The French and British authorities are engaged in a war of words over which country will be first to be downgraded by the credit ratings agencies. At least the hostilities are purely verbal - these ‘heroes’ of Tripoli are prepared to use other methods when the odds are overwhelmingly in their favour.
The immediate cause of [...]

The outcome of the EU summit has widely been hailed in the British media as a triumph for David Cameron. It is rare that a complete rupture and isolation in multi-party negotiations is regarded as a triumph - but this is a function of the dominant and still growing xenophobia of the British press.
The EU [...]

A previous SEB article examined the profit rate in the Irish economy which is rising even though the economy continues to contract. Yet at the same time Ireland’s level of investment is falling. Corporate incomes - profits - are rising even though total economic activity is falling. Arithmetically, this can only occur by reducing the income [...]

In what may be an important development the Financial Times reports that, in return for accepting much larger ‘haircuts’ (imposed losses on the value of the bonds they own) bondholders are demanding that there must be a growth strategy for Greece.
In a piece headlined ‘Bondholders Demand Greek Growth Plan’ the paper quotes the Managing Director and chief [...]

Publication of the latest estimate of GDP data shows that the recession was much sharper than previously thought. The revision shows that GDP contracted by 7.1% rather than the 6.4% previously estimated. The recovery which began in the 3rd quarter of 2009 was also slightly stronger than previously estimated, the economy expanding by 2.8% until [...]

This article was originally posted today on Socialist Economic Bulletin.
There’s a very good piece on LabourList titled ‘Who Didn’t Predict a Riot?’ It lists many of the bodies or leading individuals who warned that deep cuts to public spending would lead to social unrest and violence. The short piece is worth reading in full, but [...]

International business news and other TV channels are offering a Babel-like interpretation of the current slump in world financial markets. European (including British) stations are reporting the Wall Street-led declines as a response to the continued debt crisis in Europe. But this makes no sense. An EU crisis would have been felt first in EU [...]

Last Sunday Michael Burke had an article in the Guardian’s Comment is Free on the European Banking Association’s stress tests and the current Eurozone debt crisis. Michael argues that the spending cuts imposed on “bailed out” economies are being imposed as a mechanism to save European banks, and the conditions around the paying of those [...]

This article was originally published on Socialist Economic Bulletin. Republished with permission.
The Greek economic and social crisis continues to unfold. Around it a series of myths have arisen and been perpetuated. It is necessary first to dispose of some of those myths before moving onto a concrete analysis of [...]

In a very useful and clearly argued post on Socialist Economic Bulletin, Michael Burke illustrates how the massive bail out for banks via increasing debts to Europe’s taxpayers and cuts in government spending are creating the conditions for a renewed economic crisis in Europe. It is the significant size of the banking sector in the [...]