Wolfgang Münchau



Profile:
Full name: Wolfgang Munchau

Area of interest: European Union, European economy

Journals/Organisation: Financial Times

Email: [mailto:Wolfgang.Münchau@ft.com Wolfgang.Münchau@ft.com]

Personal website:

Website: http://www.ft.com/comment/columnists/wolfgangmunchau

Blog:

Representation:

Networks: https://twitter.com/#!/EuroBriefing



Biography:
About: http://www.oenb.at/de/img/ok_munchau_1_seite_tcm14-193032.pdf

Education: City University: International Journalism MA; Reutlingen: Diplom-Betriebswirt

Career: The Times: roles including Washington and Brussels correspondent, 1988/95; Financial Times: Frankfurt correspondent, economics correspondent (reported on the preparation for the final stage of monetary union and the launch of the Euro), co-editor of Financial Times Deutschland; FT Associate Editor, 2003-

Current position/role: Associate Editor, European economic columnist


 * also writes/has written for: blogs for Euro Intelligence about 'euro area' issues

Other position/role:

Other activities:

Disclosures: Viewpoints/Insight:

Broadcast media:

Video:

Controversy/Criticism:

Awards/Honours: Wincott Young Financial Journalist of the Year 1989

Scoops:

Other:



Books & Debate:

 * European economic and monetary union OCLC38353674 et al, 1997
 * Germany and Britain: an alliance of necessity OCLC49784470, 2002 (with Heather Grabbe)

Latest work:

Speaking/Appearances: http://www.specialistspeakers.com/?p=1070 | [http://www.rsa.org.uk/events/speakerCloseUp.asp?speakerID=1313 RSA Lectures, 2006

Current debate:



Financial Times:
Column name:

Remit/Info: European Union, European economy

Section: Comment

Role: Commentator, FT Associate Editor

Pen-name:

Email: [mailto:munchau@eurointelligence.com munchau@eurointelligence.com]

Website: FT.Com / Wolfgang Munchau

Commissioning editor:

Day published: Monday

Regularity: Weekly

Column format:

Average length: 850 words



Articles: 2017

 * How to calm the nerves of EU citizens in Britain - The UK’s insistence that rights should be subject only to British law is unreasonable - 3rd July
 * Look to Greece for lessons on how to negotiate Brexit - A transitional agreement would allow for smoother dialogue and provide more certainty - 26th June
 * The age of radical uncertainty - Moderate leaders have mistaken the expedient for the universally true - 19th June
 * Do not exaggerate the election effect on Brexit - The legal framework for the UK’s departure from the EU needs no further legislation - 12th June
 * Macron’s fiscal union points the way for eurobonds - They would over time replace sovereign debt; if a country wants to default, let it - 21st May
 * A Brexit Plan B to convince the doubters - Its purpose would be to shift the debate within the EU to the effects of an abrupt exit - 15th May
 * Macron sets his sights on economic reform - With the eurozone and French economies in a cyclical upswing, consolidation beckons - 9th May
 * Euro exit for Italy or France would be a trauma - The ERM exit showed that monetary regime changes are as complex as a war - 9th April
 * How to get Britain back into the EU - There is no point doubling down on economic arguments - 3rd April
 * Schulz and Macron could save Europe - The next leaders will have to resolve the historic mess of the eurozone crisis - 27th March
 * A Brexit deal is more probable than you think - The EU should not seek to earn a quick buck, nor the UK to dodge direct costs - 20th March
 * The necessity of a multi-speed Europe - The best option is a structure with an integrated core and a looser outer layer - 12th March
 * Centrist populists are by no means risk-free - Their inevitable failure can lead to the rise of the very worst type of extremists - 26th February
 * Central bank independence is losing its lustre - Monetary policy involves trade-offs that are fundamentally political in nature - 20th February
 * Failure to tell the truth leaves Greece in peril - If the IMF pulls out, Europe will be free to mismanage the crisis on its own - 13th February
 * Navarro has a point when it comes to Germany - Merkel’s government sees the current account surplus as a sign of economic strength - 6th February
 * How Europe can avoid falling into Trump’s trap - Hard-bargain rhetoric on Brexit drives the UK into the hands of the US - 30th January
 * A warning for the losers of the liberal elite - If you make the same mistakes in the battles of 2017, populists will win everywhere - 15th January
 * France contemplates breaking with an unsustainable status quo - Three presidential candidates offer a radical alternative - 2nd January



