Europe

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,…

Asia extended the euro's recovery, but developments in Europe have seen it surrender the earlier gains and move back toward the lows seen in North America yesterday near $1.3360. The relatively light participation in the ECB's 84-day…

The “troika” – Italian, Spanish, and French bond yields - is acting pretty well even after the S&P downgrade. Italy is under 6 percent and that is what matters. We sense there will be tremendous pressure on the shorts and equity risk…

What must the summit produce in order to address these and help solve the Europe crisis once and for all? The answer is very much in keeping with Wolfgang Munchau’s excellent take in his column in yesterday’s FT. Hopes have coalesced around…

"Standard & Poor's Ratings Services today placed its long-term sovereign ratings on 15 members of the European Economic and Monetary Union (EMU or eurozone) on CreditWatch with negative implications. "

In the aftermath of the emergence of a “reinforced ‘Stability and Growth Pact’”, Citigroup chief economist Willem Buiter is pessimistic about growth outcomes in the major developed economies because the political economy of the sovereign…

The euro sold off amid the rumors of the S&P decision to put on credit watch 15 euro zone countries. Spared was Greece, in a world of its own, and Cyprus, which was already on credit watch. It sold off further in Asia, but Europe has…

China has an interest in preventing the total collapse of the largest buyer of its exports, but it also has an interest in forcing Europe to divest its overseas assets. Chinese banks and companies are in a position to be a buyer of some of…

News links for 5 December 2011 featuring stories on Europe, the sovereign debt crisis, and shadow banks,

Italy's government has come forward with an aggressive 30 billion euro austerity package to prevent the country's bankrupcty and pave the way for the fiscal integration that Angela Merkel is pushing as the key to solving the European debt…