NewsTrust - European Union - Most Recent Stories: Opinion (Independent)

Facing the Threat of the Trans-Pacific Treaty

Fri, 08 Mar 2013 00:00:00 -0800

The Tyee - By Raul Burbano, Kristen Beifus, Manuel Pérez-Rocha - Mar. 08 (Opinion) - Since NAFTA was signed almost 20 years ago, all three North American countries have seen good jobs vanish, worsening income inequality, public services weakened through underfunding or offloaded to the private sector, increased food insecurity (in particular in Mexico), and ecosystems on the point of breaking. NAFTA promised a flourishing North American economy that would benefit all. In Jan. 2014, NAFTA has been in place for 20 years and the promised trickle down benefits have not been realized by communities.

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Siege of Portuguese Parliament: “This is not our budget”

Wed, 17 Oct 2012 00:00:00 -0700

Global Voices - By Sara Moreira - Oct. 17 (Opinion) - Amidst growing austerity and cuts to social welfare, citizens mobilized a siege of the Portuguese parliament, on October 15, 2012, the day the government officially submitted the draft proposal of the state budget for 2013 to the Assembly of the Republic.

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Iceland's On-going Revolution

Fri, 21 Sep 2012 00:00:00 -0700

Daily Kos - Sep. 21 (Opinion) -

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WikiLeaks expose corruption as France Bans Monsanto’s GMO Maize

Thu, 07 Jun 2012 00:00:00 -0700

DigitalJournal.com - By Anne Sewell - Jun. 07 (Opinion) - Coming soon after France bans GMO maize, WikiLeaks cables expose details of 'military-style trade wars' against countries who reject Monsanto GMOs.

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What if Spain exits the euro? - elConfidencial.com

Wed, 23 May 2012 00:00:00 -0700

en.elconfidencial.com - May. 23 (Opinion) -

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Romney Embraces Growth, Leaving Austerity To Europe

Sat, 19 May 2012 00:00:00 -0700

Huffington Post - By Jon Ward - May. 19 (Opinion) - Austerity is out. Growth is in. And Mitt Romney's campaign has taken notice. Politicians in Europe and in President Barack Obama's administration can't get enough of the G word these days. "Growth must be a priority, at the same time as we put in place some fiscal compact to improve our finances," said the new French President Francois Hollande, during a visit with Obama in the Oval Office on Friday.

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What You've Heard About Greece Is Not True

Thu, 17 May 2012 00:00:00 -0700

Huffington Post - By Richard Parker: - May. 17 (Comment) - You've probably come across reports that the Greeks are feckless tax evading...

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Austerity Is So Wrong!

Sun, 06 May 2012 00:00:00 -0700

The Daily Beast - By Paul Krugman - May. 06 (Opinion) - In a new book, End This Depression Now!, Nobel Prize–winning economist Paul Krugman says the current economic problems can be fixed both more easily and more quickly than anyone imagines. But politicians’ desire to slash spending is deeply destructive, and he details why austerity is so appealing even to Very Serious People—and why it’s such a bad idea.

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Punk Economics: Lesson 3

Sun, 01 Apr 2012 00:00:00 -0700

YouTube - By David McWilliams - Apr. 01 (Opinion) - Irish Economist David McWilliams discusses the dangers of playing games with liquidity, in Lesson 3.

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Paul Krugman: 50 Percent Chance Global Economy Will Enter Recession

Fri, 09 Sep 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Huffington Post - By Harry Bradford - Sep. 09 (Interview) - Even though Obama's jobs plan is "bolder and better" than Paul Krugman expected, the Nobel-Prize winning economist still told Bloomberg Television on Friday that it might not be enough to stave off global recession. The risk of global recession is "quite high, maybe 50 percent," Krugman told Bloomberg. He added: "The risk of something that feels like a recession is much higher than that. My central belief is that we're likely to have higher unemployment a year from now than we do today." Krugman said that while Obama's plan "could make a noticeable difference to the economy," Republican opposition to the President's proposal, on top of the euro zone crisis, still makes recession a substantial possibility.

