They say that Berlusconi is under fire for not putting through his austerity program. They talk about Italy’ huge sovereign debt and reveal that its debt is 120% of its GDP. Italy’s 10-year ond may have just raised its yield… Continue Reading →

Christine Lagarde, the new IMF chief, says that European growth is being hampered by too much sovereign debt. She thinks that there has been a “crisis of confidence”, and industrialized nations must work together. Cutting back of course stimulates growth,… Continue Reading →

The interest rate for Greek 1-year paper is 70%. 2-year paper is 50%. Talks between the Greek government and the Troika, the IMF, the ECB, and the EC, European Commission, have been called off. The Greek government says it’s numbers… Continue Reading →

The Greeks are likely to miss their budget deficit goals in 2011. Their deficit could exceed 8% of GDP. Tax collection is the biggest problem. People don’t have enough money to pay taxes. The reason? In more western countries, particularly… Continue Reading →

Wirtschaftswunder! That’s the German word for the new economic miracle echoing the postwar boom. What is the secret? It’s mid-size companies, or “mittelstand”, exploiting niches in the economy. A good example is Diens Group in Cologne, founded in 2013. It… Continue Reading →

Germany’s government is being tested by the Greek debt crisis. The question is how much power Angela Merkel should have as Chancellor. She brokered a deal with Sarkozy and the EU in July about the second Greek bailout. But has… Continue Reading →

Adolf Hitler failed in his attempt to make Europe an empire ruled by Germany at the end of World War II in 1945. The EU as a loose confederation of the “United States of Europe” is in danger of breaking… Continue Reading →

If you look for articles, you can find them almost every week. The Germans are knocking down another monument, digging up another grave, demolishing an hotel, doing everything except expunging the historical record itself. And who knows, they may do… Continue Reading →

Apparently the Bavarian town of Wunsiedel exhumed the body of Rudolph Hess last Wednesday. They even took down his tombstone with the words, “I have dared!” His family is supposed to have his remains cremated and buried at sea. The… Continue Reading →

Anyone who goes online to German websites must notice how commonplace English translations are. Germans have been learning English in school since the nineteenth century. So it should be no surprise that today the country saw its first royal wedding… Continue Reading →