Forbes (August 22)
Steve Forbes urges India’s new Prime Minister Narendra Modi to first create a “sound and stable currency” through disciplined monetary policy that initially includes a dollar or euro peg. Among his other tips: “Simplify the tax code with a low-rate flat tax” and “Be extremely cautious in attacking subsidies, especially those that benefit the poor, until the economy is in a true boom.”
Tags: Currency, Dollar, Economy, euro, Flat tax, India, Monetary policy, Narendra Modi, Peg, Poor, Steve Forbes, Subsidies, Tax code
Institutional Investor (August Issue)
Several years ago Switzerland adopted a currency floor to stem the Swiss franc’s appreciation against the euro. “Last November, the Czech Republic followed suit, threatening to intervene in the currency market if the ikoruna strengthened.” Now, with the euro poised to continue depreciating, some are wondering whether Sweden will be the next to “follow Switzerland’s lead by adopting a currency floor?”
Tags: Appreciation, Currency floor, Currency market, Czech Republic, Depreciating, euro, Franc, Ikoruna, Sweden, Switzerland
Financial Times (April 8)
“Whatever the thundering herd of investors may think, it is too soon to declare that Mr Draghi has won the war for the euro. The eurozone still faces deep underlying economic and political problems that are beyond the control of the president of the ECB and his colleagues.”
Tags: Colleagues, Draghi, ECB, Economic, euro, eurozone, Herd, Investors, Political, President, Problems
Euromoney (May Issue)
“The Cyprus solution is inadequate as well as sending the wrong messages on depositors’ risks and free capital flows. Then there’s Slovenia…and Italy….. So the euro debt crisis is not over….. Markets are far too sanguine about the outcomes.”
Tags: Banks, Cyprus, Debt crisis, Depositors, EU, euro, Free capital flows, Markets, Outcomes, Risks
The Economist (May 25, 2013)
“Unfortunately, the idea that the euro is yesterday’s problem is a dangerous figment. In reality, Europe’s leaders are sleepwalking through an economic wasteland…. For everyone’s sake, Europe’s leaders must shake themselves out of their lethargy. They must grasp that if they do not act, the euro zone faces stagnation or break-up—possibly both.”
Financial Times (May 19, 2013)
“Europe’s recent lamentable growth numbers bring home the cost of poor policy. But after years of confusion, distraction and errors, eurozone leaders are focusing on the right task, as finance ministers did in their meeting last week: to build a banking union for the euro.”
Tags: Banking union, Errors, euro, Europe, eurozone, Finance ministers, Growth, Policy
Wall Street Journal (October 3)
When the dust from all the debt crises settles, the “sure losers” are the young. “Virtually any political ‘solution’ on offer to the euro crisis or U.S. debt will essentially force people age zero to 35—jobs or no jobs—to spend their lifetimes paying off the rolled-over debt that bails out the politicians and guarantees benefit flows to the older half of the population, which will escape to worry-free graves before the crisis returns.”
Financial Times (October 1)
Helmut Kohl, Jacques Delors and the other creators of the euro are at blame. “Their dream of leaving a legacy of a United Europe, with a single currency at its core, has turned into a nightmare.” They may have other achievements, but the euro was hubris. “When it came to the euro, they pursued their grand vision while ignoring the objections of those who questioned whether a single currency could work for such diverse economies. Today’s Europe is living with the consequences of their hubris.”
Tags: euro, Grand vision, Helmut Kohl, Hubris, Jacques Delors, Objections, Single currency
Wall Street Journal (September 10)
“Mario Draghi laid out the European Central Bank’s latest bond-buying venture Thursday, and we suppose the good news is that it isn’t as sweeping as it might have been.” Still, it amounts to “another giant step into fiscal policy. This is far from the original vision of the euro, and the costs to the central bank’s political independence will be steep.” Furthermore, the benefits are marginal. “At best, the new program will give Messrs. Monti and Rajoy more time to promote the reforms in labor markets, taxation and other things their countries so desperately need to grow again.”
Tags: Bond-buying, ECB, euro, Fiscal policy, Italy, Mario Draghi, Monti, Rajoy, Spain
Wall Street Journal (August 2)
Last week, European Central Bank (ECB) President Mario Draghi was prepared to do “whatever it takes” to save the euro. This week, he
“dashed hopes… unleashing a global selloff.” His “apparent backtracking on ECB intervention illustrates the challenge he faces in managing the central bank’s biggest shareholder, Germany.”
Last week, European Central Bank (ECB) President Mario Draghi was prepared to do “whatever it takes” to save the euro. This week, he
“dashed hopes… unleashing a global selloff.” His “apparent backtracking on ECB intervention illustrates the challenge he faces in managing the central bank’s biggest shareholder, Germany.”
