Tag Archives: sovereign debt crisis

If the implications of the current Greek tragedy were not so serious it would have been seen more as a Greek comedy (of fiscal errors). In fact, however, to deploy another metaphor, Greece's sovereign debt is seen as the proverbial canary in the coal mine - a microcosm of the relentlessly growing sovereign debt that has taken much of Europe by storm and is threatening to spread to the U.S.. Words: 1008

Are we about to see a huge push for a "United States of Europe"? As the sovereign debt crisis in Europe continues to spiral out of control, suddenly this term is popping up in the New York Times and in major newspapers all over Europe. Is this by accident? Surely not. The truth is that there is an overwhelming consensus among the political and financial elite of Europe that a "United States of Europe" is what would be best for the eurozone. However, they are likely going to need a massive financial crisis in order to reach their goal. [Let me explain.] Words: 1639

German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer once said that “all truth goes through three stages. First it is ridiculed, then it encounters strong opposition and finally it is considered to have always been obvious”. [We are now entering stage three where the eventual bankruptcy of nations is becoming obvious to all. Let's review the situation.] Words: 1091

In Europe, they were able to come up with a clever moniker, PIGS, to succinctly represent [and name the countries in dire financial straights - Portugal, Iceland, Ireland, Greece and Spain] the most boorish animals on the farm, and [I have taken it upon myself to call the U.S. state budget crises] the story of CAIN (California, Arizona, Alaska, Illinois, New York and New Jersey), the seven most rotten pillars of our union, and (Un)Abel, the country as a whole, which is (Un)Abel, i.e. unable, to do anything about the impending crises. Given the current political climate and implicit anti-bailout mandate of the new Congress, the Federal government might be powerless to do anything but accept painful state defaults. Before we know it, we could all be ancestors of evil... 2011 could be the year that CAIN starts to face some serious trouble, and may need some serious help to avoid killing his brother (Un)Abel! Words: 1529

Martin Weiss' team of international experts - Mike Larson in North America, Claus Vogt in Europe, Tony Sagami on Asia, Rudy Martin on South America - and Ron Rowland, one of the nation's foremost experts on international exchange-traded funds (ETFs) met recently to discuss and determine what they think is coming next. They came up with eight new forecasts for 2010 — some very negative, some very positive - and put forth specific, actionable recommendations based on their conclusions. Words: 1969

It's easy to lose perspective on where the global economy stands - to be confused by the daily deluge of information - so let's look at the big-picture of where we are today. As an investor it can mean the difference between making and losing a lot of money. So let's take a look and see [where we are at and what events are unfolding - slowly but surely]. Words: 1186

There is an ongoing debate among global policymakers about when and how fast to exit from the strong monetary and fiscal stimulus that prevented the Great Recession of 2008-2009 from turning into a new Great Depression. Germany and the European Central Bank are pushing aggressively for early fiscal austerity; the United States is worried about the risks of excessively early fiscal consolidation. Words: 957

If the market is topping, it’s doing so in the face of rosy news in every area except for employment and there is nothing more ominous than a stock market turning down in the face of a “bright” economy. At such times, nobody is ready or positioned for a sudden reversal. [Are you?] Words: 637

It is appropriate that the fiscal crisis of the West has begun in Greece, the birthplace of Western civilization. Soon it will cross the channel to Britain. The key question, however, is when that crisis will reach the last bastion of Western power, on the other side of the Atlantic. Words: 609

In a global crisis sovereign debt fears have the ability to be contagious destroying investor confidence in the capital markets of troubled countries and the overall global economy alike and when confidence wanes, capital flees it is a surefire recipe for falling dominoes. That's especially true today in the wake of a deep global recession that has left many countries with bloated deficits and debt loads. Words: 707