At the end of June of this year Italian spreads over German bunds were lower than Spanish spreads by 60 basis points, 0.6%. One month later both countries were perceived as equally risky by investors. After that Italy became increasingly … Continue reading →
Imagine you had a time machine. Now you have boarded it, pushed the button to travel far, but you forgot whether you have travelled back to January 1932 OR moved forward to next year, January 2012. Imagine you exit your … Continue reading →
So, this strange thing happens to me everytime I argue in favor of more public spending in this recession. I am told that Italy, with its public debt, will never be allowed by the European Union to run a deficit. … Continue reading →
A recession is when an entrepreneur is eaten up by debts and decides to take his life. A recession is families not sure of receiving their basic health services. A recession is two bordering countries fighting among their state leaders … Continue reading →
It seems that the primary breeding ground for what might, in the widest possible sense of the word, be understood as an opposition in the post-totalitarian system is living within the truth. The confrontation between these opposition forces and the powers … Continue reading →
Il ne faut pas blesser une bête. On la caresse ou on la tue. Jacques Chirac “Former President Jacques Chirac will not only go down in history as the first French head of state since World War Two to stand … Continue reading →
“Ludwig Erhard’s legacy in shaping Germany’s post-war recovery stretches far beyond his own country and far beyond his own times. His conception of the social market economy was visionary. And he even held cherished views about central bankers, stressing the … Continue reading →
Welcome to the land of the blunders of economic policy, Greece. The International Monetary Fund just released its Fifth Review of Greece Under the Stand-By Arrangement and it does not look good, not even to the usually bullish Austerity- providers … Continue reading →
Ils prétendent avoir aussi la tête mieux organisée, et, en conséquence, ils se vantent d’être plus capables de gouverner; mais je leur montrerai des reines qui valent bien des rois.” Voltaire, “Femmes, soyez soumises à vos maris”, in Mélanges, pamphlets … Continue reading →