Currently viewing the tag: "Italy"
Euro banknotes

ECB money injection not a reason for optimism

On March 1, 2012 By

Are you feeling optimistic yet? Are you confident that policy-makers have things under control? – If so, you must believe that we can solve any economic problem by throwing freshly printed money at it. Even problems that are evidently the result of previous periods of ‘easy money’– such as overstretched and weak banks. The ECB [...]

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Balls of euro banknotes

Unstoppable: Why this crisis will keep unfolding

On October 20, 2011 By

When the tectonic plates underneath society shift, confusion reigns, together with wishful thinking. It appears that financial markets have again managed to get themselves into a state of unrealistic expectation. The European summit this coming Sunday (or the follow-up summit on Wednesday) is now supposed to bring a “comprehensive plan” to solve the European debt [...]

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Band-Aid

A Band-Aid for a cancer patient

On September 16, 2011 By

This was another hectic week for financial markets, and nerves were calmed somewhat over the past 24 hours with another liquidity injection from the central banks – this time the provision of dollars from the U.S. Fed channelled through a few other central banks, most importantly the ECB. This is certainly not a solution but [...]

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Picture of shares

Financial markets still don’t get it

On August 14, 2011 By

 Apologies if the title of this Schlichter-file sounds somewhat arrogant but after the events of the past three weeks I may perhaps be forgiven for feeling a bit emboldened in my views. Of course, this is often the point at which the pendulum swings in the other direction and developments take a slightly different turn, [...]

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Image of Dante

Divinely comical

On July 12, 2011 By

“Italy, long a bystander to the euro-zone’s debt woes, was thrust into the eye of the storm on Monday, as investors fled the country’s bonds and Europe’s leaders struggled to keep the crisis from infecting the Continent’s third-largest economy.” Thus reports the Wall Street Journal Europe this morning. What?, I was thinking. Bystander? Investors fleeing [...]

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