Europe

Japanese Solution for Collapsing Portugal?

"The Portuguese population is getting older as it shrinks. The presumptive obligations of the Portuguese government to take care of its aging population will be increasingly tested within the current environment. Spain, Greece, Ireland, Portugal – gradually and in various ways the Southern half of Europe is collapsing into varying stages of violence and apathy. But if the Portuguese solution takes hold, then the damage that has been done in the past five years may extend a generation or more. Europe may gain a euro but it will lose decades of vitality and innovation as its younger generations emigrate to more hospitable regions." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingJapanese Solution for Collapsing Portugal?

Thousands rally against the Troika in Brussels

"Around 1,500 protesters rallied at the Parc du Cinquantenaire in Brussels, according to police on the scene. Although more were seen gathering close to the European Council Summit at the Place Shuman. There have reportedly been 25 arrests by police. The police banned protesters from marching past the banks and the seats of government in Brussels, to the dismay of many of the protesters. 100 of the protesters occupied the Directorate General for Economic and Financial Affairs in Brussels (DG ECFIN). The DG ECFIN provides most of the staff whose job it is to go to indebted European countries to impose austerity measures regardless of public opinion." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThousands rally against the Troika in Brussels

Norway’s Sovereign Wealth Fund Flees Currencies Tainted by Stimulus Addiction

"Norway’s $713 billion sovereign wealth fund is turning away from the world’s biggest currencies and their debt-laden governments as policy makers undermine their exchange rates through unprecedented stimulus measures. The Government Pension Fund Global, the world’s largest wealth fund, cut its holdings in French and U.K. government bonds by almost half last year as it raised its share of government bonds in emerging-market currencies to 10 percent of its fixed-income holdings by adding investments in Turkey, Russia and Taiwan." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingNorway’s Sovereign Wealth Fund Flees Currencies Tainted by Stimulus Addiction

Made Poor by the Crisis: Millions of Europeans Require Red Cross Food Aid

"Needy families and individuals in the European Union are becoming increasingly reliant on charity organizations like the Red Cross for basic needs like food, water and shelter. Two-thirds of national Red Cross societies within the European Union have begun distributing food aid, according to the head of the aid groups' international organization -- a sign that the economic crisis in Europe is having an alarming effect on poverty. Yves Daccord, Director-General of the International Committee of the Red Cross, said on a visit to New Delhi on Monday that the scope of food distribution had not been at its current level since the end of World War II." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMade Poor by the Crisis: Millions of Europeans Require Red Cross Food Aid

Banks Saved, but Europe Risks ‘Losing a Generation’

"Europe has spent hundreds of billions of euros rescuing its banks but may have lost an entire generation of young people in the process, the president of the European Parliament said. But little has been done to tackle the devastating social impact of the crisis, with more than 26 million people unemployed across the EU, including one in every two young people in Greece, Spain and parts of Italy and Portugal. That crippling level of unemployment has led to protests and outbreaks of violence across southern Europe, raising the threat of full-scale social breakdown, including rising crime and anti-immigrant attacks that can further rattle unstable governments." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBanks Saved, but Europe Risks ‘Losing a Generation’

Fed Injects Record $100 Billion Cash Into Foreign Banks Operating In The US In Past Week

"Those who have been following our exclusive series of the Fed's direct bailout of European banks (here, here, here and here), and, indirectly of Europe, will not be surprised at all to learn that in the week ended February 27, or the week in which Europe went into a however brief tailspin following the shocking defeat of Bersani in the Italian elections, and an even more shocking victory by Berlusconi and Grillo, leading to a political vacuum and a hung parliament, the Fed injected a record $99 billion of excess reserves into foreign banks." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFed Injects Record $100 Billion Cash Into Foreign Banks Operating In The US In Past Week

German pilot in WWII and American B-17 pilot he spared reunite 40 years later

"People love to hear war stories about great generals or crack troops such as Seal Team 6, the Navy unit that killed Osama bin Laden. But there is another side of war that's seldom explored: Why do some soldiers risk their lives to save their enemies and, in some cases, develop a deep bond with them that outlives war? And are such acts of chivalry obsolete in an age of drone strikes and terrorism?" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGerman pilot in WWII and American B-17 pilot he spared reunite 40 years later

The Guns of Zagreb

"None of this is exactly shocking, particularly given Croatia’s history in the 1990s of being a conduit for secret arms shipments with American backing. Zagreb’s military took a significant cut of the weapons – funded by Iran and Saudi Arabia – destined for Bosnia’s Muslims during that country’s civil war, which were routed through Pleso airport as well. America’s deep involvement only emerged later, when no one was really interested any longer. Similarly, no one wanted to ask too many questions back in 1995 when mysterious 'black flights' were dropping weapons to Bosnian Muslims, in violation of the UN arms embargo." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThe Guns of Zagreb

With Italy’s Election, the EU Chasm Grows

"Italians went to the polls and rejected the EU's faux austerity program but former premier Mario Monti doesn't accept the new course and has proposed new elections instead. This has happened before. When Ireland voted against the wishes of the Eurocrats, Ireland was made to vote again. Now perhaps it is Italy's turn. The European experiment was supposed to bring peace to Europe. How ironic if it would be responsible instead for a rise in political intolerance, authoritarianism and even, eventually, renewed nationalism and militarization." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWith Italy’s Election, the EU Chasm Grows

French and Italian debt chiefs warn on EU Tobin Tax

"The proposal - now in the hands of working groups - is to come into force in early 2014. It will raise a fee of 0.1pc for shares and bonds, and 0.01pc for derivatives. These rates are far higher than the Swedish tax in 1989 that led to an 85pc crash in bond sales, a 98pc fall in bond futures, and shut-down of options trading, before the experiment was abandoned. The Chancellor, George Osborne, said the FTT scheme would amount to a tax on pensioners and cost up to 1m jobs across the EU 'without costing bankers a penny'. The traders would migrate to the US or Asia, taking the financial industry with them." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFrench and Italian debt chiefs warn on EU Tobin Tax