A United States of Europe would serve no purpose other than the self-agrandisment of politicians.
The issue is for the different Euopean tribes to avoid the pitfalls of fiscal union and its necessary prerequisite the ballot box.
Fiscal union does not work. You only have to look at the post-industrial parts of the UK and US to see that. make believe jobs created out of ever increasing and ulitimately unsustainable government spending do not work. Ballot boxes are fine for issues of social importance, abortion, same sex marriage etc. Anything of importance has been long recognised as being dangerous to be decided by the population at large, be that by Plato, John Adams or James Madison. The USA is a country of individuals who chose to leave their home country. Europe is the complete reverse, so pyschologically very different. Better to have national politicians who act as lightning rods for popular discontent and have supra-national bodies of technocrats pulling the strings. Italy has rarely been run so well....

"The path toward joint liability is far more likely to lead to a deep rift within Europe, because turning the eurozone into a transfer and debt union that can prevent the insolvency of any of its members would require more central power than currently exists in the US."

Who cares what they do in the US? Since when has that been the benchmark by which European leaders are expected to measure themselves? If these are unprecedented times then maybe they require unprecedented responses? This article appears to argue that because the US doesn’t have such powers, then the EU shouldn’t have them either. I repeat, who cares what powers the US does or doesn’t have?

The great thing about mainland Europe, is that “closer integration” is practically meaningless on the ground. In the average European home, I doubt if many people care how many additional layers of governance are added to the top ('Intergalactic president’ anyone?) as long as those layers have a legitimate governing role and as long as the people still feel connected to the system at a local level. In most European countries in which I’ve had the privilege to live, this has very much been the case – (the major exception being, regrettably, my homeland; the UK. Westminster already feels remote and leaves the UK regions feeling pretty disconnected from any meaningful power or influence. Additional layers at the top – like Brussels – just add to the feeling of isolation.)

At the other end of the scale, the problems faced by people in their daily lives are increasingly less respectful of national boundaries – environment, business, social responsibility and resources - hence the enthusiasm for European level co-operation.

As I said, the number of layers of governance are not the issue; peoples feeling of ‘connectedness’ at the bottom is what really matters, and in this respect, it doesn’t matter how many regions, languages, identities and cultures co-exist under the umbrella of a single entity, with specific inter-national / inter-regional responsibilities …. as long as it is felt to be doing a useful job!

HELSINKI—The Finns Party, which advocates Finland's exit from the euro zone, is expected to make strides in local elections on Sunday, likely widening a political divide in the small Nordic state about how to approach the euro-zone debt crisis.

Formerly called the True Finns, support for the fiercely nationalistic party swelled during national elections in 2011, and is poised to nearly triple on the municipal level, according to a new opinion poll. The survey by Finland's largest newspaper, Helsingin Sanomat, predicts the euroskeptic Finns will take 15.6% of the local vote, up from 5.4% in 2008....GDP is a very poor indicator of the actual health of an economy. Such a fractional rise (which appears to be dependent to a large extent on the one-off effect of the Olympics e.x england) is set against a backdrop of declining full-time employment, falling living standards, intolerable inflation on essentials, the growing VAT-ability of almost everything, wage stagnation, a complete lack of any business financing streams for SMEs, company closures, mass under-employment among highly qualified graduates and (I suspect ex-)professionals, a frozen housing market, crippling rents for younger people, the slow diminution of public services, completely frozen social mobility and a general sense of resignation and malaise about the economic future of any country.

MADRID—Spain's central bank said Tuesday the Spanish economy contracted at a faster pace in the third quarter and the country may miss its budget-deficit target because of tax-revenue shortfalls.

The euro zone's fourth-largest economy contracted by 1.7% from the same period last year, compared with a 1.3% contraction in the second quarter, the central bank said.

In the first estimate of Spain's economic performance during the July-to-September quarter, the Bank of Spain said that on a quarterly basis gross domestic product likely contracted 0.4%, the same as in the second quarter. The central bank's estimates are often very close to or in line with final government estimates issued later. The government's first third-quarter GDP estimate is due Oct. 30.

The central bank also said that "it can't be ruled out" that Spain's government would miss its budget deficit target for this year, currently at 6.3% of GDP after a series of revisions, largely because of tax-revenue shortfalls. Last year, Spain's deficit stood at 9.4% of GDP, more than three percentage points above the target.

