Category Archives: Europe

Greece’s Debt Burden Can and Must be Lightened Within the Euro

A proposal for breaking Greece’s vicious debt cycle.

The Challenges of the Greek Crisis

An overview of how the Greek crisis is stressing international institutions as well as (sadly and predictably) Greece itself.

IMF Staff Attempts to Spread Discord Over Greek Bailout to IMF Board

Nathan Tankus reports on the latest developments in the IMF staff’s growing war against a deal. Can they succeed in sowing dissent?

John Helmer: Tulip Sanctions – Russia Busts the Dutch Flower Trust, Almost

The Dutch flower market is a monopolist under assault. A case study of an economic and political struggle.

More on the IT Implications of a Grexit

Why it will probably take no less than three years to do the IT implementation related to a Grexit.

Greece Negotiations Already Starting to Look Wobbly

Silly me! I thought that given that the Greek government had prostrated itself and had complied with the creditor demand to pass legislation double-plus quickly or else, that the worst of the hurdles to getting the third bailout passed had been surmounted.

I should know better than that.

Debt Miracle: Why the Country that Borrowed the Most Industrialised First

Is debt really that bad? This column looks at the towering debts, rapid tax hikes, and constant state of war that led to Britain’s Industrial Revolution, showing that the devil is in the detail when assessing sovereign debt. When we consider the dangers of debt in today’s world, we should keep an eye on its potential benefits as well.

Comparison of Greek and English Version of Kathimerini Scoop on Varoufakis Parallel Currency Plan

Filling in some details on a bombshell report about a call that Varoufakis had with hedge fund managers about a parallel currency.

Greece’s Drachma Drama: Why Planning Is Too Important to be Left to Economists

In conference call with hedgies, Yanis Varoufakis claims to have had approval to plan a parallel banking system using the drachma: Plan B.

Mathew D. Rose: The Crisis In Europe Has Only Just Begun

The larger political and economic costs of the crisis in Greece and Europe are only starting to come to light.

Don Quijones: The Mother of All Storms Builds Over Catalonia’s Independence

What first appeared as reduced tensions between Madrid and Spain’s north-eastern province was merely the calm before the mother of all storms.

Mario Draghi: The ECB Has No Mandate To Ensure Checks Clear Or Credit Cards Work

By Nathan Tankus, a writer from New York City. Follow him on Twitter at @NathanTankus Last week Mario Draghi held a press conference following the decision to raise ELA a paltry 900 million dollars for Greek banks. In that press conference he said many things but I’d like to focus on one passage that has gotten […]