Portugal’s Successful Turnaround? A Fairy Tale
Even a brief glance at the facts suffices. Portugal is no less bankrupt than Greece. The country’s government debt, at 124% of GDP, might be lower than in Greece. However, government debt is just one – even though important – part of the full debt picture. On an...“Quanto Sia Vana Ogni, Quanto Fallace Ciaschedum Disegno”: The Economics of Turmoil, and the Financing of Dysfunctionalities in the Midst of Volatile Markets
Lorenzo the Magnificent (the scion of the Medici banking family), whose lending institution dominated not only Florence but much of Europe, was also a poet influenced by Horace and Catullus. The Latin phrase above reflects the first two lines of one of his sonnets....Overfed but Still Malnourished: The Aegean Sea Meets Singapore
About a year ago in a meeting we had in Warsaw, Poland I contrasted Jamaica and Singapore. The contrast was based on a simple observation/fact, which stated that those two countries started at almost identical positions in the early 1960s, but Singapore excelled since...Warning: Head-On Collision Ahead
Close to twenty years ago, the Eurocrats decided to defy the laws of gravity in economics, and they started designing a common currency without a fiscal union. Their thinking was straight-forward: “If we suspend the law of gravity, the Euro will be sustained (like if...A Better Alternative to QE for Europe: Ben Bernanke’s helicopter drop: Money for citizens, not banisters.
Despite all the advertising, launching quantitative easing (QE) in Europe may well be counter-productive. This is due in no small part to significant structural differences between the U.S. and European economies and capital markets. But that does not mean nothing...Sign Up for Our Publications
