The measures implemented by governments in the Eurozone have one common denominator: A massive increase in debt from governments and the private sector. Loans lead the stimulus packages from Germany to Spain. The objective is to give firms and families some leverage to pass the bad months of the confinement and allow the economy to recover strongly in the third and fourth quarter. This bet on a speedy recovery may put the troubled European banking sector in a difficult situation. Read More
The appointment of Christine Lagarde as president of the ECB has been greeted with euphoria by financial markets. That reaction in itself should be a warning signal. When risky assets soar in the middle of a huge bubble due to a central bank appointment, the supervising entity should be concerned.
The defeat of Tsipras in Greece is the loss of those who came to power promising that two plus two would equal twenty-two, of paper promises and policies that harm those that they pretend to protect. Read More