Eurozone

Bonjour, Merkel

Daniel Nehemia | Posted 06.01.2012

Daniel Nehemia

Less than a month after France chose her new president and few months before Germany starts her own elections campaigns, Europe is dealing with a collapse of more countries in the eurozone.

Austerity: 2011's Darling Becomes 2012's Pariah

Arianna Huffington | Posted 05.29.2012

Arianna Huffington

There's a new scarlet letter in town. Actually, it's the same letter -- "A" -- but it stands for a different word that's increasingly regarded as shameful: Austerity. The darling idea of 2010 and 2011 has become the pariah concept of 2012. And the evidence of profound change is all around, from France and Greece to Germany and -- gasp -- the Republican Party. The change, when it comes to the conventional wisdom on austerity, has come from a combination of public pressure and leadership: one pushing up from below, the other pressing down from above. None of this means that we should break out the Keynesian champagne any time soon. But it's clear the forces of austerity are in retreat. And that's a very good thing.

How to Avoid the Austerity Trap But Still Deal With the Budget Deficit

Robert Reich | Posted 05.29.2012

Robert Reich

Here is a way for us to avoid the austerity trap that Europe has fallen into. And we get on with the long-term job of taming the budget deficit when the economy is healthy enough to do so.

As Goes Greece

Robert Kuttner | Posted 05.29.2012

Robert Kuttner

Historians will look back on the spring of 2012 as moment when Europe's institutions and leaders either failed to contain a deepening crisis -- or as a time when leadership grasped the common stakes and rose to the occasion.

The End Of The Euro: A Survivor's Guide

Simon Johnson | Posted 05.27.2012

Simon Johnson

In every economic crisis there comes a moment of clarity. In Europe soon, millions of people will wake up to realize that the euro-as-we-know-it is gone. Economic chaos awaits them -- and the world.

The Bitter Future of Spain's Economy

Vashi Dominguez | Posted 05.24.2012

Vashi Dominguez

Is Spain in recession? Think again. This can't be classed as a recession, more like a crash that will probably change the Spanish economy forever.

Greece and the Beanstalk

Amalia Negreponti | Posted 05.23.2012

Amalia Negreponti

"Jack and the Beanstalk" is a story about how Jack and a terrible ogre finally compromise, learning to live together because they fear one another too much to risk doing otherwise. A similar hope of compromise is what lies at the heart of Greek voters.

Euro or Drachma? It's Not All About a Dilemma

Thanos Dimadis | Posted 05.23.2012

Thanos Dimadis

It's not only all about a dilemma but about how the Greek nation -- and especially young people -- will find again a reason to hope and believe that their future can get better, even if Greece after the very crucial next general elections can make it and stay hopefully in the eurozone.

Eurozone Preparing For Greece Exit Scenario

Reuters | Posted 05.23.2012

* Euro zone states urged to draft plans for Greek euro exit * Instruction given in euro working group call on Monday * G...

Eurozone Officials Tell Members To Make Plans In Case Of Greek Exit

Reuters | Posted 05.23.2012

* Eurozone officials call for Greek exit contingency planning * Bundesbank says scenario would be "manageable" * Euro z...

A Note of Caution

Irene Finel-Honigman | Posted 05.22.2012

Irene Finel-Honigman

There may be a momentary pride in the drachma as a symbol of Greece standing up to Europe and reasserting its independence, but sadly neither investors nor markets are likely to share the sentiment.

The Antisocial Valuation: Facebook vs. Greece

James Berman | Posted 05.22.2012

James Berman

A Greek company in the deep end of the contrarian pool is my preferred choice. Not because it has better growth prospects. It doesn't. But it has one thing FB lacks: It's priced right for the risk.

Earthquakes and Bombs in Italy

Jasmina Tesanovic | Posted 05.21.2012

Jasmina Tesanovic

It was a weekend of fear and mourning in Italy. Early this Sunday morning, an earthquake struck near Bologna. And on Saturday morning, a bomb exploded in front of a high school, killing a 16-year-old and injuring several other students seriously.

Which Way for Europe?

Robert Kuttner | Posted 05.20.2012

Robert Kuttner

While Greece is right on the razor's edge of default, and may yet be granted some overdue relief, the prospects for broader European recovery are still very bleak until the politics get a lot more radical.

Europe's Economic Woes Overshadow G8 Summit

Reuters | Posted 05.19.2012

By Jeff Mason and Laura MacInnis CAMP DAVID, Md., May 19 (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama pledged at a Group of Eight summit on...

Let Greece Do Debt Cold Turkey

Eric Margolis | Posted 05.18.2012

Eric Margolis

What would happen to Greece if it quit the euro? Financial chaos, capital flight, riots and bank failures... maybe. But after the apocalypse, Greece would eventually revert to its 1960's status: a poor but proud nation living off tourism, shipping, agriculture and fishing.

Germany's Merkel Pushes Greece To Hold Vote On Staying In Eurozone

Reuters | Posted 05.19.2012

* Greece says Merkel, Papoulias discussed referendum * German spokesman denies Merkel proposed idea * Greek parties angr...

Paul Krugman: The Euro Can Still Be Saved

The New York Times | Paul Krugman | Posted 05.17.2012

Suddenly, it has become easy to see how the euro — that grand, flawed experiment in monetary union without political union — could come apart at t...

A Quick Word on JP Morgan's "Hedge Gone Wrong" -- Was It a Euro Election Bet?

Terry Connelly | Posted 05.17.2012

Terry Connelly

The timing of JP Morgan's trading moves leads to the obvious question -- whether the London-based traders who happened to run the desk at Morgan London were making a bet on the outcomes of the French and Greek elections themselves.

Sure, There's Greece... But What About Spain?

Yanis Varoufakis | Posted 05.17.2012

Yanis Varoufakis

I shall concede all you want me to concede about my fellow Greeks on condition that you give me a plausible answer to a simple question: What on earth is Europe doing to Spain as part of this Grand Plan?

Is a Modern Greek Tragedy Imminent?

Apostolos Doxiadis | Posted 05.17.2012

Apostolos Doxiadis

They sought, and won, political profit by playing on people's grievances: resentment, fear and a chauvinistic, xenophobic nationalism -- and it is not just the extreme right that built its campaign on the latter, but also the radical left. To balance these, they gave only unrealizable utopian promises.

Voting for the Extremes

Melina Xaritatou | Posted 05.17.2012

Melina Xaritatou

It is insane to ask from people whose lives have been crashed to choose between the euro and the drachma. They can't answer to that.

Whither Eurozone Austerity?

Rajan Menon | Posted 05.15.2012

Rajan Menon

Europe's political winds have shifted over the past month. The first sign of this preceded the event now being hailed as the catalyst, Sarkozy's loss in France's presidential election, and it occurred in an unlikely place: the Netherlands.

Euro Ministers Plead With Greece To Stick With Austerity Program

AP | RAF CASERT | Posted 05.14.2012

BRUSSELS — Leading European Union finance officials promised to stand by Greece as a member of the eurozone provided it sticks to its bailout te...

How Will the French and Greek Elections Change the Direction of Europe?

Gemma Godfrey | Posted 05.14.2012

Gemma Godfrey

As French and Greek voters make their feeling about spending cuts loud and clear, we ask ourselves: why has there been such a strong swing to anti-austerity/pro-growth, how does this threaten the survival of the euro and is a Greek default still possible?