Europe’s economic woes are back in the headlines, with Ireland appeaing in the most immediate danger thanks with the mooted €35 billion cost of bailing out Anglo Irish Bank causing Ireland’s budget deficit to increase to an alarming 32% of GDP (ten times the EU limit).
European economies
Ireland’s warning for America
The losses inflicted by the vainglorious Irish bankers are staggering. Overnight, the Irish government estimated that the total cost of bailing out the Irish banks had risen to a sickening €45 billion ($AUD 63 billion), writes Karen Maley.
Enough Europe — Guy Rundle’s euro-bites
There is power in a (European) Union. It was deja vu all over again, as workers all over Europe went out on strike in protest at austerity measures being imposed in order to make up for losses occasioned by the banking crises and bailouts of 2008-09. There were partial strikes in Greece, Portugal, Slovenia, Poland, […]
Maley: the gold-plated curse of the greenback
‘Dump the dollar, buy whatever’ now appears the dominant mantra in financial market. Investors believe the Greenback is now caught in a downward spiral because the US Federal Reserve will keep applying fresh rounds of monetary stimulus, writes Karen Maley.
Europe debt woes deepen: now a Spaniard in the works
Two months after Greece hit the wall with massive debt problems that locked its economy out of global credit markets, a new credit crisis is emerging in Spain.
Rates remain unchanged as the RBA keeps its eyes on Europe
As expected the Reserve Bank left interest rates unchanged at 4.5% for the cash rate, and it doesn’t look like they will be going up in the near future.
The pain in Spain
There’s no fiesta in Spain, with Fitch Ratings stripping Spain of its AAA credit rating, unemployment over 20% and massive debt issues. Did this all happen because Spain joined the Euro?
Time to rescue the rescuers
When the GFC hit, it was governments and their stimulus packages and bailouts that saved us. But are governments, particularly in Europe, now becoming the economy’s problem?
No more “mañana, mañana” for Spain
Another Spanish bank was bailed out on the weekend and the IMF has released a scathing account of the current state of the Spanish economy, asking for immediate political action and a “radical overhaul” of labour laws.
Kohler: The regulators are wrong
European regulators are out in force, attacking hedge funds, short selling and proprietary trading. Too bad that these issues didn’t cause the GFC or Greece’s mess, says Alan Kohler.
Global markets: backed into a corner
When you spend more than you earn, and have to borrow money to make up the difference, eventually your lenders wise up to the fact that you won’t be able to repay the debt. That’s what’s happening in Greece.
Save Greece, sell off its assets
The IMF was mad to bailout Greece, because it simply delays default and puts Greece in more debt. Much of Greek industry is nationalised, so open the economy to the private sector and watch it grow, says Allan Meltzer.
Europe crumbles
Share markets stumbled overnight as financial regulations get tightened for hedge funds operating in Europe. But German discontent is still simmering over the Greek bailout, writes Karen Maley.
The China question: are we too reliant on mineral exports?
This year the Budget was delivered against a backdrop of international uncertainty, reliance on China and a local boom. Any bets on what the outcomes will be in a year’s time?
The sad state of Europe
Ever since the IMF Greek bailout was announced, commentators are sure the bailout will only exacerbate Greece’s problems. The Atlantic Wire wraps the commentary of those sounding the death knell for Europe.
How can a small country bring down the global economy?
Greece isn’t a large nation but its financial failures have caused shock waves throughout the world. Why? An economist, a historian and a financial analyst answer some of the big questions about the European crisis.
Lisbon: the new Athens?
The IMF has approved the massive Greek bailout, but that doesn’t save the rest of Europe from collapsing. Portugal is on the brink, thanks to massive debt and a reliance on foreign funds.
Save the eurozone!
The IMF bailout is too late, politicians are terrible at dealing with financial markets and the economic crisis is now mainly a PR issue. The only way Europe can be salvaged is by all its countries uniting to save it. Will they? asks Wolfgang Münchau .
Grecian basket case gets weak-by-weak help from the lame
The lame, in the shape of Ireland, Portugal and Spain, will have to contribute about €13 billion between them to help prop up the Zombie country, aka Greece. Yes, the patched-up nature of the bailout is odd.
If Greece wants pocket money it has to be on its best behaviour
The Greece bailout has risen to a whopping €110 billion, as long as Greece abides by the IMF’s very strict conditions — which include freezing wages, cutting pensions and raising taxes. Can it uphold the unpopular rules?
Germany: Greeks should leave Greece or accept their unemployment
Germany is the European equivalent of China: a huge economy with big savings and a strong export market and Germany isn’t sympathetic to the Greek plight. The bailout isn’t about helping Greece, it’s about stabilising the euro.
Picking through the rubbish scraps of Greece
Greece’s credit rating has been downgraded to “junk” by S&P and the rest of the Mediterranean is looking shaky. Has Europe waited so long to bail Greece out that it’s now completely screwed? asks Felix Salmon
Don’t write off another credit crunch if Greece defaults
If Greece was a company, it would be on the verge of administration. Right now it’s three weeks from default, an event that has the potential to derail the global economic recovery, especially in Europe.
Maley: Curtain not yet closing on Greek tragedy
Is the Greek economic mess spreading over the Mediterranean to Spain, Italy and Portugal? The IMF had announced the conditions of its loan to Greece and worries that Greece will turn into a full-blown contagious sovereign debt crisis.
