Free Republic

One of European Central Bank President Mario Draghi’s most important duties is watching his mouth. One ill-considered utterance is enough to sow panic on the financial markets. But during a press conference earlier this month, Draghi allowed himself a telling slip. Speaking to gathered journalists at the Spring Meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, Draghi twice almost uttered a word he has been at pains to avoid. “Defla…”, Draghi began, before stopping himself and continuing with the term “low inflation.”Yet despite Draghi’s efforts, the specter of deflation was omnipresent in Washington during the meetings. And it...

A common argument for dumping the Euro is that it is overvalued, and that the ECB (European Central Bank) is unwilling to correct this so-called “problem.” This overvaluation is regularly cited as being over 10 percent against the dollar. The Swiss central bank surrendered control of its money supply by fixing its currency at 1.2 against the Euro essentially on the notion that its currency was “overvalued.” Advocates of a Euro breakup consider that a country with its own currency can then follow an independent monetary policy ensuring a competitive exchange rate. Never mind that neither the USA nor Great...

The following bullet points are from the French Ipos Poll: New French fractures, results and analysis of the Ipsos/Steria. Although a huge majority of French want to stay on the Euro, a majority of "workers" don't. Poll Conclusions 79% distrust the outside world72% have no confidence in the French National Assembly74% think journalists do not write about the real problems66% think there are too many foreigners in France63% say Islam is not compatible with values of French society84% think politicians act for personal reasons70% Want strengthening of national power away from EU (up 5 percentage points from last poll)33% want...

Germany's Constitutional Court ruling last Friday marks a significant escalation in efforts to rein in the European Central Bank. The ruling's message? Either the European Court of Justice has to stop bond purchases or German justices will. It is also a clear indication that Germany's highest court is extremely skeptical of the ECB. Draghi's 2012 announcement that the ECB would embark on unlimited sovereign bond purchases from ailing euro-zone member states, the court found, is incompatible with European law. The ruling notes that OMT "exceeds the mandate" of the ECB and "encroaches on the responsibility of the member states for...

As the U. S. lurches towards a planned economy, it might be interesting to look at the experiences of countries which have already adopted this approach. Unfortunately, few professors will discuss central planning in anything but rhapsodic terms. One of the notable naysayers is Alex Tabarrok, an economist at George Mason University. In an appearance at the Cato Institute last month, he pointed out that: In Spain, the laws require 45 days severance pay for each year of service of a fired employee. As a result of this distorted incentive, businesses never want to hire or fire people, which contributed...

Germany’s finance minister said on Monday he was open to the creation of a separate European parliament for countries using the euro, a step that could deepen divisions within the European Union. Wolfgang Schäuble’s comments, made during a visit to Brussels, challenge the very foundations of the European Union, where lawmaking for all 28 nations is by the bloc’s current parliament. Splitting that body, critics believe, would represent a dismantling of one of Europe’s biggest symbols of unity. But Schäuble said a separate parliament for the 18 countries in the eurozone would allow the smaller group to integrate more closely....

The euro rose to a four-year peak against the yen and gained for a second straight day versus the dollar on Friday after much-stronger-than-expected German business sentiment pointed to a continued rebound in Europe's largest economy. Comments from Federal Reserve officials saying a reduction in stimulus would be discussed at next month's monetary policy meeting failed to boost the dollar. Analysts said the market has already priced in Fed tapering talk in December, limiting its impact on the greenback.

As the euro zone's weakest members crawl out of their longest recession in modern history, their prospects of recovery are weighed down by a crushing mountain of debt far heavier than before four years of financial crisis. Italy, Greece, Ireland and Portugal all have public debt well in excess of annual economic output and risk a Japanese-style "lost decade" of grindingly low growth and high unemployment as they slowly repay their way out of trouble. "As Margaret Thatcher used to say: TINA - There Is No Alternative," said Graham Bishop, an economic consultant. Fiscal discipline and pro-market reforms to liberalize...

We have a minor earthquake in France. A party committed to withdrawal from the euro, the restoration of French franc, and the complete destruction of monetary union has just defeated the establishment in the Brignoles run-off election. It is threatening Frexit as well, which rather alters the political chemistry of Britain's EU referendum. Marine Le Pen's Front National won 54pc of the vote. It was a bad defeat for the Gaulliste UMP, a party at risk of disintegration unless it can find a leader in short order. President Hollande's Socialists were knocked out in the first round, due to mass...

