU Summit To Save the Euro Has Already Collapsed
by Wolf Richter • • Comments Off on The EU Summit To Save the Euro Has Already Collapsed
During the two-day EU summit on June 28 and 29, all eyes will be breathlessly riveted on German Chancellor Angela Merkel—with one question on all lips: will she blink? Because nothing less than the future of the Eurozone and the euro is at stake. And by extension, the world economy. Only she can save it. And she’d have only 48 hours!
The Extortion Racket Shifts To Italy
by Wolf Richter • • 2 Comments
One thing Greek politicians have taught other European leaders: fear mongering for the purpose of extortion is the way to go. It might not work, and it might be counterproductive, and it might destroy confidence in the economy and give investors goose bumps and blow up markets, and it might cause spooked consumers to hold back on purchases and worried businesses to freeze hiring plans, thus exacerbating the situation, but it’s nevertheless the way to go.