"The efforts to lower spending at the public sector have had a net contracting effect (on the economy) in the central months of the year," the Bank of Spain said. "We see drops in consumption and investment by all levels of government above those seen in previous quarters."

....“impossible for Germany to pay everybody’s bills,”

While Germany and the other euro members will “stick to the monetary union,” every euro state has to fight the problems it faces as it’s “impossible for Germany to pay everybody’s bills,” Schaeuble said. Germany “would be destroyed” if it overstretched its resources, he said. ....Turning to Spain, the German minister said financial markets have yet to appreciate efforts made by the country’s government, led by Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, to return to sustainable public finances. Standard & Poor’s cut Spain’s sovereign-debt rating by two levels to BBB- on Oct. 10, citing the backtracking of euro-region peers on a pledge to sever the link between the sovereign and its banks. “Since Spain is under the pressure of markets, Spain had to take decisions on reducing its deficit, to increase its competitiveness, but Spain is delivering since the Rajoy government is in place,” Schaeuble said. “They’re doing very well but it takes time until markets believe them.”

Swedish Finance Minister Anders Borg said yesterday it’s“most probable” that Greece will quit the common currency and such an outcome shouldn't be ruled out over the next six months. Schaeuble told the Singapore-German Chamber of Industry and Commerce that a Greek exit would create “huge” problems and wouldn't happen. .... “If you look at how much interlinked we are in the European Union and in the currency union, to leave it would create huge, incredible difficulties for everyone,” Schaeuble said. “Therefore the better way is to solve it, but of course it has to be solved.” Euro-area finance ministers on Oct. 8 backed Greece’s plan to trim its budget and reshape the economy, while demanding that the government in Athens commit to a list of 89 policy steps before the summit. They didn't commit on whether the next 31 billion-euro aid installment will be paid out in one go or released in smaller chunks. “Everyone is trusting that Samaras and his government is really decided to do what is needed,” Schaeuble said.

Amusing - This man is a deluded clown.

"Mr Van Rompuy – who said the EU was the “biggest peacemaking institution ever created in world history"....Amusing - This man is a deluded clown. Now the EU is working out how to pillage wealth whoever it can to keep the half baked plans of domination alive. There is no heart in the eyes of these arrogant, anti democratic creators of a systematically ignorant European rule and ruling class. The final triumph of ignorance is economic collapse, waste, decay and chaos. The best system of government to ensure well informed executives and to motivate rulers to listen is Democracy. The further rulers stray from Democracy the more arrogant, ignorant and arbitrary they become. The EU has not gone all the way but it is on an irreversible downward slide. We must let go of these nasty losers and leave them to slide, alone, into the chasm of failure and self created ignorance. So far our craven politicians neither see nor care because they are blinded by their small minded immature and childish careerist ambitions and selfishness. Well....Doubtless ,the German people will feel much the same when the grim reality of the extent of betrayal hits them with the force of an express train......Stalin, Hitler, Pol Pot and Genghis Khan were similarly deluded, but they weren't anywhere near so comical as Rumpy.The EU needs money, lots of it, and fast, so expect Rumpy and his evil elves to keep proposing more and more of their madcap money making schemes. Having seen a little of what Irish and Greek banks were up to before they fell in to a heap I don't rate the chances of forming a banking union very highly, and trying to pool budgets and debt without the banks in a stable condition is utterly hopeless. None of this is ever going to get Merkel's seal of approval.

A pathetic gesture by a group of Nordic Europhiles intended to boost EU morale in dark times.

Has the committee which runs the Nobel Peace Prize been infiltrated by satirists or opponents keen on discrediting the organisation? Norwegian radio reports this morning, carried by Reuters, suggested that the European Union is to be awarded the prize for supposedly keeping the peace in Europe for the last sixty years. Was this a Nordic spoof? Apparently not.

It is only a few years since President Obama was ludicrously awarded the Nobel peace prize for winning the 2008 election and not being George Bush. Since then Mr Obama has continued the war in Afghanistan, stepped up drone attacks and got America involved in Libya's bloody revolution, suggesting that it is better to hand out baubles after someone has finished their job rather than when they are just getting started or are half way through. Incidentally, the same stricture should have applied to bankers honoured by New Labour when they were still running banks which later blew up.