Dr. Xavier Dor An octogenarian and veteran pro-life activist in France was fined 10,000 euro ($13,360 US) on Monday for having twice visited a Paris abortion clinic where he met with staff and attempted to counsel abortion-bound women. The conviction is one of the first cases pleaded under a French law that prohibits putting “moral and psychological pressure” designed to obstruct abortion. The hefty fine is 2,000 euro more than had been demanded by the public prosecution. Since 2001, when the offense of “obstruction to abortion” was given a wider definition in law, the maximum fine for violating the statute...

The Fourth Reich When the Second World War ended in 1945, imagine the conversation amongst the leading lights of West Germany's leaders. After several attempts, military domination of Europe was shown to be impossible, doomed by Germany's central position to always fight wars on two fronts against collectively superior forces. What should be the methods to achieve the Germans' long standing objectives of prosperity for their own people. If military domination and plunder were no longer possible, then perhaps peaceful economic domination could be achieved. But how?

In China they’re building the second-tallest skyscraper in the world with the world’s fastest elevators, stark contrast with Spain where, apparently, elevators in skyscrapers can’t be taken for granted. At least not in The Intempo skyscraper in Benidorm, Spain, according to Gizmodo’s Jamie Condliffe: Initially designed to be a mere 20 storeys tall, the developers got over-excited and pushed the height way up: now it boasts 47 storeys, and will include 269 homes. But that push for more accommodation came at a cost. The original design obviously included specifications for an elevator big enough for a 20-storey building. In the...

This from the ECB's monthly bulletin today: The youth jobless rate in Greece has just reached 64.9pc. Little to add. This is pure policy error. Europe has needlessly pushed the whole EMU bloc into a deep double-dip recession, and the longest unbroken contraction since World War Two.

Sharing this for those Freepers concerned about the dollar. It's actually strong compared to the euro and yen, but that's only cuz the Central Bankers there have opted to use more fire power against the weak dollar and make their currencies even WEAKER. What does this mean for those of us with real skin in the game, as in money in the markets?

Even if Germany had to write off the loans it extended to Southern European countries as part of the eurozone’s emergency rescue measures, the economic advantages of its membership would still be overwhelming, according to a recent study by the Bertelsmann Stiftung. … “Without the euro, growth of the real gross domestic product [GDP] in Germany would be lower by about 0.5 percentage points per year,” the study says, warning that without that euro, Europe “would fall apart politically” and become “a losing player in international competition.” And projections for the future are looking bright, the study adds. “Adding up...

Nigel Farage, well known for his anti-centralized government diatribes in which he has repeatedly targeted European leadership and finance ministers for the destruction of the Eurozone economy, warns yet again that the consequences for the actions of elite politicians and bankers will soon pour into the streets. You won’t see straight forward candidness like this from mainstream politicians, because most are terrified of speaking the truth and accepting blame. They know it’s coming and the fallout won’t be limited to just Europe. My fear is that, in the end, what will break up the Euro isn’t the economics of it....

Greece is planning to pursue a long-dormant claim for reparations from Germany over World War Two, a further strain on relations with Berlin, which foots most of the bill for its 240-billion euro rescue. The Finance Ministry has compiled a report that takes stock of all relating available documents spanning more than six decades, Greek Foreign Minister Dimitris Avramopoulos told parliament on Wednesday. It will be submitted to Greece's legal advisers and then Athens will decide how to officially press its claim, he said.

Analysis: Don't underestimate Germany's new anti-euro party By Noah Barkin BERLIN | Sun Apr 14, 2013 5:22pm BST (Reuters) - The political establishment has dismissed Germany's new anti-euro party as a fear-mongering populist aberration that could implode even before a looming federal election. But the first congress of the "Alternative for Germany" (AfD) showed that the movement, launched only a few months ago by a group of renegade academics, journalists and businessmen, is striking a chord with voters and may prove an influential force come September.

Say what you will about the rest of her legacy, but when it comes to the economic disaster today known as the euro, Margaret Thatcher was downright prophetic. In a delightfully acidic speech delivered before Britain's House of Commons in 1990, and posted below, she summed up her feelings about European integration: "No. No. No." Specifically, Thatcher opposed to the idea of handing political power to a European parliament, giving up the pound for a single European currency, or handing over its monetary policy to a European central bank. As she put it (in the blunt way only British politicians...

A heavily edited version of Margaret Thatcher's statement of 30 October 1990 to the House of Commons on the European Council meeting at Rome held on 27/28 October. The Council was meant to discuss the Uruguay Round on General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade which was due to end in a few months but for which the EC had not developed a policy (alone out of the trading blocs). However the Italian Prime Minister, Giulio Andreotti, decided that the Council would refuse to discuss the GATT and instead push for the final stage in European Economic and Monetary Union in...