- - - - - 8/5/12

There may be few developments in Europe for the next week or three.
The speculators are pumping the best yield they can from the markets.
We can be sure that the creditor banks would far rather be wealthy than
nationalized.  The operating bankers would far rather keep their incomes.
The situation is all losses at this point.  The question is who gets to realize those losses.

Debt crisis threatens to break up Europe

 

Tensions within the eurozone over how to resolve the debt crisis are turning countries against each other and threatening to rip Europe apart, Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti has warned.

05 Aug 2012

| 193 Comments

Venetian cunning of Draghi-Monti masterplan may save euro for now

 

So we enter the treacherous market month of August with Europe in limbo. The actors wait upon each other. World finance held hostage to a fiendishly complicated game of diplomatic chess.

05 Aug 2012

| 122 Comments

Euro elites should say if they could ever view single currency as a failure

 

What conditions could convince the euro elites that the euro was a failure and if they can imagine such conditions, then what stops them from concluding that they exist now?

05 Aug 2012

| 11 Comments

Troika sees 'progress' in Greece but delays final verdict

 

Greece has made some progress in finding budget cuts needed to continue its bailout programme but not all work is done and international inspectors will return in September for a final verdict, officials said on Sunday.

05 Aug 2012

| 16 Comments

China to intensify monetary policy fine-tuning

 

China's central bank has pledged to intensify its monetary policy fine-tuning in the second half of this year and improve credit policy to bolster the real economy.

05 Aug 2012

| 1 Comment

Cash-for-gold shops boom as Italians sell off their bling

Italy's traditional goldsmiths are up in arms over a boom in the poorly regulated cash-for-gold sector that is making billions for the mafia as hard-up Italians rush to sell off their bling.

05 Aug 2012

| 97 Comments

Debt crisis: S&P downgrades 15 Italian banks

Ratings agency Standard & Poor's took ratings action on a range of Italian banks tonight, including downgrading 15 financial institutions, citing increased credit risk for the country's economy and banks.

03 Aug 2012

| 2 Comments

No good news in the Telegraph.



 

Greece enters 'crucial weeks' with troika praise for €11.5bn cuts progress

5 Aug 2012: Finance minister Yiannis Stournaras talks of 'bridge of hope' in reform drive

• 

  Why the eurozone crisis threatens liberal reform in the east

  5 Aug 2012: Andrea Capussela: The eurozone's troubles have focused on southern Europe. But the financial crisis is also a concern for the eastern nations

• Shares surge after markets reappraise Mario Draghi's eurozone debt plans

  3 Aug 2012: Stock markets in Europe and the US have decided they now like what the president of the European Central Bank is proposing

• Hollywood stars give Greek tourist industry A-list endorsement

  3 Aug 2012: Brad Pitt and Angela Jolie among the stars returning to Greece as stricken economy gets boost from surge of bookings

• Finland looks down across eurozone with mix of pride and anxiety

  3 Aug 2012: Moody's gave Finland a rare Triple-A rating, but euroscepticism stalks a country that has with a strong sense of responsibility

Or in the Guardian.

A Visit To Absurdistan What Happened to the Spain Where I Was Born?

SPIEGEL ONLINE - August 03, 2012 SPIEGEL reporter Juan Moreno grew up in Germany as the son of Spanish immigrants. He cherished summers spent as a child in his parents' former village. He recently traveled back to his country of birth to trace the causes of the crisis and to meet those whose lives it has changed in heartbreaking ways. By Juan Moreno more... [ Forum ]

The World from Berlin 'Vengeance for ECB Bond-Buying Will Be Bitter'

SPIEGEL ONLINE - August 03, 2012 Investors may not have liked what European Central Bank head Mario Draghi had to say on Thursday, but it was the clearest indication yet that a plan is finally taking shape to reduce borrowing costs for Spain and Italy. Germany remains wary, though, and commentators say the outcome could be disastrous. more...

Ratings Downgrade Slovenia Becomes Europe's Latest Worry

SPIEGEL ONLINE - August 03, 2012 With its ailing banks and sluggish economic growth, Slovenia threatens to become the next problem child in the European debt crisis. Ratings agency Moody's has downgraded the country by three notches to just above junk status. Experts are predicting Ljubljana may soon need a bailout. more...

Draghi on the Markets ECB Disappoints Investors with No Euro Action

SPIEGEL ONLINE - August 02, 2012 Investors had been hoping for a clear signal from Mario Draghi that the European Central Bank was ready to take action to prop up the euro. But in his press conference following the ECB monthly meeting on Thursday, all he offered was more promises. Markets plunged as a result. more...

Draghi's Promise German Opposition to ECB Bond-Buying Plan Mounts

SPIEGEL ONLINE - August 02, 2012 Many are yearning for a European Central Bank "bazooka" to solve the euro crisis. But ECB President Mario Draghi's proposal to resume the bank's bond-buying program in conjunction with the euro rescue fund is controversial. German politicians are particularly wary. more...