Giving the EU a peace prize is at best premature, like knighting Sir Fred Goodwin in the middle of the mad boom. We have no idea how the experiment to create an anti-democratic federation will end. Hopefully the answer is very peacefully, but when Greek protesters are wearing Nazi uniforms, and Spanish youth unemployment is running at 50 per cent, a look at history suggests there is always the possibility of a bumpy landing.

Daftest of all is the notion that the EU itself has kept the peace. It was the Allies led by the Americans, the Russians and the British who defeated and disarmed the Germans in 1945. The German people then underwent the most extraordinary reckoning, transforming their country into an essentially pacifist society. The EU had very little to do with it. Throughout that period it was Nato, led by the Americans and British, which kept the peace in Western Europe. The American taxpayer picked up most of the resulting tab, and the British paid a significant part of the bill too.

Under this defence umbrella, the federalists who wanted to reconstruct the notion of Carolingian Empire which dominated 9th century Europe, created what we have come to know and love as the EU. Of course there are advantages in what they constructed – the single market and easier travel, making the South of France and Tuscany more accessible. But they also built an appallingly designed single currency, a horlicks of an agricultural policy and rapacious bureaucracy determined to stifle the nation state in the name of utopian, unachievable continent-wide homogeneity. And at every turn those driving it looked for ways to outwit the democratic will.

It is said that those in charge of the Nobel Peace Prize have made their latest award to distract attention from the eurozone crisis, which only adds a further surreal twist. The last year or so in Europe has been marked by demonstrations and extensive European rioting. There are words one can use to describe what is going on, but "peaceful" isn't one of them.(By Iain Martin)

I think that it is extremely important for Romania

Two months ago, this information appeared on the market that a group made up of over ten businesspeople, with names which allegedly would include Gabriel Popoviciu, Gruia Stoica or Dorel Umbrărescu, as well as the five SIFs, would acquire the Romanian division of ATE Bank.

"ATE Bank" Romania, recently acquired by "Piraeus Bank", will be partially bought by several Romanian investors and initially capitalized up to 60 million Euros, and in 2013 more investors will be co-opted, including the financial investment companies (SIFs), and its equity will reach 200 million Euros.
"The negotiations with < Piraeus > are at a very advanced stage. Not only the license of < ATE Bank > will be acquired, but part of the assets and liabilities of the bank as well. The completion of the deal is just a matter of days", sources close to the transaction said, quoted by Mediafax.
Based on the information available at this time, the new bank will be aimed exclusively at companies, particularly those operating in industry and agriculture.
According to the quoted sources, starting next year, the new bank will be led by former "Raiffeisen Bank" vice-president Marinel Burduja, who is also the man leading these negotiations....about month ago, Marinel Burduja said: "It is every Romanian banker's dream to lay the foundation for a Romanian owned bank, and this will happen once the time is right. I think that it is extremely important for Romanian capital to one day be present on the domestic market. This would also increase interest of foreign investors".

In an interview with The Sunday Telegraph on the eve of the Tories’ annual conference in Birmingham the Prime Minister attacks Ed Milband for “signalling right but turning left” and makes a clear attempt to reclaim the “one nation” mantle from the Labour leader.

He admits he has not done enough to get out and “explain” his government’s programme at a time when the Tories are slumping in the polls and Whitehall is gripped by a series of crises.

Mr Cameron vows to put this right from this week with a bid to reconnect with the “striving” families who are facing tough times in the recession.  He will offer packages of financial help - including a new council tax freeze - without putting the coalition’s overall strategy of reducing Britain’s deficit at risk. The Prime Minister also vows today to use Britain’s veto, if necessary, to block “outrageous” attempts to increase the European Union’s overall budget in upcoming negotiations to set total spending for the years 2014 to 2020. “If it comes to saying 'no’ to a deal that isn’t right for Britain, I’ll say 'no’, he declares.....So in a nutshell Cameron's vision is "let's give the middle classes a few sops. threaten, but not mean, a veto on Europe, cut the Defence of the nation to an unsustainable low level so we can give £ 12 Billion to people who would prefer to slit our throats".  And he thinks this is "explaining" his vision? And that this will cause his support to increase? Is he mad, or just stupid?

He's been fighting back the second he got in office...fighting back to put the under class or the common man ...back in time,a victorian over lord...juicing out the masses, he does have a vision but it only includes himself and the making the rich wealthier and the poor more impoverished.

