Spain – A New Run On The Banks?

Euro bank notes (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

StratRisks, August 28, 2012

(Source: IBTimes)

Spanish consumers are pulling their cash out of banks at record levels, according to figures released on Tuesday.

Private sector deposits fell by nearly 5 percent in July to €1.509, the Telegraph reported, citing European Central Bank data, as public confidence in the banking system reached all-time lows amid a worsening economic situation.

The news comes after bond markets continued to hammer the debt-ridden euro zone nations Spain and Italy last week… (more)  http://ow.ly/1mb8xQ

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ProSyn: Why Are Governments Paralyzed?

By Michael Spence and David Brady, Project Syndicate, August 15, 2012

It is no secret that the global economy is struggling. Europe is in the midst of a crisis whose root cause is a structurally flawed monetary and economic union. The United States, emerging slowly from a financial crisis and widespread deleveraging, is experiencing a growth slowdown, a persistent employment problem, an adverse shift in income distribution, and structural challenges, with little effective or decisive policy action… (more) http://ow.ly/1lYPMo

ProSyn: Europe’s Solidarity Imperative

Peter Sutherland, Project Syndicate, August 9, 2012

When Mario Draghi, the president of the European Central Bank, publicly proclaimed that the ECB would do “whatever it takes” to ensure the future stability of the euro, the effect of his remarks was immediate and remarkable. Borrowing costs fell dramatically for the governments of Italy and Spain; stock markets rallied; and the recent decline in the external value of the euro was suddenly checked… (more)  http://ow.ly/1lTN7r

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European Inst: Europe’s North-South Divide—A Stubborn Chasm

By Garret Martin, European Affairs Editor-at-Large, European Institute

Divisions are a reality of Europe’s DNA. For much of its history, the continent’s aspirations for peace and unity have fallen prey to disputes and wars over religion, politics, or ideology to name a few. The European Union’s current woes are the latest example, with the ongoing Eurozone crisis undermining the ideal of integration as ancient centrifugal forces emerge anew. On the surface, the current divide reflects contrasting economic fortunes, with the Southern European states (particularly Italy, Spain, Greece and Portugal) disproportionately impacted by the Eurozone debt crisis, and forced to rely on substantial economic relief from the wealthier Northern European states. According to Indermit Gill, lead author of the World Bank’s seminal study on the European economic model, the EU economy can be viewed as three lanes of traffic, a slow-speed lane in Western Europe, a high-speed lane in formerly Communist Eastern Europe and a third lane, the South – “where cars are going in reverse.” (more) http://ow.ly/1lNKqs

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Carnegie Institute: NATO’s Nuclear Realism

NATO‘s Nuclear Realism – It is time to forget about the nuclear free world and tackle the real issues… 

Karl-Heinz Kamp, Friday, July 13, 2012

At its Chicago summit, NATO approved the “Deterrence and Defense Posture Review”. Never heard of it? Don’t worry—you’re not the only one! It is one of those wonderful communiqué style documents—absolutely incomprehensible and written by and for the nuclear wonks within the Alliance.  Still it is arguably one of the summit’s most important achievements, as it ends NATO’s

English: Map to show current affiliations of European Countries with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Several NATO Member areas not included in the map, such as the United States, Canada, Greenland, and French Guiana. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

dispute on the future of those U.S. nuclear weapons that are still stationed in Europe. Germany had long requested the withdrawal of the few American nuclear bombs stored on its soil. For other NATO members, particularly for those in the East, these bombs symbolize the highest level of U.S. security guarantees for Europe—tacitly directed against a potential threat from Russia.
(more) http://ow.ly/1llfIC

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ECFR: Mario Monti’s special touch

Rome view: Mario Monti’s special touch –
Date: 13th July 2012  |  Author: Marco de Andreis

Did Mario Monti really come to Brussels, see Angela Merkel and conquer the euro crisis? Even though the Italian media (uniformly) and most foreign newspapers – including the NYT and Spiegel – portrayed the Italian prime minister in these semi-imperial terms, it is far from clear that he got what he wanted both at the June 28 European Council and at the July 9 Eurogroup meeting of finance ministers. http://ow.ly/1lklQR

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