Ireland

By Sober Look Analysts often talk about how the weak euro helps exporters in the Eurozone, particularly Germany because of its massive export sector. But is Germany the main beneficiary? Which other nations want the euro to weaken further?…

This week's second weekly-length post is just another review of the Price Waterhouse Coopers study that is big news in the German press. I have now seen the numbers in a bit more granular detail and I wanted to run through them for me…

Ireland was hit hard by the financial crisis in 2009 - before Greece and Portugal came on the scene. It took a complete recapitalization of the banking system via "bad bank" structure called Irish Bank Resolution Corporation (IBRC) that…

A recent story in German magazine Der Spiegel highlights the efforts in 2005 of German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder to relax the penalties for deficits in breach of the euro zone's stability and growth pact. It is a good review of the…

Last week's newsletter focused on Monti and Rajoy forcing Europe into true EuroTARP as the chief headline coming out of the latest European summit. A lot of other commentary focused on the agreement to let the ESM/EFSF buy up sovereign…

This week's newsletter will focus on Europe again as this morning the European summit has produced significant changes in European economic policy. Spanish Prime Minister Rajoy and Italian Prime Minister Monti threatened to 'block…

The euro zone continues to dominate the headlines, with both Spain and Greece on the verge of collapse. Ireland, however, has voted in a referendum today to decide whether it accepts the fiscal treaty that Germany has been pushing for in…

The Spanish banking system is insolvent and the Spanish government simply does not have the wherewithal to clean it up. This is the problem in Spain that has come to a head, particularly now after the rescue of Bankia, Spain's fourth…

The Swiss National Bank reported its reserve figures yesterday and the increase in its sterling holdings are notable and may help explain the its relative strength, despite data a soft real sector reports, culminating in the news last week…

ECB President Draghi's support for a growth pact for Europe is important, perhaps under-appreciated by the market. This is not simply a tactic to deflect attention from the IMF's call that the ECB ease monetary policy further. The ever…