What is this man doing in politics,his interests are supposed to be for all classes...not sending money abroad,and to whom..Here we go again. Lots of sound bits and doubtless no action. What have we achieved so far? Deficit still out of control and growing. Local authorities' (who supply most services) budget's cut by circa 30% . Central government total budget cut by less than 1%

Much hyped bonfire of Quangos and red tape. There hasn't been even a spark yet, let alone a bonfire.

Focus on economic growth. Nothing, otherwise we would see some growth. Worse, more decisions that have a significant effect on the economy handed further down the "food chain" to local ill-informed nimbys, who's only reaction is ever "No" and who are naive (or less politely, ignorant) enough to vote for any politician who promises to "Give them more power"! This ensures the country is run by amateurs from top to bottom. Major projects that should have been accelerated on day one of government, 3rd runway, infrastructure construction, a scythe to anticompetitive employment, Health and Safety and other laws and regulations are still no where near meaningful discussion, let alone real action. In the meantime the far east creates and absorbs all the new world growth, laughing at our hopeless leadership and huge unnecessary costs Even self preservation policies such as boundary changes are stuck with inaction.  What exactly has this government done? Answer, next to bu--er all. Where are the men and women who really know the meaning of leadership, conviction, honour and love of country? Easy, they are all disenfranchised by a bunch of smug, hypocritical career politicians who have sown up their future and stitched up our country at the same time!

What has Weimar to do with the Greece ...????? nothing !!!!

I was in Greece a few weeks ago, people are living on nothing, some people have not been paid in months, others surive on low salaries while the social welfare system is nowhere near good enough.  Greek people are being crushed, their livelihoods are being crushed, their spirit is being crushed, their country is being crushed.  If this EU is assisting in that process rather than stepping in to try and assist and find proactive ways forward then the whole damn thing should be wrapped up as a monumental failure, it simply has not performed in the way the founding fathers envisaged as it is all stick and no carrot. Debt on debt, austerity and stupid statements out of  Berlin and Brussels from mult-millionaire natzies like The Governor designated of Greece - Horst Reichenbach... who know next to nothing about deep personal and financial struggle.

What has Weimar to do with the Greeks?  Fake Left and Neo-Fascist Right keep on talking about ...Weimar.  Greece never was an imperialist power. It is almost  a banana republic. It is currently occuppied by the Troika and has a german governor. Under the Euro Greece had massive de-industrialisaion, massive importation of illegal labour. a collapse of agricultural production and an arms budget that has skyrocket beyond all proportion.  Yesterday they used riot police vans to arrest half a dockworkers demo outside the Defence Ministry, which is a crime scene, for all the financial fraud and bribery from Franco-German defence contractors.

On the other hand ... Germany went nationalist under Hitler, rearmed, got involved in civil wars in other countries and then allied itself with France, took over Europe leading to a war where 50-70 million died.
That was Weimar..."WTF" has that to do with a small banana republic on the outskirts of Europe ????  Nothing.

 

The EU is dead in the water....

The EU is dead in the water already, the Euro and Eurozone even more so. Or perhaps you think the whole mad caboodle is a roaring success, and on an ever-upwards curve? Who cares when it finally unravels - it will, by its nature, never be a success in the future, because its structure and aims are stuck in the past in a fast-changing world. UKIP were top in the EU elections, and have gained significant success in the polls ever since the last General Election, so much so that they are challenging the Limp Dicks for third place. Most Conservatives agree privately with UKIP, and significant numbers have deserted to UKIP, so much so that the Conservatives cannot possibly win the next General Election without UKIP aid or without adopting UKIP policies in a significant fashion. There's a message for you there, chum. There is a great irony here that the steps taken in order to prevent a deflationary collapse could mean there is an even greater "danger" if we do start to recover. Put simply, the debt burden of the major economies are so large that they cannot afford to pay higher rates. The central banks, have massive rate risk through the bonds they are holding. What we are trying to do is create via financial alchemy a solution to the problem that the debtors cannot pay the creditors, but a restructuring is politically impossible as well as a mortal threat to undercapitalized banks. Therefore, we hope that we can somehow flood the world with liquidity, to inflate only specific assets (property, equities) but not others (food and energy). Because this is "unnatural" we see efforts made to manipulate markets (officially sanctioned fudges of housing data, outright equity market intervention, and rumors of oil releases) so the markets just get weirder every day. The question is, whether we are happy to live in a world of extreme central planning, which seems to benefit the ultra wealthy the most or would be prefer to stop the charade, allow the markets to clear, accept the reality that we are not as rich as we thought, but move on.

