Archives of “angela merkel” tag

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Latest Headlines From Europe

  
Analysis, Economy, Education
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Time for European headlines. Because we haven’t had any in about 3 minutes or so. Courtesy of Bloomberg, here is Angela Merkel doing her best channeling of Hank Paulson.

  • MERKEL SPEAKS AT TRICHET FAREWELL IN FRANKFURT
  • MERKEL SAYS EURO IS STABLE, HAS PROVED ITSELF IN TURBULENT TIME
  • MERKEL SAYS IF THE EURO FAILS, EUROPE FAILS
  • MERKEL SAYS EUROPE STANDS BEFORE SIGNIFICANT CHALLENGES
  • MERKEL SAYS EUROPE MUST BE READY TO USE UNCONVENTIONAL TOOLS
  • MERKEL SAYS ‘WE SHALL NOT ALLOW’ EURO TO FAIL
  • MERKEL SAYS NEXT EU SUMMIT IS `NOT THE END POINT’ FOR CRISIS

And most importantly…

  • MERKEL SAYS NO ‘MAGIC WAND’ TO SOLVE EURO DEBT CRISIS
  • MERKEL SAYS PAST ERRORS WILL NOT BE SOLVED IN ONE STROKE

True, many, many strokes will be needed. But what about the market which has already priced in not only the Magic Wand but the Quidditch match victory over Slitherin. What now?

Sarkozy Threatens To Pull France Out Of Euro

  
Analysis, Economy, Education
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If you were wondering why the market is spooked by rumors that Germany may be returning to the DM, here is actual fact that French President is on the verge of reinstating the franc. And with that, the euro is nothing more than a political toy for Merkel, Sarkozy and whoever the current non-indicted head of the Italian government is, to achieve their political goals. The currency is now dead. Parity coming within a few weeks.

From The Guardian:

 
 

The markets were initially unsettled by news that the French president had threatened to pull France out of the eurozone. The startling threat was made at a Brussels summit of EU leaders last Friday, at which the deal to bail out Greece was agreed. according to a report in El País newspaper quoting Spanish Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero.

Zapatero revealed details of the French threat at a closed-doors meeting of leaders from his Spanish socialist party on Wednesday.

Sarkozy demanded “a compromise from everyone to support Greece … or France would reconsider its position in the euro,” according to one source cited by El País.

“Sarkozy went as far as banging his fist on the table and threatening to leave the euro,” said one unnamed Socialist leader who was at the meeting with Zapatero. “That obliged Angela Merkel to bend and reach an agreement.”

A different source who was at the meeting with Zapatero told El País that “France, Italy and Spain formed a common front against German and Sarkozy threatened Merkel with a break in the traditional Franco-German axis.”

El País also quotes Sarkozy as having said, according to another of those who met Zapatero, that “if at time like this, with all that is happening, Europe is not capable of a united response, then the euro makes no sense”.

Well, an epiphany 10 years late is still better than no epiphany. And, of course as many will say, he who panics first, just may salvage something. Which for most American citizens still infatuated with their currency, may mean very bad news.

Mahatma Gandhi among leaders most admired by CEOs globally

  
Analysis, Education
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Mahatma Gandhi figures among the top three most admired leaders of the world, said a global survey of CEOs conducted by accountancy firm PwC.

While Winston Churchill tops the list of 10 most admired leaders, Gandhi figures in the third position after Steve Jobs (co-founder of Apple), said the 16th Annual Global CEO Survey.

As part of its annual survey, PwC said it recently asked 1,400 CEOs from around the world “which leaders they most admired, and what they most admired about their actions”.

“Some clear types emerged: warriors, (Napoleon; Alexander the Great) reformers (Jack Welch), leaders though adversity (Winston Churchill; Abraham Lincoln), leaders who caught the imagination of the masses (Mahatma Gandhi; Nelson Mandela) and consensus builders like Bill Clinton” PwC said in a statement.

Winston Churchill was the most popular choice of all CEOs with Steve Jobs admired in the most number of countries (37). (more…)

George Soros Warns Washington To "Mend Relations With China" Or Face World War 3

  
Analysis, Education
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A Partnership with China to Avoid World War (via The New York Review of Books)

International cooperation is in decline both in the political and financial spheres. The UN has failed to address any of the major conflicts since the end of the cold war; the 2009 Copenhagen Climate Change Conference left a sour aftertaste; the World Trade Organization hasn’t concluded a major trade round since 1994. The International Monetary Fund’s legitimacy is increasingly questioned because of its outdated governance, and the G20, which emerged during the financial crisis of 2008 as a potentially powerful instrument of international cooperation, seems to have lost its way. In all areas, national, sectarian, business, and other special interests take precedence over the common interest. This trend has now reached a point where instead of a global order we have to speak of global disorder.

In the political sphere local conflicts fester and multiply. Taken individually these conflicts could possibly be solved but they tend to be interconnected and the losers in one conflict tend to become the spoilers in others. For instance, the Syrian crisis deteriorated when Putin’s Russia and the Iranian government came to Bashar al-Assad’s rescue, each for its own reasons. Saudi Arabia provided the seed money for ISIS and Iran instigated the Houthi rebellion in Yemen to retaliate against Saudi Arabia. Bibi Netanyahu tried to turn the US Congress against the nuclear treaty the US was negotiating with Iran. There are just too many conflicts for international public opinion to exert a positive influence.

In the financial sphere the Bretton Woods institutions—the IMF and the World Bank—have lost their monopoly position. Under Chinese leadership, a parallel set of institutions is emerging. Will they be in conflict or will they find a way to cooperate? Since the financial and the political spheres are also interconnected, the future course of history will greatly depend on how China tackles its economic transition from investment and export-led growth to greater dependence on domestic demand, and how the US reacts to it. A strategic partnership between the US and China could prevent the evolution of two power blocks that may be drawn into military conflict. (more…)

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