The IMF has no intention of softening the terms of Greece’s austerity package, says Christine Lagarde. Photograph: Emmanuel Fradin for the Guardian It’s payback time: don’t expect sympathy – Lagarde to Greeks Take responsibility and stop trying to avoid taxes, International Monetary Fund chief tells Athens The International Monetary Fund has ratcheted up the pressure [...]
Eurozone leaders Angela Merkel and Francois Hollande talk ahead of the latest Brussels summit. Photograph: Lionel Bonaventure/AFP/Getty Images Eurozone crisis: Germany and France clash over eurobonds at summit French president François Hollande marks his Brussels debut by challenging chancellor Angela Merkel over bailout Ian Traynor in Brussels and Patrick Wintour guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 23 May 2012 20.37 BST European [...]
Greek Voters to Face Month of Eurozone ‘Fear-Mongering’ to Swallow Austerity Markets rattled by possible Greek exit from Euro; June elections may spell end of single currency – Common Dreams staff Greek voters are in for several tumultuous weeks ahead of next month’s parliamentary elections as the country’s “troika” of creditors – the European [...]
Most Greeks say they want their country to remain in the eurozone [EPA] Will Greeceleave the euro – and if so, what would happen next?The question has been bandied about for a few years now, but has gained more attention after Greek elections gave big boosts to parties opposed to the terms of the country’s [...]
Greek, French Elections Sound Death Knell for Austerity by Julio Godoy BERLIN – The voting out of conservative governments in France and Greece this weekend heralds the end of harsh European austerity programs and ushers in an era of new economic, investment, and social policies aimed at restoring growth and employment across the continent. In [...]
Change Europe can believe in? By Pepe Escobar Europe may just be living a remix of the late 2008 moment when Barack Obama won the presidency in the United States. But this time, will it be real? The election on Sunday of socialist Francois Hollande as president of France comes at [...]
Alexis Tsipras, the leader of a group of radical leftists, warned that Greece could walk away from its rescue deal with the eurozone. Photograph: Kostas Tsironis/AP The European executive has responded to the electoral earthquakes in France and Greece by calling for a shift towards growth across the EU as the new firebrand leftist leader in Athens [...]
German chancellor Angela Merkel has insisted Athens must comply with the stringent terms of its €130bn (£100bn) bailout. Photograph: Fabrizio Bensch/Reuters Eurozone crisis: Merkel tells Athens and Paris to stick to spending limits Efforts to save the euro under threat after EU leaders’ strategies collide with the wishes of voters in Greece and France Europe‘s [...]
Golden Dawn, a neo-Nazi party, will likely clear the 3 per cent of the vote it needs to gain seats in Parliament [EPA] New York, NY - On May 6, 2012, the people of Greece are called upon to conduct the most important national elections in their recent history. The gravity of the occasion is not [...]
REUTERS European Central Bank President Mario Draghi has suggested a ‘growth pact.’ Be it austerity queen Angela Merkel or Socialist François Hollande, European politicians are suddenly in agreement with ECB President Mario Draghi’s proposal to round out the European fiscal pact’s austerity measures with a “growth pact.” But many seem to have a different idea about what this means. [...]
The austerity fetish of those making economic decisions is killing Europe’s economy. The last few days have provided further proof. “Spain officially slipped back into recession for the second time in three years Monday, after following the German remedy of deep retrenchment in public outlays, joining Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands and the Czech Republic,” the [...]
IMF managing director Christine Lagarde holds a briefing in Washington on Thursday. Photograph: Alex Wong/Getty Images Christine Lagarde is involved in a last-ditch struggle to raise funds for the International Monetary Fund amid fears that a fresh eruption of the globalfinancial crisis will leave the organisation short of emergency cash. The Fund’s managing director was lobbying hard [...]
