Spaniards richer than Germans? A Bundesbank tale
MADRID | by Luis Martí | Almost twice as many Spaniards as Germans own their home and look therefore, richer. But they are not.
Germany
France’s German Mirror
Project Syndicate | By Dominique Moisi| In the mirror of Germany, the French must ask themselves fundamental questions. Have they made the right choices in terms of leaders and policies in recent decades?
The German economy will sustain Europe’s recovery
BARCELONA | CaixaBank researchers | The euro area’s drop in GDP was slightly more than expected. The European Commission expects a 0.3% drop in GDP in 2013, but the latest economic figures point to a slow recovery.
Germany needs to offset budget deficits, labour costs in the Eurozone
BRUSSELS | by Eberhard Rhein | However important balanced budgets might be for Europe in view of its rising social charges, in particular the huge burden resulting from an ageing population, Germany does not deserve praise for having precipitated the balancing of its budget.
The austerity Apostle’s conversion
MADRID | Something is moving in the EU. Those who up to now advocated doses of further austerity to cure Euro zone ailments, start faltering at the huge damage inflicted on the economy.
“France shows same weakness signs as peripheral economies”
MADRID | By Julia Pastor | Javier Flores, head of analysis at Asinver: “France’s economic system will not fall into bankruptcy, but the French model cannot be considered as a superpower any more.”
Peripheral austerity hurts German exports
German exports provided the government with proof that the country’s economy isn’t immune to the crisis affecting the economies in the south of Europe.
Klaus Hafemann: “Spanish debt interests are 3% of GDP, much lower than in 1996”
Klaus Hafemann, director of the Cologne Institute for Economic Research: “Almost no German likes the idea that the ECB could expand its monetary-policy mandate to actively finance states. But sometimes you have to do things you do not like.”
The Euro won’t break up, yet Europe might collapse
MADRID | Will European leaders ever jointly move forward? The more the global economy slows down and recession looms too over core euro zone countries, the farther Europe finds itself from agreeing in letting the central bank do its work.
What Herr Rösler said to Madrid, Rome: consolidate budgets or else
Philipp Rösler, vice chancellor and federal minister of economics and technology of Germany, used Tuesday in London some of the toughest language in defence of further austerity for the euro zone.