Eurozone

The debt crisis continuous to overwhelm Europe, and the prospects for countries most entrenched in debt, including Portugal, Italy, Greece, Spain, and Ireland, are dismal. Worse, whether these countries voluntarily leave or are coerced to leave, it is conceivable that Germany may opt to go solo...

It feels as though the market went from discussing a Greek exit as a very unlikely event to now the most likely endgame for Europe. The question is, what would a Greek exit actually look like and how would it play out? The answer can be seen in the way that the US authorities, along with other...

Tomorrow is the informal meeting of the European Commission and the European heads of state, which is a meeting to help set the agenda and decide on exactly what they will sign at the formal meeting in June. There will be lots of headlines and quoting of every person there, but I think that there...

After a very strong US session yesterday, risk assets stalled their gains overnight as Asian and European traders attempted to digest what had transpired domestically. The EUR/USD held firm around 1.2788 throughout the Asian session and actually even started to pick up towards the European open. It...

The New York Times’ reporters covering Europe’s financial, social, and political crises continue to channel Berlin and demonstrate an ignorance of economics so profound that it rivals the Wall Street Journal’s editorial writers and columnists. On May 18, 2012 the NYT published “Rising Greek...

On every business news homepage there is what we call a “thermometer story.”  In a thermometer story, the writer will bring to the surface an abundant amount of issues, or news items, for investors to ponder.  By doing this, an investor is supposed to get a solid grasp on the mental state of the...

German Chancellor Merkel wishes to stamp out any belief that there is a “magic bullet” to deal with the renewed euro zone crisis.  Merkel’s response to the crisis, however, is the fundamental cause of the second-stage of the crisis and it is the product of magical (un)realism – a series of...

To know the Washington Consensus as a regular citizen is to hate the Consensus.  The Washington Consensus, as the name implies, was an “inside the beltway” series of neo-liberal policies embraced by the IMF, the World Bank, and the U.S. government. It called for a minimal State and an all-...

PIMCO's CEO and co-CIO Mohamed El-Erian has sounded bells on what he believes are fundamental compromises that could thwart progress on the continued world crisis. In an article appearing on Project-Syndicate.org, Dr. El-Erian refers to two areas where the United States and Europe may be colluding...

In recent weeks, chatter in Europe has increasingly turned to the so-called "Tobin Tax". Named after Nobel award winning economist James Tobin who first proposed to regulate international currency markets, this tax would affect financial transactions. Advocated by Germany and readily supported...