Angela Merkel has declared that she and François Hollande will discuss how to strengthen the eurozone, when they meet on Saturday....Merkel also said that she and Hollande has a 'trusting' relationship, and would look for solutions that were "good for all of Europe." ....Meanwhile ...

Finland's prime minister, Jyrki Katainen, has questioned whether the European Central Bank's new bond-buying scheme will really help. Nearly two weeks after the ECB announced its Outright Monetary Transactions programme, to much fanfare, Katainen downplayed its significance, telling reporters that It has led to a positive situation, but I'm not fully sure if it will help in the long run....The prospect of OMT has helped ease borrowing costs for peripheral countries. However it can't kick in until a request for help is made... Katainen also argued that countries who are suffering from high yields must "sacrifice faster short-term growth" in favor of fixing their economies, bolstering competitiveness, and restoring confidence.GREECE CONFIRMS PLANS TO SELL OFF BUILDINGS OVERSEAS....We have confirmation from Greece that the Greek government is planning to sell off some of its prime overseas properties. As flagged up at 8.55am, this could include the Greek consul's home in West London.  The foreign ministry's spokesman Gregory Delavekouras has just confirmed that Greece will seek to sell a host of properties abroad but potential buyers should not hold their breath: the foreign ministry's finance office has to draw up a list of the assets first and investigate market conditions.  The good news is that the foreign ministry actually knows what the properties are - unlike the Greek state which has little idea of what it owns in a country that has long lacked a land registry.  "There is a decision to make use of properties that for various reasons are not being used," he told me. "But no decision has been made about specifics and I can't tell you which buildings would be available."  Since the outbreak of debt-burdened Greece's great economic crisis, diplomatic staff have been scaled back - the general consulate in London, home of a thriving Greek community, was one such victim -- as the government has tried to reign in expenditure.

France and Britain had found great “convergence”... funnnnyyyy....

France and Britain had found great “convergence” on plans to create a powerful bank supervisor to regulate all eurozone banks. “The UK, like us, would like if possible quite a swift timeline,” he said. Although Britain has made it clear it will not be part of a banking union, the Chancellor has backed the plan as a way of stabilising the single currency. Creating the supervisor will require support by all European Union countries, not just the 17 eurozone members.  In Germany, Angela Merkel called for a steady approach to banking supervision; the Chancellor wants central supervision for the eurozone’s systemic institutions, not all 6,000 banks. In a lengthy press conference, Ms Merkel again ruled out eurobonds. She said her “heart bleeds” for suffering Greeks but insisted they stick to their austerity plan.  At a lecture last night at the London School of Economics, Mr Moscovici called for greater unity in Europe, even if it required eurobonds and the cost individual sovereignty. He said: “I’m not saying we must integrate at any price. I’m not in favour of a Europe dominated only by Germany. But if we are capable of having each step of integration accompanied by a step in solidarity Europe will grow closer to its people.” ... The yield on Spain’s benchmark 10-year bonds were pulled back just below 6pc at the close, but their steady rise all day reflected bets by traders that Madrid’s determination to resist a bail-out will cause more volatility. Some argued that optimism that followed the unveiling of the so-called “Draghi Plan” to buy bonds was already wearing off. ...  

Here we go again.....this time preacher from the LSE ..Mr Moscovici is confirming what everyone else in office has been saying....."I’m not in favour of a Europe dominated only by Germany".

....For heavens sake ...Wev'e known this fact ages ago.
Jaques Delors stated this decades ago and it still hasn't been settled. In the current situation, expect double extra time before a solution is found; if one can be found...I remain sceptical. I suggest Mr Moscovici extrapolate a mathematical model that can arrive to a solution of all current economic problems.