Fred R. Conrad/The New York Times Europe’s Economic Suicide By PAUL KRUGMAN On Saturday The Times reported on an apparently growing phenomenon in Europe: “suicide by economic crisis,” people taking their own lives in despair over unemployment and business failure. It was a heartbreaking story. But I’m sure I wasn’t the only reader, especially among economists, wondering if [...]
“Other countries have gone through similar experiences. Latin American countries suffered a lost decade after 1982, and Japan has been stagnating for a quarter of a century; both have survived. But the European Union is not a country and it is unlikely to survive. The deflationary debt trap threatens to destroy a still-incomplete political union.” [...]
Sarkozy ‘embarrassed France‘ with Obama video conference TV stunt French president condemned for allowing cameras in to film video link-up just days before first round of election Angelique Chrisafis in Paris guardian.co.uk, Sunday 15 April 2012 11.50 BST Article history Nicolas Sarkozy has been accused of using a video conference withBarack Obama to boost his [...]
Stock market panic selling led to shares falling across the world with the FTSE100 down 128 points. Photograph: Frank Baron for the Guardian European stock markets rocked by panic selling as debt crisis reignites Investors demanding high premiums for holding Italian and Spanish bonds as fears of double-dip recession grow Heather Stewart, Larry Elliott and Giles Tremlett in Madrid [...]
The European Central Bank’s offices in Frankfurt. Photograph: Michael Probst/AP Portugal’s domestic banks tap ECB for record amounts of funding Bank of Portugal says domestic banks’ use of European Central Bank’s facilities rose to a record €56.3bn in March Jill Treanor guardian.co.uk, Monday 9 April 2012 16.12 BST Article history The reliance of eurozone banks on [...]
By Richard Clark (about the author) Become a Fan (95 fans) — Page 1 of 2 page(s) opednews.com What follows here is a synopsis of an email sent out by Graham Summers, Chief Market Strategist at Phoenix Capital Research. Summers and other analysts say the coming collapse has been delayed by heavy intervention from the European Central Bank. [...]
Bio Gerald Epstein is codirector of the Political Economy Research Institute (PERI) and Professor of Economics. He received his Ph.D. in economics from Princeton University. He has published widely on a variety of progressive economic policy issues, especially in the areas of central banking and international finance, and is the editor or [...]
Ireland’s central bank governor, Patrick Honohan, is expected to ask for permission to delay a debt payment. Photograph: Julien Behal/PA Ireland ended last year in recession, according to figures released on Thursday, dealing a blow to the policy of economic austerity being forced on struggling eurozone countries by the European commission and the IMF. A dip [...]
Iceland was ravaged by the financial crisis in 2008, but bounced back by devaluing its currency [EPA] Washington, DC - Those who thought we have seen as much financial craziness as possible from this small island-country are in for a big surprise. The nuttiness is just beginning. Iceland is apparently considering adopting the Canadian dollar as its official [...]
Parti socialiste (CC-BY) Former Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou By Peter Bratsis, Truthout The most central and constant dilemma in modern politics has been the choice between the political desires and demands of citizens versus the policy expertise and prudence of bureaucrats and specialists. For the more democratically inclined, those like Machiavelli and Aristotle, [...]
Mario Draghi, the ECB president, said the last such offering averted a ‘major, major credit crunch’ [GALLO/GETTY] Banks have bought $713bn in funds from the European Central Bank at the lender‘s second offering of cheap three-year funds, raising hopes that more credit will flow into European lending markets and government borrowing costs will begin to ease [...]
Our Very Own Oscar Night in Rimini By Michael HudsonFebruary 27, 2011 “Counterpunch” — I have just returned from Rimini, Italy, where I experienced one of the most amazing spectacles of my academic life. Four of us associated with the University of Missouri at Kansas City (UMKC) were invited to lecture for three days on Modern Monetary [...]
Many Greeks resent the troika‘s demands for economic austerity in Greece [GALLO/GETTY] This page has consistently said that austerity is simply a lie foisted on an unwilling public by the elites and their managers and then espoused by an army of dishonest intellectuals who have constructed entire parts of logic and reasoning based on [...]