Articles: 2016

 * Italy poses a huge threat to the euro and union - One day the country will be led by a party in favour of withdrawal from the currency - 12th December
 * EU expats deserve a sensible deal on UK residency rights - Post-Brexit discrimination is a greater fear than deportation for Europeans - 5th December
 * The liberal elite’s Marie Antoinette moment - The correct response is to rein in the financial sector and income inequality - 28th November
 * Italy’s referendum holds the key to the future of the euro - On December 5, Europe could wake up to an immediate threat of disintegration - 21st November
 * The end of the era of central bank independence - Trump and May will start subverting system by appointing politically compliant governors - 14th November
 * How to quell the politics of insurrection - The Brexit campaign showed the opposite: deny any problem and scare voters - 7th November
 * Nissan deal hints at a route for Brexit Britain'' - The longer the interim period, the softer the Brexit. That might be the face-saving compromise - 31st October
 * Britain and Europe share an interest in an amicable split - For the British, it would make sense to fast-track a free-trade agreement - 24th October
 * The monstrous battle to secure a trade deal - If it cannot strike a pact with Canada, the EU will not be in a position to agree a UK deal - 17th October
 * The left in Europe needs to change political course - The UK Labour party’s leftward march may not be a lost cause - 3rd October
 * Scare stories will not stop populist insurrections - Unpredictable electorates will no longer be cowed - 26th September
 * Europe’s leaders focus on the next distraction - The degree of integration is no longer determined by what you believe in, but by what you need - 19th September
 * Prepare for a power shift after Germany’s general election - At the moment the executive is strong, the legislature is weak. This is going to reverse - 12th September
 * The transatlantic trade pact that risks more harm than good - As real incomes stagnate voters have concluded that economic gains benefit everyone but them - 5th September
 * Remainers fighting the wrong battle will harden Brexit - The pro-Europe crowd should have moved on to argue the case for the closest possible relationship - 29th August
 * The high price of Europe’s misguided pragmatism - The sustainable solution consists of a more integrated eurozone and a less integrated EU - 25th July
 * How to make Brexit manageable - The master plan was as clear on the general direction as it was naive about the technical details - 18th July
 * An EEA-minus deal for the UK is wishful thinking - Britain’s idea is like John Major’s hard ecu: France and Germany are not interested - 11th July
 * Britain must pursue its EU exit options - Joining the EEA is one solution, or the country could pursue a bilateral trade agreement - 4th July
 * Brexit: The Norway option is the best available for the UK - European Economic Area membership is the least economically damaging course for the UK to take - 29th June
 * Italy may be the next domino to fall - Next domino to fall may be Italy, which has an October referendum - 27th June
 * European values are more important than economics - Many emerging countries have shunned Europe and chosen a finance-based US-style model of capitalism - 20th June
 * If Brexit wins out, let Britain go in peace - A nation’s wealth rests on its skills and policies — it is hard to see how leaving would change that - 13th June
 * The eurozone cannot escape political and fiscal union - The idea of crisis resolution through insurance suffers from an internal contradiction - 6th June
 * The real threat to EU lies in the Aegean - In its negotiations with Turkey over the refugee crisis Europe has lost the moral high ground - 30th May
 * The IMF and calling Berlin’s bluff over Greece - If Europe wants to continue to ‘extend and pretend’ so be it. But it should be with their own money - 23rd May
 * Draghi, Schäuble and the high cost of Germany’s savings culture - This could tell us that Berlin, perhaps more so than Athens, is unprepared for monetary union - 9th May
 * Europe’s grand coalitions have allowed extremes to prosper - The German Social Democrats are paying a heavy price for joining Merkel’s government - 2nd May
 * The revenge of globalisation’s losers - Its failure in the west is down to democracies’ inability to cope with the economic shocks - 25th April
 * Defending German model threatens European stability - In a monetary union, no government is supposed to question the independence of the central bank - 17th April
 * Why the EU must act on the No vote in the Dutch referendum - To ignore this poll would be to ask for trouble, especially from Eurosceptics in the UK - 11th April
 * Britain’s pro-Europe campaigners are losing the argument - The main economic factors in favour of EU are not trade, but research, science and innovation policy - 4th April
 * A history of errors behind Europe’s many crises - I would not trust with my security somebody who cannot even contain a medium-sized financial event - 28th March
 * The EU sells its soul to strike a deal with Turkey - It will be interesting to see whether the bloc reneges on its promises if Ankara fails to deliver - 21st March
 * ECB has lost the plot on inflation - There is nothing fundamentally wrong with any of the decisions except that the bank missed a trick - 14th March
 * European Central Bank must be much bolder - A debate about policy alternatives is needed, starting with a realisation that QE has failed - 7th March
 * Europe enters the age of disintegration - There will not necessarily be a formal break-up of the EU, but it will become less effective - 29th February
 * Concessions to Britain create two-tier EU - If you divide a union you end up with disunion. You cannot have it both ways - 22nd February
 * Toxic twins of European finance return - The markets are saying they are losing faith in Draghi’s pledge to do ‘whatever it takes’ - 15th February
 * Through the past, darkly - Today’s economic situation in Europe has parallels with the 1930s and Hitler’s speedy recovery - 8th February
 * Draghi’s inflation targets miss the mark - The ECB keeps failing because it is not fully committed - 26th January
 * Gloom gathers over the challenges that Germany faces - While most of the threats appear to be external, they are caused by domestic policy choices - 18th January
 * The downside of free capital flows - New controls are not yet the subject of polite conversation among policymakers - 11th January
 * Europe’s multiplicity of crises - The EU has an innate tendency towards foul compromises and fair-weather constructions - 4th January



