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Hungary: The Greece of Eastern Europe
By Kathleen Brooks. The opinions expressed are her own. It used to be Greece that was the canary in the coal mine, these days it’s Hungary. The new year got off to a bad start for the Eastern European...
View ArticleA funny sort of Union
The pictures from Athens at the weekend showed a city in turmoil: protests turned violent, buildings were alight and an anti-German feeling was clear for all to see. German flags have been burnt as...
View ArticleGermany should be happy to let Greece go
When the Greek crisis began, there was much talk of contagion as the greatest short-term risk. In my view, this worry is almost irrelevant because bondholders are in any case facing a haircut of over...
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Spain, Italy and Greece are miracles waiting to happen
By Laurence Copeland. The opinions expressed are his own. Last November, at the time of the Chancellor of the Exchequer’s Autumn Statement, the two men in charge of our fiscal and monetary policy...
View ArticleThe Law of Diminishing Greeks
The Law of Diminishing Returns states that a continuing push towards a given goal tends to decline in effectiveness after a certain amount of effort has been expended. If this weren't the case, Usain...
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Why isn’t the euro falling even further?
If the euro really is on the verge of collapse, as many pundits are now proclaiming, how come it is still so highly valued against other currencies, including the U.S. dollar? That may sound like a...
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Can Germany afford to let Greece leave?
By Kathleen Brooks. The opinions expressed are her own. The upcoming elections in Greece have gained added significance in recent weeks. It’s not just the Greek people choosing their next leader; it is...
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Decisive euro action is needed at the G20 summit
The European crisis is no longer a European crisis. It is now everyone's. Unless Monday’s G20 summit in Mexico coordinates a concerted global action plan right now, we face a global slowdown that will...
View ArticleEurope risks going the way of Japan
(The views expressed by former British prime minister Gordon Brown are the author's own and not those of Reuters) The good news is that Europe is no longer going the way of Greece. The sad news is that...
View ArticleBrexit could come before Grexit
Investors have been obsessed with the notion of “Grexit” - Greece’s exit from the euro. But “Brexit” - Britain’s exit from the European Union - is as likely if not more so. The country has never been...
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Stubborn national politics drag down the global economy
Four years ago world leaders, meeting in the G20 crisis session, agreed they would all work to move from recession to growth and prosperity. They agreed to a global growth compact to be delivered by...
View ArticleChastened ECB wary of premature monetary tightening
–Darren Williams is European Economist at AllianceBernstein. The opinions expressed are his own.– Cyclical indicators have improved, but the economic and financial backdrop in the euro area remains...
View ArticleAll pain, no gain for Germany
By Laurence Copeland. The opinions expressed are his own. Whenever the question of the future of the euro zone comes up, you can always rely on someone (often a German) to say something like “Yes, of...
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Without coordinated leadership, Europe will falter
There is an increasing probability that financial markets will respond negatively to the unfolding economic and political drama unfolding across Europe. So far, the European Central Bank has pumped out...
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Why the EU is right on Cyprus
The reaction to this weekend’s European Union bailout deal for Cyprus has gone from initial shock to rather predictable condemnation. “Europe botches another rescue,” ran the headline on an editorial...
View ArticleBudget day cheer is here again
By Laurence Copeland. The opinions expressed are his own. Budget Day again, and the pressure on Chancellor George Osborne is rising ominously. There is little agreement about what needs to be done, but...
View ArticleHow do you police without a force?
You will often have heard it said that the euro zone cannot ultimately survive without fiscal union. This is complete nonsense. The truth is that, even with a full fiscal union, it cannot survive – at...
View ArticleAn ECB rate cut would be no magic wand
–Darren Williams is Senior European Economist at AllianceBernstein. The opinions expressed are his own.– Disappointing April data suggest that the European Central Bank is set to cut the refinancing...
View ArticleThanks, Greece
The euro zone crisis has been a piece of luck for Britain. Imagine what would have happened without it. In the immediate aftermath of Lehman, Britain’s position looked utterly hopeless. With a budget...
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Greek bailout sham
Driven by its bailout loan terms, the Greek Parliament recently voted to lay off 25,000 more public employees. The public has responded with demonstrations while striking public sector workers try to...
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