People shout during a huge anti-austerity demonstration in Athens’ Syntagma square. (Photo: Reuters)“The IMF has consistently underestimated the depth of the Greek recession,” saidMark Weisbrot, CEPR Co-Director and lead author of the paper. “At some point, it becomes rational for Greeks to ask, is the euro worth this kind of punishment?” Published on [...]
AP Merkel delivers the opening address at the World Economic Forum on Jan. 25. link to article http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/0,1518,811607,00.html As fears mount that the euro crisis could trigger a global recession, all eyes are on Germany to take an even stronger lead in the rescue efforts. But Chancellor Angela Merkel has disappointed these expectations, warning against placing [...]
THE LEADERS OF 40 COUNTRIES ARE SET TO MEET AT THE DAVOS FORUM TO DISCUSS REFORMS ON TODAY’S CAPITALISM, WHICH IS NAMED AS UNSUSTAINABLE BY SCHWAB, THE FOUNDER Economic and political elites meeting this week at the Swiss resort of Davos will be asked to urgently find ways to reform a capitalist system [...]
Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, said efforts by the international community to stabilise the situation in Greece had not worked. Photograph: Michael Sohn/AP Angela Merkel casts doubt on saving Greece from financial meltdown German chancellor speaks candidly to the Guardian and five other leading European newspapers as part of a unique collaboration to explore the EU’s predicament Angela Merkel has cast doubt for the first time [...]
Christine Lagarde was speaking ahead of Wednesday’s Davos summit Continue reading the main story Global Economy What caused the eurozone crisis? How will the euro crisis end? Crisis jargon buster Europe’s four big dilemmas IMF chief Christine Lagarde has warned the world faces an economic spiral reminiscent of the 1930s unless action is taken on [...]
Greece‘s finance minister, Evangelos Venizelos, talks to reporters on Friday. Photograph: Louisa Gouliamaki/AFP/Getty Images Greece is on the verge of a breakthrough in talks with its creditors that could wipe out up to 70% of its debts and alleviate the crisis in the eurozone. An outline deal, hurriedly endorsed by Brussels, came after a frantic three [...]
LIKE THIS ARTICLE ? Join our mailing list: Sign up to stay up to date on the latest headlines via email. Are the Ratings Agencies Abandoning Fiscal Austerity? Despite downgrades, even ratings agencies may be figuring out the economies in peril can’t be helped by mindless cuts and contractions. January 16, 2012 | This article although written [...]
Since becoming prime minister, Rajoy has taken steps to deal with Spain’s high unemployment rate [AFP] French President Nicolas Sarkozy is in Spain for talks with Mariano Rajoy, the country’s new prime minister, that are likely to be dominated by a sweeping credit downgrade that has reignited fears over the financial stability of the eurozone. Sarkozy, in remarks published [...]
Degrade This: Wall Street’s Ratings Agencies Undermine Europe’s Attempt at Recovery Acting Like Financial Terrorists by Danny Schechter We live in an increasingly degraded country. Our politics are degraded and a laughing stock to the word. Our military is demoralized and degraded with soldiers urinating on dead civilians and awaiting deployment orders for the next illegal [...]
DPA Concerns are growing once again about Greece. Hopes that Greece can be saved are dwindling. Athens had hoped to reach a deal with its creditors on a 50 percent debt haircut, but banks have now made it clear that efforts to reach an agreement could fail. Should the country go bankrupt, the European Central [...]
In a touching few moments in the economic lunacy charade why not as, isn’t this the same credit agency that rated subprime and get rich quick tricks AAA? Seems all is forgiven and apparently now their assessment has somehow come good. This is a real tribute to the power of propaganda as so many swallow [...]
