Germany

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...

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...

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...

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...

The ECB did not change its rates earlier today, consistent with investor expectations. Both Spain and France had strong demand for bond auctions today. Spain's yield was nearly 5% on its longest term offering, a significant increase. With ECB rates holding steady at a record low 1%, today's...

Shortly after signing an agreement with 25 other European Union leaders for a new fiscal treaty that would punish euro zone countries that failed to meet budget targets, Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy dropped the bombshell that Spain was going to run a bigger 2012 deficit than the one it had...

Greece may have moved a bit further away from default after Finland's Parliament approved the latest Greek bailout plan. The Finnish parliament easily passed the bailout measure with a 111-72 vote, which followed successful votes to approve the Greek rescue package earlier this week by the German...

The euro zone unexpectedly shrank in February, adding to fears that Europe might be about to fall back in to recession. The latest survey results from Markit Economics' purchasing managers' index (PMI) showed that the index fell back to 49.7 in February, down from 50.4 in January. The results are...

Greece and finance ministers from the other 16 euro zone countries agreed to terms for Greece to receive a 130 billion euro ($172 billion) aid package that they hope will help Greece to avoid a default on its burdensome debt. Although the latest deal between Greece and the finance ministers is...

The government of German Chancellor Angela Merkel was delivered a blow on Friday when the President of Germany resigned over allegations of corruption. Former German President Christian Wulff's role was largely a ceremonial one but he was expected to act as the moral leader of the German government...