2011

The following letter from the German Chancellor and the French President was addressed to European Council President Herman Van Rompuy

The ECB delivered the much expected 25 bp rate cut, though the decision was not unanimous. There was some immediate disappointment by some players positioned for the outside chance of a 50 bp move. The ECB addressed the liquidity and…

Here are a few code words that you will often see in economic writing followed by their true meaning. The code word is a dog whistle. It acts like an emotional marker only for those attuned to the underlying 'moral' issues inferred by the…

Michael Hudson was on RT's Capital Account with Lauren Lyster, speaking about the loss of democracy that has accompanied the global financial crisis. The video is below, but recently Michael also wrote two articles for the Frankfurter…

The dollar is trading slightly firmer ahead of today’s ECB rate decision and tomorrow’s summit. We expect the ECB to cut by 25bps, with a possibility of a 50bps cut; look to fade knee-jerk reaction. Australia’s employment much weaker than…

Opinion polls and surveys are finding an increasing number of people expect one or more countries to leave the euro zone. Investors are anxious. What is to be done? What makes this so difficult is that there are so many moving parts and…

We could be wrong on this one and may have too much faith in the Eurocrats, but think of consequences if we are wrong? If the EU fails here, it will 1931 all over again and will put the “Great” in this rolling depression/recession.…

Germany and France are pushing for treaty changes. Under normal conditions treaty changes are a long drawn out process, subject to horse trading and vulnerable to domestic political considerations and the outcome is far from guaranteed.…

News links for 7 December 2011 featuring thoughts on a French downgrade, the austerity budget in Ireland, patents and China and other stories

This appropriation of the economic surplus to pay bankers is turning the traditional values of most Europeans upside down. Imposition of economic austerity, dismantling social spending, sell-offs of public assets, de-unionization of labor,…