How the EU Got Its Mojo Back–19 Summits Later
LONDON— By my count it took 19 European Union summits since the Greek economy began to crack three years ago, but EU leaders have finally finished dithering. At the summit in Brussels last week, we can now look forward to…
EU Crisis: This Week Could Change the Global Economy
LONDON—This looks like “the week that was” for Europe, as it prepares for a European Council summit in Brussels this Thursday and Friday. As of Monday evening, a 10-page draft document will begin circulating among EU leaders, outlining a new,…
After Greece: Radical Overhaul of EU is Next
LONDON—Most of Europe breathed an almost audible sigh of relief late Sunday evening, when the results of the most important elections in modern Greek history became clear. The center-right New Democrats, which took 29.7 percent of the vote, are firmly…
Spain Cuts a Deal: How Short is the Leash?
LONDON—As recently as last Friday Spanish officials, including Finance Minister Luis de Guindos, were offering investors and the markets sanguine reassurance that, no, there would be no need for a European rescue plan for Spain’s ailing banks. Spain could handle…
EU Crisis: How to Avert a Global Economic Depression
Remember back in the 1990s, when globalization was supposed to be the greatest thing since Saran Wrap? Maybe someday it will prove to be so, but right now we are walking on the dark side of the moon. Everything seems…
The Eurozone’s Biggest Challenge: Fear and Panic
It did not take long for the euroskeptics and lemmings to re-emerge in Europe. In a matter of days after the Group of 8 industrial nations met to pledge growth as the Continent’s “imperative,” we now seem to be a…
Will Europe Lose the War Between the States?
The Greeks did something interesting Tuesday morning. In a highly controversial decision, Athens announced that it would pay those bondholders who refused to participate in last March’s debt swap. Just 3 percent of Greece’s private creditors hold $552 million in bonds…
Will the End of Austerity Break Up the Eurozone?
With the elections in France and Greece Sunday, both supercharged by debt, deficits, and economic desperation, Europe is about to take a dramatic new direction. The eurozone is turning away from stringent austerity policies and toward those that stimulate demand….
The Socialist Who Can Rattle the Global Economy
At the end of a week of bad news across Europe, the French have handed the Continent another cliffhanger: In the first round of polling for the presidency on Sunday, incumbent Nicholas Sarkozy trailed his Socialist Party challenger, François Hollande….
How a European Recession Can Infect U.S. Markets
Europe is starting to look slightly schizophrenic, and we had all better pay attention. The stock slide last week — the worst of the year — was the direct result of wobbly conditions among the European economies, notably a growing…
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