Articles: 2015

 * Watch Europe roll printing presses - This is how the crisis may be resolved — not with a bailout or debt resolution but by printing money - 15th December
 * A continent overwhelmed by crises - Too many major events are occurring simultaneously: soon we will need a database to keep track - 30th November
 * End the folly of a borderless Europe - There are, in principle, two fixes, repair the Schengen area or revert to national systems - 23rd November
 * Europe’s single market is a cosy club - Producers’ interests prevail even when companies, like VW, are found to have committed serial fraud - 10th November
 * Two big mistakes that ruined Europe - The single currency is a trap and eastern expansion forced the EU to take its eye off the ball - 2nd November
 * Draghi must be more unconventional - The eurozone’s economic recovery is again weakening before it really started - 26th October
 * Better no fiscal union than a flawed one - If this is the kind of integration on offer, preferable to say no and stick with the present system - 19th October
 * Germany risks wasting refugee benefits - The irresistible force of the migrants is hitting the immovable object of a high minimum wage - 12th October
 * Volkswagen’s threat to the German model - Berlin’s over-reliance on cars is a silly strategy, much like Britain’s dependence on finance - 5th October
 * Perplexing failure of EU’s centre-left - Ultimate crisis of global capitalism was delivered on a plate and they did not know what to do - 21st September
 * Money-making scheme must be made of stronger stuff - Most of the macroeconomic effect of QE has already occurred - 14th September
 * The deadly disunity of the Europeans - A quota system is too crude and politically as unsustainable as fiscal transfers among countries - 7th September
 * Grexit remains the likely outcome - Unless the economy behaves very differently than in the past, it will be trapped in a vicious circle - 19th July
 * Greece’s creditors demolish euro project - Stripped of ambitions for a political and economic union, the bloc changes into a utilitarian project - 14th July
 * Tsipras’s proposal sows division - Do not take this deal for granted — if Greece’s creditors want it to fail, they will find a way - 11th July
 * The road to Grexit and beyond - Tsipras was right to walk away. But it was a momentous decision - 28th June
 * The real challenge is to save the eurozone - Grexit would be the point when the EU moves from integration, via stagnation, to disintegration - 22nd June
 * Greece has nothing to lose by saying no to creditors - If it were to default on its official-sector debt, France and Germany stand to forfeit €160bn - 15th June
 * Two dismal economic plans for Greece - Without reform the country cannot co-exist with northern Europe in a monetary union - 8th June
 * Why Britain has no chance of EU treaty change - Germany will boycott meaningful reforms for as long as its economy benefits from the status quo - 1st June
 * The fate of Greece lies in Tsipras’s hands - If the deal offered by the country’s creditors is reasonable, the prime minister should accept - 24th May
 * Simple core to Grexit and Brexit issues - The European problems of Greece and Britain involve no innate difficulty - 18th May
 * What Cameron’s win means for Europe - Nobody can predict the outcome of the UK’s in-or-out referendum this far in advance - 11th May
 * All British parties are eurosceptic now - The real divide is not between Labour and the Conservatives, it is between the UK and Europe - 4th May
 * The real threat to Europe lies in Ukraine - A failed state or further annexation by Russia would dwarf fears over Grexit - 27th April
 * Greek default necessary but Grexit is not - Defaulting on the IMF and ECB is the only route to short-term relief but nobody has ever done it - 20th April
 * Macroeconomists need new tools - For the moment, the traditionalists still rule - 13th April
 * Tsipras will not find salvation in Moscow - Putin will be aware how many billions of euros eurozone members have sunk into Greece - 6th April
 * Eurozone’s real problems are hidden - The most important adjustment that needs to take place is a convergence of prices and labour costs - 30th March
 * Eurozone QE relies on a confidence trick - Programme’s impact unknown without evidence of how the policy transmits to the real economy - 23rd March
 * Smoke and mirrors are safer than cold turkey - Grexit may well work in the long run but it will bring economic misery in the short term - 16th March
 * Danger of Mitteleuropa’s financial sector - At zero interest rates, it is very difficult for the German insurance industry to remain solvent - 9th March
 * Europe puts future at risk playing safe - There exist perfectly rational reasons to op­pose membership both of the eurozone and the EU - 2nd March
 * Let the Greek debt battle begin - There are creative solutions to the fiscal fight that now matters the most - 23rd February
 * Athens must stand firm on failed policies - The riskiest option would be a formal exit from the currency union - 16th February
 * All Grexit needs is a few more bad weeks - Athens and its creditors have only days to decide how Greece survives the next four months - 9th February
 * Grexit is an avoidable catastrophe - Those who play down risks are good at counting but not at grasping the dynamics of a default - 2nd February
 * QE is an imperfect compromise for eurozone - By protecting itself from losses, the ECB recognises the possibility of European sovereign default - 26th January
 * Why ECB should not dilute a QE programme - My plea would be to start with a big figure now. Size matters - 19th January
 * Eurozone must act before deflation grips - A helicopter drop would work — but I fear it would be too unconventional for the European mind - 12th January
 * Extremists may be eurozone’s saviours - The probability of at least one political upset in 2015 is very high indeed - 5th January



