sailingaway
03-07-2013, 09:54 AM
Germans Sound Increasingly Depressed About The Future Of The Eurozone
Read more: http://www.testosteronepit.com/home/2013/3/6/the-eurozone-rift-it-would-be-wrong-to-give-in-to-panic.html#ixzz2Mqj1AbDU
Euros entered circulation on January 1, 2002, and for six years, they were practically growing on trees in southern Europe. But the bubble got pricked. Since then, the monetary union has been in crisis—almost half of its existence — until late last year, when it was decided that the worst was over, that the problems had been solved.
But now, confidence in the future of the monetary union is weaker than ever. And this time, there is a hue of resignation in Germany.
The Federal Association of German Banks (BdB), not normally given to pessimism, is worried. During the bi-annual economic forecast on Wednesday (slide show and speeches), Stefan Schilbe, chairman of the Committee for Economic and Monetary Policies, described 2013 as an “economically difficult and bumpy year.”
The Eurozone would see “more or less stagnation,” spread unevenly between countries. For Germany, he forecast growth of only 0.7% in 2013—after “the collapse” in the fourth quarter that had been “surprisingly steep.”
The largest threat: the election results in Italy. The top three parties distanced themselves from, or outright attacked, the reform and austerity policies that Prime Minister Mario Monti, Germany’s handpicked and now deposed point man, had implemented. And that, Schilbe said, ignited “new uncertainties” about “the future of the European monetary union.”
Under this uncertainty, companies would be less inclined to make investments and contribute to growth. He saw other threats as well: deficit targets for 2013 were moving out of reach in some countries. The fiscal problems in the US were “piling up ever higher.” And then there were the “side effects of expansionary monetary policies,” among them: risks to price stability, the formation of bubbles, and “an escalating currency war.”
“The past few days added new uncertainties,” echoed Hans-Joachim Massenberg, Member of the Executive Board, during his part of the presentation. The belief before the elections in Italy that the debt crisis had been overcome proved “deceptive,” he said. But it would be wrong “to give in to panic.”
Read more: http://www.testosteronepit.com/home/2013/3/6/the-eurozone-rift-it-would-be-wrong-to-give-in-to-panic.html#ixzz2MqjKdNx2
Read more: http://www.testosteronepit.com/home/2013/3/6/the-eurozone-rift-it-would-be-wrong-to-give-in-to-panic.html#ixzz2Mqj1AbDU
Euros entered circulation on January 1, 2002, and for six years, they were practically growing on trees in southern Europe. But the bubble got pricked. Since then, the monetary union has been in crisis—almost half of its existence — until late last year, when it was decided that the worst was over, that the problems had been solved.
But now, confidence in the future of the monetary union is weaker than ever. And this time, there is a hue of resignation in Germany.
The Federal Association of German Banks (BdB), not normally given to pessimism, is worried. During the bi-annual economic forecast on Wednesday (slide show and speeches), Stefan Schilbe, chairman of the Committee for Economic and Monetary Policies, described 2013 as an “economically difficult and bumpy year.”
The Eurozone would see “more or less stagnation,” spread unevenly between countries. For Germany, he forecast growth of only 0.7% in 2013—after “the collapse” in the fourth quarter that had been “surprisingly steep.”
The largest threat: the election results in Italy. The top three parties distanced themselves from, or outright attacked, the reform and austerity policies that Prime Minister Mario Monti, Germany’s handpicked and now deposed point man, had implemented. And that, Schilbe said, ignited “new uncertainties” about “the future of the European monetary union.”
Under this uncertainty, companies would be less inclined to make investments and contribute to growth. He saw other threats as well: deficit targets for 2013 were moving out of reach in some countries. The fiscal problems in the US were “piling up ever higher.” And then there were the “side effects of expansionary monetary policies,” among them: risks to price stability, the formation of bubbles, and “an escalating currency war.”
“The past few days added new uncertainties,” echoed Hans-Joachim Massenberg, Member of the Executive Board, during his part of the presentation. The belief before the elections in Italy that the debt crisis had been overcome proved “deceptive,” he said. But it would be wrong “to give in to panic.”
Read more: http://www.testosteronepit.com/home/2013/3/6/the-eurozone-rift-it-would-be-wrong-to-give-in-to-panic.html#ixzz2MqjKdNx2