Free Republic

For most of my career in international investing, I had always placed a great deal of faith in Switzerland's financial markets. In recent years, however, as the Swiss government has sought to hitch its wagon to the flailing euro currency and kowtow increasingly to U.S.-based financial requirements, this faith has been shaken. But this week (November 30th) a referendum in Switzerland on whether its central bank will be required to hold at least 20% of its reserves in gold, will offer ordinary Swiss citizens a rare opportunity to reclaim their country's strong economic heritage. It's a vote that few outside...

(Reuters) - European Central Bank President Mario Draghi has moved closer to launching sovereign debt purchases and data this week will show just how dangerously low inflation has fallen in the $13 trillion euro zone economy. A sickly Europe has held back global economic growth for years, and now it is contributing significantly to powerful forces already dragging down inflation across the globe. A spectacular drop in crude oil prices over the past month will be the center of discussion when ministers from the world's top oil exporters meets in Vienna on Friday.

The European Central Bank on Thursday (6 November) formally made public a letter showing that the eurozone bank threatened to pull emergency bank funding if Ireland did not enter a bailout and undertake austerity measures in 2010. The letter, signed by the then-ECB president Jean-Claude Trichet, speaks of “great concern” about the solvency of Irish lenders—which had loaned heavily to the overheated construction sector—and the extent to which the whole eurosystem was exposed. It then says that the ECB would cut off emergency funding to Irish banks unless Ireland meets four conditions, including getting a bailout and undertaking “fiscal consolidation,...

Europe faces yet another recession, and the prospect is shaking global financial markets. To eliminate the persistent threat of collapse, Europe must drop the euro, and Germany must abandon mercantilism. When the euro was adopted in 1999, domestic prices -- the face values for bonds and loans -- and bank accounts were translated into euros according to prevailing exchange rates for national currencies at the time. Initially, the single currency posed few significant problems. Over time, however, differences in labor market policies and geographic conditions that are difficult for governments to alter caused productivity to grow more rapidly in Germany...

Serbia's Euro 2016 qualifier against Albania was abandoned on Tuesday evening after a drone flown over the Partizan Stadium pitch carrying the pro-Albanian banner led to a clash between the two sets of players.

On Thursday morning, the European Central Bank surprised markets with a raft of stimulative measures including cuts in interest rates and the commencement of asset purchases. The news sent the euro currency much lower, but currency expert Boris Schlossberg of BK Asset Management identifies another reason why the euro could call even further: fresh concerns over a European Union breakup. ECB president Mario Draghi, in announcing the measures, mentioned that the vote was not unanimous. The strongest economy in the eurozone, Germany, is widely expected to have dissented. "It's a very, very tenuous union in many ways, and we see...

This is the fourth and final part of the article by Italian journalist Alessandra Nucci. Here are the first three parts: The Looting of ItalyHow the EU and the Left Ruined ItalyEU-Imposed Immigration Is Destroying Italy's EconomyAlso read Italy Invented Banks by Enza Ferreri ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Attack Begins In Earnest2011 is when they began in earnest to train their guns on us, with the military aggression that started with the Nato attack on Libya culminating in half-truths calculated to stampede investors away from Italy in the direction of presumably safe bonds. And what bonds can be safer than Germany’s?...

This is a shocker. According to reports, the Bundesbank — Germany's famously hard-money loving central bank — might be willing to engage in more stimulus if inflation forecasts decline. The WSJ says the Bundesbank is open to "significant" stimulus, including possibly negative rates. The euro is diving

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...