Syriza Emulates Nixon Going to China in a Bad Way
It’s painful to watch the Greek ruling coalition unwittingly do the creditors’ work by wringing Greece dry of cash more aggressively than Pasok or New Democracy would have dared to.
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An Assessment of the State of the World Economy
Complex forces are shaping macroeconomic evolutions around the world. In this column, IMF’s Chief Economist Olivier Blanchard describes some of these forces and provides an overview of the state of the world economy. Putting the forces together, the baseline forecasts are that advanced countries will do better this year than last, and emerging countries will slow down. Overall, the global growth will be roughly the same as last year, with the macroeconomic risks having slightly decreased.
Read more...Angela Merkel’s NSA Nightmare Just Got A Lot Worse
Angela Merkel could be in serious trouble, after revelations that Germany’s national intelligence agency, the BND, has been spying on key European assets on behalf of US intelligence.
Read more...Does It Matter To You Who Wins The British Election Next Week?
A country survey of the effects of the British election, which takes place next week, with a musical critique of the Tories.
Read more...Why Syriza Failed
Syriza has failed because it does not believe in governing along the lines of what it promised unless it is easy to do so.
Read more...John Helmer: Ukraine Readies Itself for War When No One Wants to Pay for It
The IMF is finding it hard to put enough lipstick on the pig of financing Ukraine.
Read more...Eurogroup Demands Varoufakis’ Ouster; Trajectory Toward Default Continues
In case you had any doubts that Greece is supposed to act like a good debt vassal, the Eurogroup’s hissy fit over Yanis Varoufakis at last Friday’s meeting, which stoked a raft of unflattering articles, has now led it to demand to that Greek government remove him.
Read more...Greece Talks With Eurogroup Hit “Complete Breakdown”
The Greek negotiations with the Eurogroup are exemplifying the saying, “Things look the darkest before they go completely black.”
Read more...The Gazprom Case: Good Timing or Bad Timing?
Just a week after having sent a Statement of Objections (SO) in the frame of the antitrust case against Google, EU Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager sent yesterday an SO in the frame of the case against Gazprom. The decision to send a charge sheet against the Russian gas company came after almost three years of investigations, which have also seen EU antitrust officials raiding Gazprom offices in central and eastern European countries.
Read more...Wolf Richter: The Greek People Just Destroyed Syriza’s Strategy
Greek stocks ventured deeper into purgatory. The ASE index dove below 700 intraday on Wednesday for the first time since the crisis days of June 2012. Then word spread that the ECB had raised the cap on the Emergency Liquidity Assistance for Greek banks by €1.5 billion to €75.5 billion. It’s the oxygen line for Greek banks. Without it, they’re toast.
Read more...The IMF’s Big Greek Mistake
Instead of demanding repayment and further austerity, the IMF should recognize its responsibility for Greece’s predicament and forgive much of the debt.
Read more...John Helmer: The Potentate Of Prague — How the War Party in Washington is Losing Eastern Europe, Hillary Clinton Too
Why the richest man in Prague, who is also the Deputy Prime Minister of the Czech Republic, is planning to sue the US government for libel.
Read more...Greece Endgame Nears
Despite the market jitters of last Friday, which were triggered in part by the recognition that the odds of Greece reaching a deal with its creditors are far lower than had been widely assumed, Greek-related coverage has ratcheted down, even as Greece seems certain not to get any funds released in the April 24 Eurogroup meeting and is very likely to miss the end of April deadline for getting its reforms approved by the Troika and Eurogroup.
Read more...Nobel Prize Winner Robert Merton Slams Fed for “Negative Wealth Effect” Policies
Nobel Prize winner Robert Merton and Arlin Muralidhar have charged ZIRP and QE happy central banks with economic malpractice.
Read more...Greece: Default or Grexit?
A Greek default does not mean an inevitable Grexit. But even in the event of a default in the Eurozone, the costs to Greece of staying in the Eurozone are set to rise.
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