Sono passati 12 anni da quando scrissi il libro sull’uso improprio (ma non illegale) che alcuni Governi dell’Unione europea (il cui nome mai feci e mai mi interessò di fare) fecero degli strumenti derivati per entrare nell’area dell’euro riducendo in maniera poco … Continue reading →
Say German workers to the whole world: it is our turn to eat now. Real gross German wages have increased 1% only in 2011 and 1.5% only in 2010. Much higher the increases in the rest of the Europe and … Continue reading →
Diceva Paul Valery: ”Qui veut faire de grandes choses doit penser profondément aux détails“, chi vuole fare cose grandi deve pensare profondamente ai dettagli. Da tempo nessuno ascolta più Valery in Europa. Di profondo, a forza di dettagli non curati, c’è … Continue reading →
So now we have this big monetary policy package. When has money ever bought the way out from a recession in a large fixed exchange rate area without the help of fiscal policy? I fail to remember. There might be … Continue reading →
Sono a Parigi e mi chiamano dei giornalisti per chiedermi come si fa a fare un’asta di titoli di Stato a breve termine così grande a prezzi così convenienti? Con un triangolo di buona volontà. 1. Una buona e flessibile gestione del debito … Continue reading →
Why do seemingly irrational superstitious beliefs form and persist? To what extent do strong cultural beliefs translate into observable behavior? And how do superstitions about luck and success translate into performance in foreign environments that do not share these beliefs? … Continue reading →
Debt/GDP ratio at 120%. If your name is Italy, at least so we are told, this number is a monster that needs to be soon vanquished through austerity. If your name is Greece this 120% is the oasis at the end of … Continue reading →
Applying easy game theory to ponder what comes next this Monday in the European talks regarding the Greek situation: default and exit from the euro? No default while remaining in the euro? Default and remaining in the euro? At least … Continue reading →
10 years ago, February 17, 2002. Where was the former Governor of the Bank of Greece and at the time Vice-President of the European Central Bank Lucas Papademos, today Prime Minister of Greece, with his wife Shanna? Don’t try guessing, … Continue reading →
”I like the desert. It’s hot there in the desert, but it’s clean.” Lawrence of Arabia, 1962, the movie. The Germans. The Greeks. That bloated public sector. Of whom? The Greeks? Think again, by reading the ECB working paper of … Continue reading →