Tag Archives: Germany

An interesting analysis of current EU politics by Peter Hitchens with reference to Germany and Russia, with some good historical background. It is interesting because some of his thoughts line up with what people on the left have also argued on, for example, the Ukraine, and the absurdity of the “new” Cold war that has been ratcheted up with Russia.[embedded content]

In my last post, I warned about "siren voices" calling for tighter monetary policy while the Eurozone economy is stuck in a toxic equilibrium of low growth, zero inflation and intractably high unemployment. Specifically, the so-called "German Council of Economic Experts (GCEE)" has called for the ECB to reduce or unwind QE: ...the European Central Bank should slow down the expansion of its balance sheet or even phase it out earlier than announced. Of course, the GCEE is only concerned...

Down a bit but still trending higher since the oil price collapse: Seems she still doesn’t realize negative rates are just another tax: FED’S YELLEN: IF ECONOMY SIGNIFICANTLY DETERIORATED, NEGATIVE RATES AND OTHER TOOLS WOULD BE ON THE TABLE This implies the rest of Saudi pricing remains the same from November, when discounts to benchmarks were substantially increased. In general, discounts have been increased over the last few months: Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest oil exporter,...

Down to 1.9 for Q4, after being very close for Q1, Q2 and Q3: German Engineering Orders Hit by Lower Demand From China By Nina AdamNov 2 (WSJ) — Germany’s VDMA engineering federation said Monday that its “plant and machinery makers are battling against global markets’ adversities.” German mechanical engineering orders slumped 13% year-over-year in September, hit by a 18% drop in foreign demand. Foreign orders from outside the eurozone were down 7% in the nine months through September from...

The Group of 30 central bankers and economists has produced a new report, "Fundamentals of central banking: lessons from the crisis". It traces the history of central banking theory and practice, including the economic thought that underlies it. And it draws from it some important lessons about the causes of the 2008 crisis and the reasons for the very long, slow recovery. I've discussed the main themes of the report here (Forbes).But in this post, I want to focus on a particular piece of...

Exports down but so are imports, indicating a weak global economy and continued euro support from trade net flows: Germany : Merchandise Trade German exports plunge at fastest pace since global financial crisis Oct 8 (Reuters) — German exports plunged in August. Data from the Federal Statistics Office showed seasonally-adjusted exports sliding by 5.2 percent to 97.7 billion euros month-on-month, the steepest drop since January 2009. Imports tumbled by 3.1 percent to 78.2 billion...

In-depth analysis on Credit Writedowns Pro. By Fabio Ghironi As originally written at Vox. Success of the German-inspired solution for the latest Greek crisis is far from assured. If it fails, the Eurozone may be changed forever. This column argues that the failure would lead to an outcome that has been favoured for decades by Germany’s Finance Minister, Wolfgang Schäuble. Perhaps the package the Eurozone agreed is just a backdoor way of getting to the ‘variable geometry’ and monetary...

Guest post by Tom StreithorstVladimir Illych Lenin may well be the most destructive political theorist of the 20th century.  His glorification of a conspiratorial party as agent of a glorious future legitimised mass murder from Bolshevik Russia to Nazi Germany to Cambodia's Khmer Rouge.  Nonetheless, he did invent an analytical tool political scientists and economists should use more often: “Kto Kovo”, or “who beats whom”.  In examining any policy, Lenin suggests the first...

In-depth analysis on Credit Writedowns Pro. You are here: Political Economy » Yanis Varoufakis: Greece, Germany and the Eurozone – Keynote at the Hans-Böckler-Stiftung, Berlin, 8 June 2015 This post is re-posted from Yanis Varoufakis’ blog with his permission. CLICK HERE FOR THE VIDEO Thank you for inviting me. Thank you for being here. Thank you for the warm welcome. Above all thank you for the opportunity to build bridges, to pave common ground, to bring harmony in the face of blatant...

In-depth analysis on Credit Writedowns Pro. You are here: Markets » Are bond investors crying wolf? The Absolute Return Letter, June 2015 By Niels Jensen To me, consensus seems to be the process of abandoning all beliefs, principles, values and policies. So it is something in which no one believes and to which no one objects.” Margaret Thatcher Investment heavyweights challenge the consensus On a regular basis I challenge the consensus. It is part of my nature, I suppose, but it comes at...