27 January 2015 | Professor Steffen Hindelang of the Free University Berlin, a renowned expert for international trade law has today presented at a joint hearing of the EU-Parliament committees on law and on international trade the findings of three studies, comissioned by parliament.
QE and the nature of the standoff between the ECB and Syriza
On Thursday the ECB’s Governing Council will decide on whether to start a large bond buying program. I am afraid the decision is clear, though not for economic reasons. A few days later, the Greek will probably vote for a left leaning government under the Syriza-party, which wants to renegotiate the terms of the huge government debt, and is opposed to the EU-imposed austerity program which impoverished the country. There will be a standoff, a game of chicken, in which Brussels, Frankfort (the ECB) and Berlin
Continue reading “QE and the nature of the standoff between the ECB and Syriza”
Shadow ECB Council is sceptical on size and structure of the ECB’s package
At the meeting of the Shadow ECB Council on 26 September, 2014, there was a strong consensus that strong disinflation and weak economic prospects warranted ECB action. At the same time, there was near consensus that the package of measures announced by the central bank in early September would not be sufficient and there was disagreement on their appropriateness. Many members suggested large scale
Continue reading “Shadow ECB Council is sceptical on size and structure of the ECB’s package”
Shadow ECB Council calls ECB’s package step in the right direction
At the meeting of the Shadow ECB Council on 26 June, 2014, there was a strong consensus that the measures decided by the ECB Governing Council in early June against the credit crunch and below target inflation were going in the right direction, but only modestly effective and insufficient. Almost all members believed that additional measure were needed now or in the near future. The Targeted Long Term Refinancing Operations (TLTRO) were almost unanimously considered the most important part of
Continue reading “Shadow ECB Council calls ECB’s package step in the right direction”
Shadow ECB Council criticises neglect of deflation danger
The Shadow ECB Council held a conference-call on 27 March, 2014 to discuss whether and which monetary policy measure would be appropriate to deal with the continued inflation undershoot and to counter the threat of deflation. There was broad consensus that the low and declining inflation rate in the euro area as a whole and negative rates in some individual countries pose a serious problem; more serious than ECB representatives
Continue reading “Shadow ECB Council criticises neglect of deflation danger”
George Soros‘ INET: An institute to improve the world or a Trojan horse of the financial oligarchy?
Let’s assume that there is a financial oligarchy which exerts strong political influence due to the vast amounts of money it controls. Let’s further assume that this financial oligarchy has succeeded in having financial markets deregulated and that this has enabled the financial industry to expand their business massively. Then, in some near or far future, their artfully constructed financial edifice breaks down, because it cannot be hidden any more that the accumulated claims cannot be serviced by the real economy.
Don’t blame the victims, Mr.Weidmann!
A working paper published by the European Central Bank (ECB) shows that strong wage increases have not been the cause for troubles of the euro zone’s crisis countries. Rather, capital flows have caused bloated house and asset prices and exaggerated construction activity and unsustainable economic activity in general, which in turn has pushed up wages. This diagnosis flies in the faceof the of the story often retold by the ECB and