December 11, 2011 (Vietnamica) — European leaders agreed to establish a new “fiscal compact” by means of an intergovernmental agreement late Dec 8 after 10 hours of talks. The United Kingdom will remain outside the agreement, which will seek to improve fiscal stability and economic co-ordination between its signatories.
December 9, 2011 (Vietnamica) — Today is a very sad day. We believe that the markets are telling us that there is a horrible abscess in Europe, and that the Euro is the pus. We believe that fuelled by injustice, the infection of nationalism will now tear Europe apart – making outright enemies of Germany and Greece, France and Italy, the Netherlands and Spain.
November 17, 2011 (Vietnamica) — Everyone is wondering about the next disaster to befall Europe. Italy is one focus; Spain is also a possibility. But these crises are already under way. Instead, the next crisis will be political, not in the sense of what conventional politician is going to become prime minister, but in the deeper sense of whether Europe’s political elite can retain power, or whether new political forces are going to emerge that will completely reshape the European political landscape. If this happens, it will be by far the most important consequence of the European financial crisis.
November 16, 2011 (Vietnamica) — U.S. dollar prices to buy gold climbed to $1779 an ounce Wednesday lunchtime in London – 0.5% down from last week’s close –amid suggestions that central bankers in London and Frankfurtare growing more interventionist.
November 9, 2011 (Vietnamica) — Change in the international system comes in large and small doses, but fundamental patterns generally stay consistent. From 1500 to 1991, for example, European global hegemony constituted the world’s operating principle. Within this overarching framework, however, the international system regularly reshuffles the deck in demoting and promoting powers, fragmenting some and empowering others, and so on. Sometimes this happens because of war, and sometimes because of economic and political forces. While the basic structure of the world stays intact, the precise way it works changes.
November 4, 2011 (Vietnamica) — U.S. President Barack Obama said the eurozone sovereign debt crisis was the most pressing task for G20 world leaders meeting in Cannes, as he called on his European counterparts to “flesh out details” (NYT) of a three-pronged solution agreed to in Brussels last week. China and Russia (DeutscheWelle), both feeling the strain of the euro crisis, also called on EU leaders to implement the rescue plan without hesitation. It includes an expansion of the temporary eurozone bailout mechanism, recapitalization of the continent’s exposed banks, and a new bailout package for Greece.