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The Economy Is Doomed Says Charles R. Morris

Thu, 11 Aug 2011 09:01:10 -0700

The Daily Beast - By Charles R. Morris - Aug. 11 (Opinion) - Over the last few days, global markets have been surging and collapsing like a teeny-bopper’s hormones. The Monday swoon was precipitated by the downgrading of the U.S. credit rating by one of the major credit agencies, while the Tuesday resurrection was in reaction to Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke’s promise to keep interest rates near zero in perpetuity if necessary. Neither of those was a real event. Treasury risk premiums fell after the credit action, and American banks and corporations are already sitting on some $3 trillion in cash that they can’t spend. More free money won’t change anything. Gloom descended again on Wednesday, this time because of credit worries in Europe, which is at least a real problem. A deeper reason for the high market anxiety, however, is the sad state of financial governance in both Europe and the United States. The paralyzing standoff between the two major American parties was dramatized by the idiocies of the debt-ceiling debate. President Obama’s Monday speech only added to the nervousness by underscoring how far apart the parties were.

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Europe Is Warning Us

Thu, 09 Jun 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Real Clear Politics - By Victor Davis Hanson - Jun. 09 (Opinion) - If Americans think fuel and food prices are high, they should try Europe, where both can nearly double those in the United States -- while salaries here are often lower.

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There's a Right Way and a Wrong Way to Deal With a Jobs Crisis -- Why Is Germany Doing It So Well? | | AlterNet

Wed, 01 Jun 2011 00:00:00 -0700

AlterNet - Jun. 01 (Opinion) -

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Libya: Governments Should Demand End to Unlawful Killings

Sun, 20 Feb 2011 00:00:00 -0800

Human Rights Watch - Feb. 20 (Advocacy) - The African Union and African, Western, and Arab countries that have relations with Libya should urge the Libyan government to stop the unlawful killing of protesters.

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Dubai Camel Milk Producers Hope To Export 'Camelicious' Brand

Sun, 22 Aug 2010 02:40:15 -0700

Huffington Post - Aug. 22 - DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) -- The camels know the drill by heart. Just after dawn, they file on their own -- always in groups of 12 -- into metal stalls for milking. Workers attach automated pumps. The milk flows into a system of chilled pipes

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Russia: Analysis of Hacker Attacks On Bloggers

Sun, 20 Jun 2010 00:00:00 -0700

Global Voices - By Alexey Sidorenko - Jun. 20 (Opinion) - Over the last five years, more than 40 RuNet bloggers have become targets of hacker attacks, most of which were carried out by a group of hackers named The Brigade of Hell. The hackers' targets have been both political and commercial bloggers.

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Zero growth offers no relief in euro crisis

Fri, 23 Apr 2010 00:00:00 -0700

Blogactiv.eu - By Michael Berendt - Apr. 23 (Opinion) - Zero GDP growth in the eurozone for the last quarter of 2009 and a feeble recovery in the first quarter of 2010 is not what most of Europe’s finance ministers might wish to hear, but that’s the latest message from the OECD. It just shows what a challenge Europe faces in restoring the strength of public finances, most especially in Greece and other eurozone countries facing massive budget deficits.

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The Greek Tragedy Continues

Fri, 23 Apr 2010 00:00:00 -0700

Global Economy Matters - By Edward Hugh - Apr. 23 (Opinion) - The future of the Eurozone is decidedly hanging in the balance at the moment. As I said earlier in the week, the problem isn’t a simple question economics anymore: everything now is all about credibility, about who does what, and when, and how everyone else reacts. As the crisis trundles on and on, news that Greek bond spreads have hit ever higher post European Monetary Union records has become such a regular event that the process now seems almost a monotonous one. However, what happened on what we could now call this week’s Greek “Black Thursday” certainly marked a new, and more worrying milestone in the ever evolving crisis. The news this morning that Greece has demanded the activation of the EU-IMF loan - news which apparently took even the EU Commission itself by surprise it seems - only adds to the general sense of confusion that abounds. The problem we are presented with is not only that Greek 10-year bond yields reached 8.83 per cent, their highest levels since 1998, or that the cost of insuring Greek government debt against default hit a record high of 616 basis points. The really disturbing development was that spreads on government bonds all around Europe’s periphery – including countries like Hungary and Bulgaria - widened sharply, raising heightened concerns that Greek contagion may move from being a mere possibility to becoming a reality. And the cost of protecting peripheral eurozone borrowers against default also hit record levels, with Spain and Portugal touching record highs for their Credit Default Swap prices.

