Emmanuel Macron’s ambitious plans to reform eurozone institutions received a further setback when German chancellor Angela Merkel toed her party’s line and rejected some of his bolder proposals when the two met in Berlin last week. Merkel’s stance makes it unlikely that any meaningful structural reform of eurozone institutions will be agreed upon at the […]
Much to the expectation of eurozone pundits, Riga’s April 24 gathering of euro finance ministers made little progress in terms of reaching an agreement for Greece’s comprehensive list of reforms.
Two weeks ago, I used this space to lament the austerity measures currently being implemented in Europe. With the European Common Currency Zone stuck in six consecutive quarters of recession, it’s easy to understand just how sick the continent’s economy is on a macro scale. One country which is certainly not sick these days is Thailand. […]
The eurozone crisis is back on the international agenda with a very serious crisis unfolding in Cyprus right now. Some Wall Street investors might argue just in time to pull the rising U.S. stock market indices — the Dow Jones hit an all-time high recently — down for a better entry point in order […]
The press and the European public opinions are not impressed by the latest agreement made behind closed doors between the recently elected president of Cyprus, Nicos Anastasiades, and the EU in order to assure a €10 billion bailout for Cyprus. According to the agreement on the bailout, all Cypriots will have to chip in. As […]
If there is one element that Europeans can agree on is the satisfaction of President Obama’s reelection. The European Union is currently facing visceral crises such: Cameron’s attacks on the EU budget, the uncertain future of France’s economic recovery, the movements of independence, and so on. Despite what was supposed to be a tight race, […]
Maybe the solution to the Euro crisis cannot be found in politics, economic, finances, but in soccer. The Euro 2012, taking place this month of June in Poland and Ukraine, has offered the opium needed to the peoples of Europe. The final four counts Spain, Portugal, Italy, and Germany, meaning that at least one of […]
What to watch this weekend: the US golf open in San Francisco, the Euro 2012, the third game of the NBA Finals–Go Heat–or the latest Ridley Scott’s Prometheus? In fact the place to look and observe should be the Mediterranean. This weekend the world will be watching, especially in the US and Europe, the outcomes […]
In this bleak economic era, the only constants that have prevailed throughout the most part of the global financial crisis are risk and uncertainty. On January 12th, Standard and Poor’s downgraded France, joint-chief compere of the Eurozone’s economic horror show and its second largest economy. The very same day, the economies of Spain, Italy, Portugal […]
What is the state of the Union? Where is the EU heading? Will it survive the current economic, democratic, and financial crises? These were some of the questions raised and tackled during a day-long workshop sponsored by the EU Center of Excellence at the University of Miami. Not only are the questions important, but the […]
Standard and Poor’s rating agency has lowered the credit ratings of 9 eurozone members, including formerly AAA-rated France and Austria. The move is significant, affecting as it does the future of the eurozone’s bail-out fund, the French presidential election, the roll-over of existing European sovereign debt, and more. However, the downgrade is not really a […]
At least 23 and perhaps as many as 26 of the 27 members of the European Union have agreed to an inter-governmental agreement that may or may not save the euro from the bond market vigilantes. A full-blown treaty failed because there was not unanimous support for the idea – Britain stood alone in saying […]
Wednesday, November 23, 2011, Germany sold 10-year Bunds at its debt auction worth 3.64 billion euro with an average yield of 1.98%, and the bid-to-cover ratio was 1.1 , while the Bundesbank retained the remainder of the 6 billion euro offering. To most people, that’s just Wall Street gobbledegook, but in fact, it is a […]
This year has been all about Greece. The troika, meaning the IMF, ECB, and Commission, have been working on containing the Greek crisis and limiting the contagion to the rest of the Union and ultimately to the global markets. The outcomes of the meeting over the weekend are a new bail-out plan and more ‘haircuts.’ […]
Hollywood and other sects have made millions of dollars speculating on the eventual end of the world in 2012. However, should 2012 be instead seen as the year of the renouveau? Powerful states will go through a change of leadership next year; as is the case with France, the United States, China, Russia, Spain, India, […]