Perseverare Diabolicum
Last week the Council decided that Spain and Portugal’s recent efforts to reduce deficit were not enough. This lead to the two countries being fined, the first time this happens since the inception of the euro.
CRISIS
Spain’s Property Crisis About To Pass Into History
Eight years after the real estate bubble officially burst, all the existing indicators point to the sector’s crisis being over, although there are still some loose ends and some kind of legacy, such as the banking sector’s non-performing loans. But the data shows we can definitively put behind us an enormous problem which was a threat for the economic system for too long.
What Macroeconomists Are Missing
Andrew Sheng via Caixin | There are two main lessons that we can draw from the 2007 to 2009 global financial crisis: the failure of mainstream economics to predict and solve the crisis, and its inability to explain the rise of the Chinese economy
Is the Eurozone Ready for the Next Crisis?
The 2008 financial crisis was not a one-off event. The resources that were available to cope with that crisis would not necessarily be there if there was another crisis. Government debt and GDP ratios are still high, and pension and health costs are escalating across Europe.
Refugees Have Clear Their Final Destination Is Germany
Many countries refused to contribute to the European community’s handling of the crisis and, left on her own, Merkel explains: “We hope that once there is peace you will be able to return to your country”.
“A debt crisis in LatAM is still on the very distant horizon”
For the last four years, Jose Juan Ruiz has been chief economist at the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the largest multilateral development aid agency in the region, surpassing the World Bank. Despite the fact LatAm has suffered a massive shock, one of the biggest differences this time round compared to previous slowdowns is that the region has $600 billion of international reserves.
Yes, Capitalism Is Ailing
I will try to demonstrate the unusual and ground-breaking phenomena which led to the Big Financial Crisis of 2008 with data related to the US, but can also be replicated for other countries which lived through a speculative bubble (if there were any statistics available. Trying to get similar figures from the Bank of Spain or the National Statistics Institute is a major headache).
10 Good Things About the Not-So-Great 2015
Medea Benjamin | It would certainly be easy to do a piece about ten horrible events from 2015—from the ongoing war in Syria and the refugee crisis, to the attacks in Beirut, Paris and San Bernardino, to the rise of Donald Trump and Islamophobia. But that wouldn’t be a very inspiring way to bid farewell to this year and usher in a new one. So let’s look at ten reasons to feel better about 2015.
Key risks for Europe: Greece, China and Fed
New risks and setbacks again threaten Europe’s economic sentiment.
Want to fix the EU crisis? Get a eurozone budget –change treaties if needed
The Corner | June 5, 2015 | The eurozone needs its own treasury over and above national budgets, one that would not come at the expense of fiscal discipline at the national level. That is the radical shift advocated by Sigmar Gabriel and Emmanuel Macron, move that has been strongly resisted by Merkel throughout the crisis.