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IMF, no thanks

Wed, 21 Apr 2010 00:00:00 -0700

PressEurop - By Antonis Karakousis - Apr. 21 (Opinion) - 43 years ago [on 21 April 1967] the colonels overthrew the Greek Republic and plunged the country into darkness for seven years. This gloomy anniversary falls on the very day the historic talks begin with the IMF junta to resolve the country’s serious problems. Back then, the colonels posed as the “saviours of the nation” with their tanks. Today, the self-styled saviours, attired in grey Chicago School suits, have come to impose their terms and abolish Greek sovereignty and political authority, and, by ricochet, that of the Greek people. You must think I’m exaggerating, but no other comparison is possible. In a few years, everyone will remember this fateful day as a one of national mourning.

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Do I See Movement In The Greek Trenches?

Tue, 20 Apr 2010 00:00:00 -0700

A Fistful of Euros - By Edward Hugh - Apr. 20 (Opinion) - This isn’t about economics anymore, this is now about who does what, and when, and how everyone else reacts. Greece may require financial assistance of as much as €80 billion ($107.92 billion) to escape its debt crisis and avoid default, Bundesbank

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Social tolerance of EU-IMF moves will determine Greece

Tue, 20 Apr 2010 00:00:00 -0700

Kathimerini - By Dimitris Kontogiannis - Apr. 20 (Opinion) - It should be noted that Argentina sought and got an IMF loan of 14 billion dollars in November 2000 but this did not help it escape a default on 93 billion dollars of government debt in late December 2001. This happened after a recession turned into a fiscal crisis and then metastasized into a banking crisis in 2001. The government imposed severe capital controls, basically freezing bank accounts for 12 months with only small amounts of money allowed to be withdrawn, fanning violent demonstrations. ... much depends on the social tolerance of the expected structural and fiscal measures. If the vast majority of citizens show the same kind of tolerance they have to the austerity measures announced so far and already implemented, one could safely bet on the good scenario of a stronger economy. If, however, vested interests in the private and public sectors have their way, it will take years for Greece to see the dawn again. In other words, it all boils down to the Greeks’ ability to tolerate painful economic measures.

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IMF Prepares for Financial Meltdown

Mon, 19 Apr 2010 00:00:00 -0700

Huffington Post - By Garrett Johnson - Apr. 19 (Opinion) - The IMF has been issuing warnings over the past couple weeks. If this massive expansion is a direct reaction to their recent statements, then we are looking at a severe financial shock in the near future.

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In green Spain, unemployment nearly twice our woeful 10 percent rate

Fri, 16 Apr 2010 00:00:00 -0700

The Heritage Foundation - By Ben Lieberman - Apr. 16 (Opinion) - We're hearing a lot these days from the nation's capital about the coming "clean energy economy" and all the green jobs we'll get out of it. If truth-in-advertising laws applied to politics, however, you'd have to replace the word "clean" with "costlier" - which is why this agenda is actually very bad news for jobs and the economy.

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Angela Calling

Sun, 11 Apr 2010 00:00:00 -0700

Greece Economy Watch - By Edward Hugh - Apr. 11 (Opinion) - The current issue came to a head last Monday afternoon, following a brief report on the Financial Times website stating that progress with the decision on any Greek rescue plan was effectively deadlocked due to the inability of the Germany to agree with her other European partners the precise rate of interest to be charged on any loan to be provided. Ironically it is this single issue which is currently bringing European decision making to a dead halt, and creating a level of uncertainty and debate of such intensity that, if it is not resolved decisively, could bring the very future of the Euro into question. And it is not a trivial matter, since the rate charged will become a precedent, which other, larger, countries can refer to later.

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Galbraith, Stiglitz, Soros on Resisting the Inevitability of the Greek Debt Crisis

Sun, 11 Apr 2010 00:00:00 -0700

Seeking Alpha - By Edward Harrison - Apr. 11 (Opinion) - I would love to have gone to the Institute of New Economic Thinking (INET) conference in Cambridge, but the timing was wrong for me. The effort, sponsored by George Soros, is a much needed collaboration of ideas to help prevent a crisis like the one we are now experiencing. Marshall Auerback reported Friday on some ideas by Perry Mehrling. ...Below are three videos of James Galbraith, Joseph Stiglitz and George Soros giving their opinion of what is at stake. Bloomberg finishes this off with a fourth interview with Armored Wolf’s John Brynjolfsson back in the US.

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