France faints in the core euro zone
The French PMI fell by almost four points while Germany’s expanded. That’s bad news for the euro zone, whose core is in for trouble as an isolated German engine cannot pull its neighbours out of recession.
In the World
Obama wins his first vote from Bernanke
Two months before the US general elections, the Federal Reserve activates a package of expansionary monetary policy that will artificially inject life into the US economy. Carlos Díaz sees this is a vote for Obama.
An inopportune trade deficit for Japan
Japan has lost exports steam. Its current account surplus has fallen from 20.7 trillion yen to 4.4 trillion yen in five years since 2007.
Wednesday’s graph: wait until next summer for growth in Italy, Spain
The recessions in the periphery of the euro zone are likely to affect GDP growth expectations for the entire monetary union, at least, during the rest of the year.
Germany’s boom is wreaking the country
FRANKFURT | Public pensions will be cut down by 2 percent, leaving many retired workers with less than €600 a month. That is under the minimum wages deemed sufficient in the country. Shocked? Don’t be. Look behind the picture of a wealthy Germany.
Bernanke despises inflation horror tales
Will inflation rise in the US? That is the expectation of investors. Is it due to the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy? You bet. But, economist Luis Arroyo concludes, eggs end up broken when making an omelette. Or when a central bank stimulates employment.
Bernanke just broke down austerity barriers
Economist Luis Arroyo tells his colleagues not to feel outraged because the Federal Reserve’s latest monetary policies make an expansionary impact on European markets, too. It is unavoidable.
The US: a country of financially illiterate investors
WASHINGTON | A troublesome unknown-unknown: how unaware are US investors of their illiteracy in financial matters? Rumsfeld, Iraq and the capital markets have something very obscure in common, says Pablo Pardo.
Milking the wealthy the British way
LONDON | Law-abiding citizens are happy, the government boasts about it and fiscal fairness rule over the land. But what does a £500-million extra tax bill collected from the wealthiest since 2009 says about the UK?
Fed’s meeting and ruling on ESM, crucial rendez-vous
Morning! There’s a lot of event risk this week. Among things investors will be looking up are the Federal Reserve’s meeting and German Constitutional Court ruling about the legality of the European Stability Mechanism. It’s not that the court will rule against the ESM, but it could attach conditions that would make it react slowlier. “Investors are likely to keep focusing on the ECB’s plan as a roadmap, which it’s…