|
|
For 2½ years, the world has been watching and waiting to see if debt-laden Greece can remain in the euro zone. Many have been doubtful since the beginning of the debt crisis. Greece’s government debt is simply too burdensome, the fiscal adjustment imposed on Athens is too severe, the Greeks are too resistant to the [...]
So voters in France and Greece sent an inescapable signal to the euro zone: No more austerity. In doing so, they showed that the average guy on the street understands economics better than the people in power. Rather than reducing debt and returning the European economy to health, the all-austerity approach to solving the debt [...]
There have been many flaws in Europe’s strategy to resolve its ongoing debt crisis: The unreasonable obsession with austerity. The persistent reluctance to commit sufficient financial resources. The stubborn rejection of important tools like eurobonds. But perhaps the most misguided notion of all was the apparent assumption among European leaders that voters would meekly accept [...]
Chinese human-rights activist Chen Guangcheng is a brave man who has taken on China’s brutal authoritarian government and suffered personally for it, but beyond winning the hearts of sympathetic admirers around the world, his impact has largely been local. That changed, however, when he made his dash for safety from his house-prison last week and ended up under the protection of the U.S.
Two years ago this month I was in Madrid reporting a story on the troubles of the Spanish economy and what they meant for Europe and its debt crisis. And here I am today writing about the troubles of the Spanish economy and what they mean for Europe and its debt crisis. I usually don’t [...]
The euro means more to Europe than mere mathematical calculations of debt and growth can tell us, and the leaders and voters of the euro zone value the common currency based on what it means to Europe as much as what it does for Europe.
One of the more gratifying moments so far this year – at least in the realm of high finance – was the decision last week by shareholders of Citigroup to reject a $15 million pay package for CEO Vikram Pandit. The shareholders vetoed the award since they believed there was too big a disconnect between [...]
Anyone out there who thinks the euro zone debt crisis is over – and you know who you are – should take a good look at what’s going on in Spain. If Italy represented the biggest threat to the euro in 2011, then Spain will be the big story of 2012. Whatever numbers you look [...]
As you can imagine, the people out here in Asia are feeling pretty good about themselves these days. And why shouldn’t they? While the U.S. and Europe struggle with debt, unemployment and sagging competitiveness, most of Asia seems to jump from strength to strength, its economies powering through the downturn with apparent ease, its companies becoming more and more prominent on the world stage. Many believe its time for the west to learn from Asia.
If you’re watching global oil markets and getting a sickening feeling in your stomach, you’re in good company. Oil prices have spiked precipitously in recent weeks, with the U.S. benchmark price at over $107 and Brent rising to $125. Those increases are already being felt at the pump. Gas prices in the U.S. are creeping [...]