There isn't a banking union, and no chance it will happen

As regards any idea of a Federal Europe is concerned it's interesting to see what's happening in Spain which is apparently in danger of fragmentation......"Hundreds of thousands of Catalans took to the streets of Barcelona  in an unprecedented show of mass support for autonomy from Madrid, blaming Spain’s economic crisis for dragging their wealthy region down.The central government said the crowd was 600,000 strong. Catalan police gave figures as high as 1.5 million...They held up banners and signs saying “No to the Fourth Reich”, “No to Europe”, “Independence Now!” and “Catalonia: the New European State”.  Catalans complain of paying billions of euros more in taxes than they receive back from Madrid, even as their regional government has been forced to fire workers and cut services."  In general people don't like the idea of supporting other populations, even within their own country. Asking nations to do it within a federation simply won't work.  There isn't a banking union, and no chance it will happen. They're talking about common banking regulation and Germany has said 'Nein' to Draghi's suggestion.....Reuters - Schäuble said that, despite the current crisis in the Euro zone, the Euro will ultimately emerge as the common currency of the entire European Union. He said he “respects” Britain’s decision to keep the pound, but insisted that the survival and eventual stabilisation of the Euro will convince non-members to join the currency club. “This may happen more quickly than some people in the British Isles currently believe,” he added....I say: Yet another example of the EU apparatchiks trying to gain control of the UK's financial structure by stealth....(and the other non Euro countries) - but the UK is the big target here.   Come on Great Britain! ... cut the head off this serpent and tell the EU to bugger off ... you'll be doing yourselves a great favor, not to mention the rest of Europe...Does anyone in their right mind think trade with the UK will stop if they leave the EU?   The vast majority of UK exports come here to the USA, Germany second, then France. A vast majority of UK imports come from Germany, USA second, then China, Netherlands, Norway, and France.  50 million quid a day dumped into this black hole the EU, and for what?!  Will Germany stop selling to the UK if they drop out of the EU?
Hell no! it's a major part of their economy.

The Chineese?..Just wait till they ask for their money back...

This is what happens when there is structural imbalance for far too many economies. Unfortunately there are no good economists and consequently nobody knows how to get the world's economies back into equilibrium. One thing is for sure though, those with more than their fair share of manufacturing production and employment, like Germany and China, will need to come to terms with supporting the other economies. Only then will a softer landing be able to be negotiated for everyone.... "Unfortunately there are no good economists and consequently nobody knows how to get the world's economies back into equilibrium" But the West has gobbled all the Nobel Prizes in Economic year after year. They can land a hand, can't they? Btw, Paul Klugman is giving advice free on New York Times daily. Me as an 'economist' without proper training suggest to the westerners, to start, spending less and save more. The equilibrium will come, someday and somehow....Well...It would be interesting to see what the USA would do if the Chinese decided to buy massive amounts of Gold on comex options and decide they want physical delivery at the end of the contract period rather than the profit/loss in yet more dollars. The Fed would not be happy at all that the physical gold gets shipped off to China....They have in the past made it illegal to own physical gold. I say :...Well...China's growth bubble is slowing down very quickly.  They naturally want to protect their own industries and investments and are wary of risk now. They have bought over 2 trillion of European and US debt to prop up those economies and to encourage world trade supporting Chinese exports worldwide for years. Now the party may be over....or is it ???..Just wait till they ask for their money back...

The ECB is understood to be considering setting internal yield band targets under a new bond-buying programme to allow it to keep its strategy shielded and avoid speculators trying to cash in, central bank sources told Reuters. Such a strategy would bring down yields, which translate into the interest rates countries can borrow at, without traders knowing where the ECB will stop buying.  Samaras, who arrived in Berlin with his foreign secretary and finance minister, has spent much of the week arguing that his country should have more time beyond the mid-2014 deadline to complete reforms that are a condition of it continuing to receive bailout loans. Without the help, Greece would be forced into a chaotic default on its debts and could be forced out of the eurozone.

Leading German politicians have voiced deep scepticism about granting Greece any concessions. Merkel and Hollande, meeting a day before Samaras came to Berlin, put the onus squarely on Greece to fulfill its pledges.

Greece has faltered in the speed and effectiveness of implementing the reforms irritating creditors, notably Germany, which is the single largest contributor to its two bailout packages, totalling €240bn.

Merkel said: "To win back confidence, we must fulfill expectations, and so I made clear in the talks that we of course expect from Greece that the commitments that were made be implemented, that deeds follow words.

"But fulfilling expectations also means that Greece can rightly expect from Germany that we do not pass premature judgments." Merkel added that Germany needed to wait for the debt inspectors' report.

