Paul Jorion's Blog

Tag: eurozone

  • LOTS OF FROTH, by François Leclerc

    Guest post. Translated from the French by Tim Gupwell A brand new development in the history of the ECB has occurred: leaks yesterday revealed the broad outlines of its new sovereign debt securities’ purchase programme. One cannot help thinking that it was necessary to prepare the ground in advance, with the ECB decisions falling well…

  • LE SOIR, ‘The only solution is to pool all the debts’, September 4, 2012

    Translated from the French by Tim Gupwell. 4 September 2012 An interview with Dominique Berns which appeared today in the economy pages of the daily newspaper, LE SOIR. “To save the Euro, we must mutually pool the debts” Q : The president of the ECB, Mario Draghi, has pledged to do “everything within his power to…

  • UNDERSTANDING THESE TIMES IN WHICH WE LIVE

    Translated from the French by Tim Gupwell. In the Wall Street Journal today: Since the beginning of the crisis in 2007, one thing has become clear in European politics: the outgoing parties are not voted back in. Confronted by the incapacity of the governments and the majorities in place to resolve the problems of the…

  • BEHIND THE SCENES, by François Leclerc

    Guest post. Translated from the French by Tim Gupwell There are some sinister goings-on behind the scenes of the European financial system, which are hardly being proclaimed from the rooftops! Even Mario Draghi himself is preoccupied by it, drawing attention to vague manifestations of “fragmentation” which are developing at the heart of the Eurozone. What…

  • MARIO DRAGHI: WHAT IF IT WAS ALL A TERRIBLE MISUNDERSTANDING?

    Translated from the French by Tim Gupwel. A short while ago, I was taking a siesta, sleeping with a sound conscience, when I woke up with a start, my heart beating wildly, my forehead soaked with sweat and prey to a strong emotion: what if we had completely misunderstood the words of Mario Draghi, President…

  • QUIET ON THE SET, AND… INACTION!, by François Leclerc

    Guest post. Translated from the French by Tim Gupwell Events are moving fast. We were expecting it of Greece, but Spain is overtaking it. Yesterday evening, a human tidal wave invaded Spanish town streets, which these days have become virtually permanent places of mini-demonstrations at midday or after work. Today, at the very moment when…

  • FIRST IT WAS THE AGENCIES, NOW ITS THE FORECASTERS’ FAULT, by François Leclerc

    Guest post. Translated from the French by Tim Gupwell “I can’t see any time soon when…the pressure will be off” replied David Cameron, the British Prime-Minister, in an interview with The Daily Telegraph. He continued, “this is a period for all countries, not just in Europe but I think you will see it in America…

  • GUILTY PARTIES WANTED !, by François Leclerc

    Guest post. Translated from the French by Tim Gupwell In accordance with the predictable script, the bond market is under pressure again. The cost of servicing Spanish and Italian debt has continued to increase as their financing plans move forward in little measured steps. The effect of all this is to place an additional burden…

  • AFTER THE WORDS, THE MAGIC FORMULA…, by François Leclerc

    Guest post. Translated from the French by Tim Gupwell What can you say when you are in total disagreement? You can always assert, with one voice, the need for a union! This is this perspective that the quartet composed of José Manuel Barroso, Mario Draghi, Jean-Claude Juncker and Herman Van Rompuy (in alphabetical order) continues…

  • Le Vif/L’Express, « There is ALWAYS an alternative », June 22, 2012

    This is an exclusive preview – in English! – of my column which will be published in the Belgian weekly Le Vif/L’Express this coming Thursday The phenomenon is the way in which things manifest themselves to us, and this can be real – either with things appearing as they really are; or it can be…

  • A BIG BANG, OR NOTHING , by François Leclerc

    Guest post. Translated from the French by Tim Gupwell With the G20 meeting being held in Mexico at the start of the week, our perspective will find itself altered, falsely accustomed as we are to only seeing the debt crisis from a European angle. On the 18th and 19th June, the greats of this world…

  • SPAIN IN STORMY WATERS

    Spain in stormy waters 12 juin 2012 par Paul Jorion The 10 year rate for Spanish debt has just reached a historic high. On the 25th November of last year, the rate had beaten a record when it reached 6.72%. Yesterday early in the morning, when the European markets were in ecstasy about the news…

  • KEEP KICKING THE CAN DOWN THE ROAD…, by François Leclerc

    Guest post. Translated from the French by Tim Gupwell. The case has been heard: Barack Obama and David Cameron demanded immediate action from the Euro zone leaders, frightened by the prospect of the Spanish and Greek crises occurring at the same time, and Angela Merkel responded by announcing that no miracles should be expected from…

  • A WAIT DESTINED TO LAST, by François Leclerc

    Guest post. Translated from the French by Tim Gupwell. The European Commission in Brussels is getting ready to unveil a project aiming to prevent and cure the banking crises, destined to enter into service in 2014, certain procedures being foreseen for 2018. There is a certain sense of timing, but certainly not a sense of…