Europe

Monetary policy has never been so interesting. With price increases in food and energy causing upheaval around the globe, citizens of the world are crying out for policy makers to get a handle on inflation. Yet, the global banking system…

So after much posturing about inflation and what to do about it, the Fed backed down, and the ECB stepped up to the plate. What the effect on currencies and the bond market will be is anyone's guess. But, given the Fed's rhetoric does not…

Update 4 Jul 2008: see a fuller answer to this question at my new post: The ECB is right and the Fed is wrongThat's the question Ambrose Evans-Pritchard addressed in his blog yesterday. I am firmly in the deflationist camp, meaning…

As I have said in prior posts, I am a bit of a eurosceptic. It is my view that the Euro is a political construct just as the expanded European Union has been and just as the reunification of East and West Germany on a 1 for 1 currency basis…

The wage-price spiral is now underway in core Europe as German wages are on the rise. The ECB will surely act as it has no other choice with inflation now the dominant economic concern across the Eurozone.Today, German daily Der Spiegel…

The Globe & Mail (via AP) has reported that the first shot across the bow for Big Oil has been delivered by the new Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. With oil prices surging and inflation at very elevated levels around the…

From the Telegraph:Irish right to craic the whip over EU treatyBy Liam HalliganLast Updated: 1:38am BST 15/06/2008Against the advice of the major political parties and most of the media, Irish voters have rejected the Lisbon Treaty. Good…

European banks are still in need of time or money to recapitalise their weak balance sheets. This has to be especially worrying for UK banks as they have raised a significant amount of capital and their housing market has yet to see the…

The Lisbon Treaty, which was to give the European Union more say over matters in EU member states received a vote of no confidence from Ireland. The result was 52% against and 48% for. Just as with the EU constitution, there is great…

As the Euro celebrates its tenth anniversary, Vaclav Klaus, the President of the Czech Republic, says:"The question is whether the eurozone countries and their citizens have cause to celebrate. The answer is uncertain, given the zone’s…