The Athens coalition government has said it was considering passing a law blocking politicians from hiring relatives as staff after a series of corruption scandals. (source guardian.uk)

Reuters reports that The European Central Bank funding to Greek banks fell by €49.67bn in July from a month earlier to €23.99bn. Conversely, emergency liquidity assistance from the Greek central bank increased by €44.37bn to €106.31bn. Greek banks lost wholesale market access in the wake of the country's debt crisis, becoming dependant on the European Central Bank and the national central bank for liquidity. This is what Marc Ostwald of Monument Securities thought of those figures: The figures below mark a seismic shift away from the ECB to the Greek central bank, which could be interpreted as the ECB sensibly taking a hard line given the array of risks surrounding the new government's fiscal and structural reform policies, and indeed the Troika visit. ... But that sort of hard line is rather more suggestive of Herr Weidmann and the Bundesbank 'wearing the trousers' at the ECB than Signor Draghi, and for some Greece sceptics may even be constructed as a signal that Greece is one step closer to the exit, given the shift in risk (though we would be the first to admit that EUR 24 Bln is still a high level of risk, even if it has been reduced to what Signor Draghi might describe as an "adequate" level), and of course has no bearing on other ECB bond buying plans........

I have yet to meet any French or Germans who want to keep the Euro.

Germany led the way with regard to the Euro, due mainly to the enormous financial benefits it would reap. There is no problem with that if we accept that nation states should act in their own best interest...."Bundestag president Norbert Lammert said parliament’s integrity cannot be subordinated to the ups and downs of the markets. Free Democrat (FDP) leaders said Italy’s unelected prime minister is playing with political fire by trying to circumvent democratic legitimacy.

The dispute comes as relations between Germany and Italy touch the lowest ebb since the Second World War, with Il Giornale publishing a front-page picture of Chancellor Angela Merkel under the headline “Fourth Reich”. "..This is funny... the Germans complaining about Mr Monti not being elected... He was elected... by Merkel and Sarkozy!!! and their puppy Barroso...Wait for Berlusconi to come back with a proper election in Italy and see where you are with your Euro! However, Germany now insists that there must be financial union to support this currency; but on Germany's terms, and with no risk to their financial systems. It is not good enough to state that they are paying for the bailouts - the idea of the EU is that all are equal and it is their DUTY to give this support. If they believe differently then they can hardly be called "good europeans".The euro, as predicted from the very beginning, has proved to be in nobody's long-term interests; it gave a short term limited boost to to weaker economies but has ended up being the agent of destruction for their economies. It was only ever the zealot's attempt to create the EUSSR as a single country. Well, hell mend them. Let it go and stop pouring good money after bad keeping it up. I've yet to meet any French or Germans who want to keep the Euro.

Horst Reichenbach - The Governor of Greece ...no comment !

Last week, Greek prime minister Antonis Samaras secured cross-party support for a further €11.5bn (£9.11bn) of cuts in 2013 and 2014 to keep the €130bn of international rescue funds flowing. The details must be agreed by early September if Greece is to receive its next bail-out tranche.

The divisions within Europe were laid out in the weekend’s German press, where German regional finance minister, Markus Soeder, said that aid to Greece should be stopped. “When a country like Greece on a continuing basis cannot pay back debts, it must leave the eurozone,” he said. “Greece should quit by the end of the year.”...  I read this and I couldn't see any real point in making any comment.  What can really be said..  I saw the figures that last week over 36 billion left EU in capital flight....And the Entire EU Banking and Govt debt climbed in just one week by a little over 40 billion.  Leaving in one week a net defecit of over 76 billio0n.  Considering the EU banks balance sheets are over 46 trillion and rising and the ECB is over 5 trillion .. And between them the have to find over 30 trillion just to reduce leverage DOWN to Lehman levels,   I wonder where, with 76 billion a week or 4 trillion a year defecit still going on they will find any real cash.  And with half of Europe unemployed and a third of SME's busted and destroyed and bankrupted thoughout Southern Europe, just where this 76 billion a week to stop the hole geting bigger will come from seems to me a teeny little problem. Of course even if they can agree, printing can fix it,, but come on,, 30 trillion just to reduce leverage to Lehman levels .  And not a drachma lira or peseta to be earned to pay for it.

