How optimal is the eurozone: Part I
byEuropean monetary integration relies on the theory of the optimal currency area (OCA). Successful currency unions generally meet four criteria: A high degree of…
Regulating towards depression
byEngineering the Financial Crisis by Jeffrey Friedman and Wladimir Kraus, University of Pennsylvania Press, 2011 There have been many books attempting to find and…
The Road to a New Serfdom
byAnother week of creeping Euro-consolidation was the backdrop to a further round of severe market stress which briefly saw Spain trade at 500 over,…
The end of politics
byA view from America, previously published at Forbes.com This column debuted a year ago and proceeded to make a troubling announcement: World peace has…
Splendid isolation ?
by“Clearly, Field Marshal Haig is about to make yet another gargantuan effort to move his drinks cabinet six inches closer to Berlin.” – Captain…
The meaning of money
bySo a Dollar was still a Dollar, as Richard Nixon told US citizens 40 years ago this summer. Whether the Euro will be worth…
Did QE work?
byI think this is a complicated question to answer, and both sides of the debate have a tendency to over simplify. If we understand…
Why is there a euro crisis?
byOn Thursday, October 28, 2011, prices of European stocks soared. Big banks like Société Générale (+22.54%), BNP Paribas (+19.92%), Commerzbank (+16.49%) or Deutsche Bank…
China and Europe: 100 years of folly
byOne can read The Daily Mail for its coverage of the royal family, snapshots of British life, or, if you are like me, the…
Infinite stupidity
by“The unlimited resources” of the European Central Bank (ECB) is quickly becoming the new magic mantra in political commentary and financial market analysis, now…