Sign in
Sign in
Recover your password.
A password will be e-mailed to you.
Browsing Category
Political Economy
Chart of the Day: This is how many periphery bonds the ECB has already bought
This chart from Der Spiegel shows you that the ECB has been buying a lot of periphery bonds. But, no matter how much they have bought, their purchases are dwarfed by the absolute magnitude of bonds coming due next year in Italy, over 300…
The Fed should never buy Italian bonds
If the Federal Reserve were to load up on Italian bonds, the Fed would be exposed to default on foreign currency assets. If Italy defaults, then the Fed is on the hook. Offic
The solution for Europe’s crisis will be more integration rather than less
The German Christian Democrats hold a party congress next weekend. There are a number of proposals that members are trying to get incorporate into the party position and platform. One such proposal is to give the national central banks…
Euro zone breakup is inevitable
I continue to predict that Europe will move to change its constitution to include greater fiscal integration but also include explicit mechanisms for countries to leave the euro area.
The relevant articles of the Lisbon Treaty for the sovereign debt crisis
Since everyone is talking about sovereign deficits, austerity and the ECB’s duties and legal limitations, let’s go straight to the Lisbon Treaty text. Below are the most relevant parts of the Lisbon Treaty governing how the EU is supposed…
Franco – German plans for a rump euro beginning
I have been saying for some time that the euro zone is coming apart at the seams. This makes a lot of sense. The question is how to do it. Here’s my suggestion from a few days ago.
Merkel: ‘The ECB has a clear mandate, stability of the currency’
This is a translation from a Handelsblatt interview with Amgela Merkel. MUST READ.
Italy’s Political Drama: Tuesday Climax?
Assuming that the Greek and Italian political situation stabilize, the focus may shift back to the Iberia. The risk is that the new Spanish government will report a larger budget deficit and weaker finances in general than the outgoing…
Italy’s debt woes and Germany’s intransigence lead to Depression
Countries like Italy are simply not going to be able to grow their way out of the problem. Everyone is recognizing this now. Until Italy was at the heart of the crisis, we could all delude ourselves that this crisis could be met with…
Germany must do it, not China
So how do we explain the European crisis? One theory is that the European crisis was caused by the moral turpitude and spendthrift habits of lazy Europeans along the periphery, in sharp contrast to the hard-working and thrifty countries of…