You see the probem with this solution is that the EU has not yet passed any laws forbidding foreign ownership of any stocks and shares of EU companies.  And that is a must before starting his presses and felling 98.3% of the worlds forests to print said 30 trillion.  Because you see any foreigner can buy shares in EU companies with the prices demoninated in Euro vouchers..  And printing trillions more of these coupons or vouchers ......well would you want one.   And of course without strict regulations forbidding anyone outside Europe owning those shares, then it wouldn't be long before you get Ethiopian Goat herders and Tuareg carpet salesmen saving up for a couple of weeks and buying a Utility or BMW or a knock down IT like SAP or how about say Gucci, half a goat and its yours.. Of course the evil monkey Mugabe, whose blueprint for success that they are basing their plans on, had the sense to nationalise all foreign owned land and assets first.  Going by form this current shower of corrupt maggots passing themselves off as politicians will almost certainly f8ck the whole thing up and do it arse about face again.

Tum te tum, another day another debt.

The biggest myth about current economic problems is that historical precedents have much value for understanding them. The next biggest myth is that the problems primarily have to do with difficulties in the financial system. The other big myth is that they are part of some short tem business cycle. The reality is that the post World War II era is winding down in a period of unprecedented change. Several different threads of that change that are difficult to factor are the primary agents creating global economic problems. Certainly the role of automation in ushering in post industrial society is one big factor. So is the global competition from the arrival of most of the world's population into the industrial age. Another factor is less certain, but perhaps more basic. That is the possibility that endless economic growth is not really a human priority. Japan may be the more realistic model of human behavior that is satisfied with some level of reasonable economic well being....After the goldrush: between the 1970s and now there has been almost no growth in real wages, whilst the growth in returns on capital have been almost exponential. People felt their standard of living was rising because of almost unlimited credit. That credit has gone. This has left industries, both manufacturing and service, that are in effect crack addicts. Nobody will borrow personally again until growth returns.. People need to be paid more. That way they'll spend all that money on the wonderful things the rich get richer by making and doing. Companies can either strip costs until their markets are dead, or invest in their wet skills through higher pay....

Of course we need to fix the causes of this crisis, but that is going to do bugger all in the short-medium term to fix symptoms. "The attempt to solve a crisis caused by credit with even more credit has, predictably enough, proved a failure. It has been a bit like the motorist desperately pumping air into a tyre with a slow puncture: it works for a while, but eventually the tyre goes flat again."

Nonsense. A fallacy in place of a reasoned argument.  'Debt caused the problem so debt can't solve it' is based on the fallacy that all debt is equally bad. The problem is not the amount of debt but who holds it - governments with their own currencies paying record low levels of interest vs private individuals and businesses who are depressing the economy by all de-leveraging at once. The former is absolutely sustainable at much higher levels than at present - and the use of this debt to produce stimulus the only obvious way out of this crisis that doesn't take years and condemn millions to the scrapheap. (Of course, if you're unlucky enough to be under the Euro, you are doubly screwed: not only is this path not an option - as the ECB won't back your debt sufficiently to make it sustainable - you can't even devalue.)

Eurozone unemployment hits new euro era high --- More data from the eurozone: inflation in the 17-nation currency bloc remained steady for a third month in July at 2.4%.  But unemployment rose in June, with another 123,000 people out of work across the eurozone, according to Eurostat figures. The jobless rate hit 11.2%, a new euro era high. There are huge divergences - in Austria unemployment is just 4.5% of the working population while in Spain it is 24.8%, the highest level in the eurozone....EFSF holds auctionThe European Financial Stability Facility today held a tap via auction. The reopening was in relation to a 3-year bond which was initially placed on 24 May for €3bn. Today’s auction raised an additional €1.48bn. Investor demand was high with over €5.47bn in bids received. The weighted average price was 101.63% and the average yield was 0.54%. The bid/cover ratio was 3.7. The funds raised will be used to support struggling EU member states....Capital flight from Spain gathers paceCapital outflows from Spain gathered pace in May with the rescue of one of the country's biggest banks. Outflows rose to €41.3bn, according to the latest Bank of Spain data.  Between January and May, a total of €163bn left Spain - equivalent to 16% of economic output - as the country's banks sent money abroad, foreign lenders pulled out cash and investors dumped Spanish assets....Greece running out of cash. Greece is rapidly running out of cash, its deputy finance minister admitted today. Its European partners have promised the country will be funded through August when it must repay a €3.2bn bond, but the details have not been disclosed yet.  Without that money, Greece would run out of funds to pay its wage bill for public sector workers, pensions and social benefits.