News Analysis - As Greek Drama Plays Out, Where Is Europe? - NYT. Once again — as during the 2008 and the more recent halt in European air traffic due to volcanic ash — European leaders have failed to surmount national interests and cobble together a coherent policy quickly enough to address a problem. In the process, they may have done permanent damage to the credibility of the European Union.
“There is no doubt that the European project has suffered structural damage from this,” said Jacob Kirkegaard, a research fellow in European affairs and structural reform at the Peterson Institute for International Economics here. “It’s clear that the I.M.F. is the last man standing and is structuring the program.” Criticism is rising about the competence of European leaders, which has worsened the plight of all the countries in the euro zone.
Mrs. Ultimately, that proved impossible. “This is no way for an E.U. that has to contain an accelerating crisis and market panic to behave,” Mr. The was simply “not ready for bad weather,” said Janis A. Some, like Mr. Euro Rises After I.M.F. Boosts Pledge to Aid Greece - NYTimes.co. Op-Ed Columnist - The Euro Trap. Credit Rating Agencies Playing Big Roll In European Debt Crisis. NEW YORK — The downgrading of European debt is turning up the heat on the firms that issue the ratings. Some European officials are calling for curbs on rating agencies like Standard & Poor's, Moody's Corp. and Fitch Ratings. They argue that conflicts of interest and bad information make the agencies' assessments unreliable, even dangerous. Germany's foreign minister went so far Thursday as to suggest that the European Union should create its own rating agency.
He spoke after downgrades of Greece and Portugal roiled financial markets and stoked fears that Europe's debt crisis was spreading. How ratings agencies are paid is also coming under scrutiny. Legislation in Congress to overhaul the financial regulatory system could change how the rating agencies do business. Despite the poor publicity, the agencies are still generating big money. Moody's first-quarter profit jumped 26 percent to $113.4 million as more companies issued debt during the quarter, particularly junk bonds. Euro : à qui le tour … ? Les dirigeants européens s’en souviennent avec une certaine amertume ; lors du dernier G20 Obama avait été clair : rien ne doit remettre en question le rôle du dollar comme monnaie mondiale.
Certes, que Sarkozy parle à chaque sommet international de monde multimonétaire ne perturbe guère les Américains. Néanmoins ce genre de propos les agace et il faut selon eux démontrer qu’aucune devise ne peut impunément paraître rivale du dollar. Les Européens avaient besoin d’une petite leçon. La spéculation s’est donc faite pédagogique.
Un complot contre la Grèce ? Le Grec est évidemment plutôt dépensier mais pas plus que les autres. Vers un plan de rigueur Maintenant que le cas grec est réglé, d’autant qu’Athènes place ses emprunts sans mal, bien qu’à taux élevé, le déchaînement spéculatif pourrait toucher l’Espagne, l’Italie et la France. Lire ou relire dans Bakchich : Les dessous de l’économie, c’est pas compliqué quand c’est expliqué à mon beauf. 1950 euros par tête d’oeuf.