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 Germany Swallow Inflation to Save the EU?
This weekend’s G-8 summit at Camp David, the U.S. president’s retreat, marks a big step for Europe in several different ways. After a couple of weeks of waffling, German Chancellor Angela Merkel now appears ready to deal on a new…
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….
What a Socialist France Would Mean for America
Should the U.S. be (a) frightened, (b) neutral or (c) exuberant that a very moderate Socialist looks set to win the presidency in France when the second round of voting takes place May 6? If Francoise Hollande wins, Americans should…
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…
Spain, on the Brink, Could Derail the U.S. Economy
Greece’s austerity plan, complete with debt swap, is now in place. Spain has announced its most rigorous budget since the post–Franco restoration of democracy in the 1970s. Italy has passed economic reforms worth more than $130 billion, 7 percent of…
The Greek Debt Deal: Austerity on Steroids
What a week to be Greek—or Spanish, or Portuguese. The debt-swap deal that most of Greece’s private creditors accepted last Thursday evening is of historic importance. Greeks now have at least a fighting chance of digging themselves out of debt…
EU Leaders ‘Occupy Greece’ to Oversee Bailout
The Greek financial rescue package, apart from its obvious necessity as a bailout mechanism, has always been about holding eurozone together, and living up to the legacies left by the European visionaries who started the continent on its way to…
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