Category Archives: Europe

Latest Greece Talks End in Confusion, Dissent

It’s hard to fathom Greece’s approach to its dealings with its oppressors, um, creditors.

Yanis Varoufakis: Of Greeks and Germans: Re-imagining our Shared Future

Varoufakis addresses the need for Greeks and Germans to stop the blame game and work together.

Michael Hudson: Europe Tilts East Towards China

The sudden rush of countries joining China’s infrastructure bank, including supposed US allies like the UK, Germany, and France, demonstrates the desire of not just emerging but also advanced economies to have access to international institutions that are not dominated by the US. Whether the infrastructure bank actually winds up being better, as opposed to simply different than existing institutions remains to be seen. But as Hudson describes, the World Bank sets a low bar.

Rob Parenteau: “Goebbelnomics – Austerian Duplicity and the Dispensing of Greece

A case study in Goebbelnomics, here used by austerians to justify the class and economic war against Greece.

IMF Labels Greece “Most Unhelpful Client in its History”

This report does not bode well for Greece Prime Minister Alex Tsipras’ efforts to resolve what he regards as an impasse over negotiating process, but the IMF and possibly the ECB regards as a more fundamental outtrade.

Negotiations with Greece Close to Breakdown as Budget Strains Worsen

Things are not looking good for Greece.

John Helmer: IMF Loan to Ukraine Props Up Failing Banks, Enriches Oligarchs

One reason for our continued coverage of the IMF generosity to Ukraine isn’t simply to demonstrate how the institution is bending its rules to support US adventurism. It’s also to highlight the striking contrast with the treatment of Greece. While Greece has a class of oligarchs that specialize in tax-evasion, Ukraine is widely recognized as a spectacularly corrupt country, to the degree that it makes Greece look like a paragon of virtue.

John Helmer: IMF Makes Ukraine War-Fighting Loan, Allows US to Fund Military Operations Against Russia, May Repay Gazprom Bill

For the first time, an IMF loan is funding a country at war, and one that is an impossible basket case economically. It’s hard not to conclude that the IMF largesse served to solve the wee problem of getting Congress to approve funding for US adventurism in Ukraine.

Is There an Easy Way Out? Private Marketable Debt and Its Implications for a Eurozone Break-up

What are some of the more granular costs and risks of a Eurozone exit? This post looks at France as a test case.

Yanis Varoufakis: Presenting an Agenda for Europe at Ambrosetti

If you followed Yanis Varoufakis before he became a household word (at least in Europe and in finance circles), you’ll recognize that he is making a layperson-friendly case for the Eurozone reforms that he, Stuart Holland, and Jamie Galbraith call A Modest Proposal. A new wrinkle is that he argues that the scarcity of bonds eligible for QE argues for one of its ideas, infrastructure spending funded by the EIB (those bonds would presumably be eligible for QE purchases).

Michael Hudson on the IMF’s Tender Ministrations in Ukraine and Greece

This RT interview with Michael Hudson focuses on the appalling state of the Ukraine economy and the role of the IMF, both in its policy-violating rescue package there and on a more general basis.

Michael Hudson: Quantitative Easing for Whom?

Michael Hudson recaps the theory, or perhaps more accurately, political justifications for quantitative easing, as opposed to how it works in practice.

Penciling Out Greece’s Payment Deadlines and Budget Needs

Yves here. Unlike many other comments on the state of Greece’s finances, this post takes a stab at Greece’s ongoing budget needs as well as its various debt due dates. Note that one uncertainty flagged here has been resolved in Greece’s favor. The Greek government will receive €550 million this month from the Hellenic Financial Stability Facility.

Edwards: “Core Inflation In The US Would Be Just As Low As In The Eurozone If Measured On The Same Basis”

Core inflation is telling a very different story than headline inflation, leading the ECB to diverge markedly from the Fed’s posture.

Rob Parenteau: Why Understanding Money Matters in Greece

As Greece staggers under the weight of a depression exceeding that of the 1930s in the US, it appears difficult to see a way forward from what is becoming increasingly a Ponzi financed, extend and pretend, “bailout” scheme. In fact, there are much more creative and effective ways to solve some of the macrofinancial dilemmas that Greece is facing, and without Greece having to exit the euro. But these solutions challenge many existing economic paradigms, including the concept of “money” itself.