News Links: The Real Reason Germany Doesn’t Want The ECB To Print Money

I am separating out the English-language and foreign–language links. Here are the English-language links for 26 November.

• Here’s The REAL Reason Germany Doesn’t Want The ECB To Print Money

  The REAL reason, as explained by strategist Lorcan Roche Kelly in a note for Trend Macro, is that early last decade, Germany embarked on a policy called Agenda 2010, which basically offered German workers a trade: They’d get very little real wage growth, but in exchange, unemployment would be kept low. And indeed, Germany has had the lowest wage growth in Europe, as this chart from Triplecrisis.com shows nicely…

• Prepare for riots in euro collapse, Foreign Office warns – Telegraph

  British embassies in the eurozone have been told to draw up plans to help British expats through the collapse of the single currency, amid new fears for Italy and Spain.

• Germany is the real winner in a transfer union – FT.com

  Over the past 18 months, Germany has tried every trick to limit its contribution to the euro bailouts. It has pushed self-defeating austerity onto bankrupt countries. It has called in the International Monetary Fund. It has tried to pass the hat to China. It has discovered an improbable and futile taste for leveraging up the European Financial Stability Facility. But now these tricks have uniformly failed, and the continent approaches the abyss – with Germany itself suffering the humiliation of a failed bond auction. It is time for Germany to decide once and for all: how much will it pay to save Europe?

• EconoMonitor: The Failed Political Economy of the Euro Crisis

  Given the miserable performance of the current set of political leaders, they have lost all credibility. There is little reason to believe that they will be able to resolve the crisis. This is not a moral or political statement, but an assessment based on rather elementary political economy. In the end, crisis resolution is a matter of restoring confidence in the state. For that task, Europe needs new leaders, who can handle a crisis in a relevant way. Until then, the euro crisis is likely to persist.

• First Direct tops banking customer satisfaction poll | Money | The Guardian

  Survey reveals the best and the worst of the UK banks

• 20 Banks That Will Get Crushed If The PIIGS Go Bust

  Now it looks like Commerzbank could be the next bank to fall in the crisis, which we found to have exposure to the PIIGS second only to Dexia of non-peripheral European banks in this exposure stress test

• Why a German downgrade is the next logical step in the euro crisis – Telegraph

  If someone suddenly says "Grunderkrach" to you today in an animated state, they’re not hurling abuse with an obscure Germanism, no matter what it might sound like.

• The Kindle Fire, What Is It Good For? | TechCrunch

  The Fire is a standout media tablet that does a few things very well and I am going to tell you what they are.

• The Associated Press: Bank owner wanted by Lithuania granted bail in UK

  A London court has released Russian businessman and Portsmouth Football Club owner Vladimir Antonov on bail following his arrest in connection with a massive money-laundering probe in Lithuania.

• Police: Woman anxious to get Xbox uses pepper spray on other Black Friday shoppers, 20 injured – The Washington Post

  A woman trying to improve her chance to buy cheap electronics at a Walmart in a wealthy suburb spewed pepper spray on a crowd of shoppers and 20 people suffered minor injuries, police said Friday.

• BBC News – Belgium credit rating downgraded by S&P

  Belgium’s rating was cut by one notch, to AA from AA+, with S&P expressing concerns about funding and market pressures.

• Italian bond yields rise above 8% – FT.com

  Bond yields on short-term Italian debt rose above 8 per cent on Friday as Rome was forced to pay euro-era high interest rates in what analysts called an "awful" auction. A peak of 8.13 per cent was reached on three-year bonds, according to Reuters

• Your country needs you to buy our bonds, says Belgium’s prime minister | Business | The Guardian

  Belgium is offering savers 4% interest on a five-year public bond. That compares with a yield of around 5% demanded by institutional investors on Thursday for a 5-year benchmark bond.

• Racism in Germany: A Story of Death Threats and Casual Insults – SPIEGEL ONLINE – News – International

  Germany was shocked to learn the extent of the crimes committed by a recently uncovered right-wing extremist group. But racism is hardly an anomaly in Germany. One family’s experience shows just how widespread prejudice and hate really is.

• Italian Yields Jump After Poor Auction – WSJ.com

  Italian two-year and five-year yields climbed to 7.7% and 7.8%, respectively, and the 10-year yield moved further above the key 7% mark to 7.3%.