The Economist (August 8)
“Germany is back in its old dilemma: too weak for hegemony, too large for balance. No other country can think of imposing solutions, but Europe will not allow Germany to do so either. That may mean that the EU’s biggest challenges—from immigration to preventing a British exit and fixing the euro—will continue to go unmet.”
Tags: Balance, Brexit, Challenges, Dilemma, euro, Europe, Germany, Hegemony, Immigration, Solutions
Bloomberg (July 15)
“By this point you can probably agree that it was a mistake for Greece to join the European common currency in 2001…. So why exactly are Greece and its European creditors still trying against all odds and good sense to keep the country in the euro?”
Washington Post (July 8)
“It is said that the European Union is a splendid idea but that the euro — the common currency — is a bad idea. Actually, the euro is a bad idea that is the logical application of an even worse idea — the European Union.”
New York Times (July 8)
The euro has “stopped being a force for unity. In many ways, it…” has become… “a weapon that each side seized upon to advance its cause.”
Bloomberg (June 29)
“Three years after Mario Draghi pledged to do whatever it took to save the euro, the mounting crisis in Greece is calling into question the integrity of the entire currency union.” Although Greece is minor in terms of economic output, “its exit would hurl the bloc into unknown territory by setting a precedent for other nations to reconsider their membership.”
Tags: Crisis, Currency union, euro, Exit, Greece, Mario Draghi, Membership
New York Times (June 1)
“A forced Greek exit from the euro would create huge economic and political risks, yet Europe seems to be sleepwalking toward that outcome…. There’s a definite 1914 feeling to what’s happening, a sense that pride, annoyance, and sheer miscalculation are leading Europe off a cliff it could and should have avoided.”
Wall Street Journal (March 5)
The European Central Bank (ECB) hasn’t even actually started its quantitative easing (QE) activities. Somehow, however, its QE program “is working before it has even begun.” The euro has fallen 20% since last summer and, this week, dropped to $1.10, an eleven year low. How? “As investors came to view QE as inevitable, prices responded, especially the price of the euro. As a result of Mr. Draghi’s open-mouth operations to talk down the euro—coupled with an expectation that interest rates might rise soon in the U.S.—the euro has declined steadily against the dollar and other currencies.” Whether the actual QE program will be able to duplicate this pregame success remains to be seen.
Tags: Currencies, Dollar, Draghi, ECB, euro, Interest rates, Investors, Quantitative easing, U.S.
Wall Street Journal (January 7)
“As notable as the magnitude of the greenback’s rise has been its rapidity: 13% against the euro and some 15% against the yen since the end of June. Capital that had flowed into emerging markets since the world financial panic is now heading back to the land of the free,” boosting the economic strength of the U.S.”
Tags: Capital, Economic strength, Emerging markets, euro, Financial panic, Greenback, Magnitude, U.S., Yen
New York Times (October 9)
“Large parts of the world seem to be on the verge of a recession. In many countries in Europe, Asia and Latin America, economic growth has already stalled.” Nevertheless, too many officials “are unwilling or ill prepared to respond.” German officials “continue to insist that countries that use the euro meet restrictive fiscal rules” and “officials in Japan, meanwhile, have hurt that economy by raising a sales tax too fast.
Tags: Asia, Economic growth, euro, Europe, Germany, Japan, Latin America, Officials, Recession, Stalled, Tax
The Economist (August 30)
“If Germany, France and Italy cannot find a way to refloat Europe’s economy, the euro may yet be doomed.” With inflation “perilously low” at just 0.4%, “the euro zone stands (or wobbles) in stark contrast with America and Britain, whose economies are enjoying sustained growth.”