Countries in Europe have suffered at the hands of the European Central Bank‘s gross mismanagement [EPA] Washington, DC - The people who gave us the eurozone crisis are working around the clock to redefine it in order to profit politically. Their editorials – run as news stories in media outlets everywhere – claim that the euro [...]
The European Problem The intrigue is at its height By Bob Chapman January 11, 2012 “International Forecaster” – The hand of the US elitists shows more each day in the decisions being made in Europe. Mario Draghi, ex-Goldman Sachs, Trilateralist and Bilderberg, is putting everything in place [...]
In this article Austerity is looked at and seen in a light you may prefer to the voodoo rhythm economics representation of the drastic effects of complete inequality. With the accelerating concentration placing even more into the hand of the elites and the sttoge bankers and politicians together with the media more is needed [...]
The stern faced Merkel loves nothing more than telling the people that if you are not part of the rich you are really an uninvited guest in the capitalist world of astronomical profit and endless growth to keep the elites life in the style they are used to. As a political stooge for the elites [...]
dapd A Greece official said on Tuesday that his country doesn’t have much time left to secure a bailout deal with the European Union. The holiday break was welcome, but on Tuesday, a Greek government spokesman said that the next three months were crucial if his country was to remain part of the euro zone. [...]
Debt Slavery – Why It Destroyed Rome, Why It Will Destroy Us Unless It’s Stopped by MICHAEL HUDSON Book V of Aristotle’s Politics describes the eternal transition of oligarchies making themselves into hereditary aristocracies – which end up being overthrown by tyrants or develop internal rivalries as some families decide to “take the multitude [...]
A Thai investor looks at an electronic share price display during the last day of trading in year 2011 [AFP] As the year turns, what’s in store for the global economy? Europe‘s on the threshold of recession. Its decade-old single currency seems to be on the brink of collapse. The US is [...]
REUTERS A ceremony to mark the launch of the euro coins in Frankfurt in December 2001: The euro was always built on delusions. Since its inception, the euro zone has been built on lies, the most grievous of which is the idea that the common currency could work without political union. [...]
dapd The European Central Bank in Frankfurt has given euro-zone banks a massive liquidity injection. The European Central Bank has launched the biggest lending operation in its history, and banks pounced on the offer on Wednesday, borrowing almost a half-billion euros for three years at a low interest rate. Governments hope the banks will use the [...]
A demonstrator holds a banner reading “Do not steal the future” in front of the Finance Ministry during a protest against the government’s austerity measures in Lisbon December 15, 2011. In Portugal, All-Out Privatization Gets Underway by Mario Querioz LISBON – The most far-reaching programme of privatisation of state enterprises in the [...]
The European Central Bank has announced details of the European banks taking advantage of its long-term refinancing operation. Photograph: Daniel Roland/Getty ECB loans highlight funding pressure on eurozone banks Financial strain of debt crisis laid bare as 500 banks borrow around €500bn in three-year loans from European Central Bank reddit this Comments (158) Larry [...]
‘The Euro-Zone Bailout Programs Must Be Stopped’ How to save the euro? Some believe that the European Central Bank is the key to any solution. Others think that the euro zone should be contracted and the weak members squeezed out. SPIEGEL spoke with two leading German economists about the currency’s future. Their one area of agreement? [...]
Guido Westerwelle, Germany‘s foreign minister, tried to build bridges with the UK today – before Britain refused to pay £25bn to the IMF-EU bailout fund. link http://www.guardian.co.uk/global/2011/dec/19/eurozone-crisis-live 8.29pm: Further evidence that this €150bn eurozone loan to the IMF is a little odd: Italy (too big to fail/bail) is providing €23bn. Duncan Weldon, senior policy advisor at the [...]
Countries in Europe have suffered at the hands of the European Central Bank‘s gross mismanagement [EPA] Washington, DC - The people who gave us the eurozone crisis are working around the clock to redefine it in order to profit politically. Their editorials – run as news stories in media outlets everywhere – claim that the euro [...]