Articles: 2014

 * Smart wrapping disguises policy in Europe - A delayed but well-aimed monetary stimulus blast is better than a premature sputter from cannons - 29th December
 * Topsy-turvy EU world of power politics - The higher up the political food chain you rise, the smaller the sums you are allowed to talk about - 15th December
 * The ECB, demigods and eurozone QE - The question is no longer whether it will happen but how it will work - 8th December
 * Juncker fund will not revive the eurozone - I have no problems with structural finance if applied to a social purpose. My objections are practical - 1st December
 * The euro is in greater peril than ever - The eurozone has no mechanism to defend itself against a drawn-out depression - 9th November
 * Eurozone stagnation is a greater threat than debt - Monetary policy can boost markets in the shortrun, but this cannot be sustained indefinitely - 20th October
 * Germany’s weak point is export strength - Wherever stimulus comes from, it will not be from Europe’s powerhouse - 12th October
 * Germany’s eurosceptics plant turmoil - The AfD only needs to create doubt to upset economic equilibrium - 29th September
 * Italy debt is a problem for us all - We need extreme and co-ordinated policy to make it possible for Italy to ultimately stay in the eurozone - 22nd September
 * Divisions behind declining EU influence - The eurozone has been running on luck – a commodity that tends not to last - 15th September
 * What Draghi must do next to fix Europe - Eurozone policy makers and their economic advisers are structuralists by inclination - 8th September
 * An astute move but not the Big One - ECB’s plan to buy private-sector assets is not nearly enough to lift it out of its misery - 6th September
 * Draghi has few legal ways to fix the euro - The ECB has signalled that it is safe to bet against the inflation target - 18th August
 * Bundesbank has abandoned principle - The eurozone does not need wage or price fixing. It needs further monetary expansion - 4th August
 * The west risks collateral damage by punishing Russia - If you want to know how sanctions will affect the global economy, it is best to follow the money - 28th July
 * Europe must hit Russia’s finances - We should not exclude that regarding MH17 we are dealing with a first-order global economic shock - 21st July
 * How central banks can deal with bubbles - It is a mistake to view macroprudential regulation as a potent independent policy tool - 14th July
 * Europe’s dowry not in pounds and pence - Without Britain, EU trade might be lower, finance smaller and austerity less severe - 7th July
 * Lethargic Europe needs investment jolt - Giving the banks more money for lending is surely not the answer to a demand problem - 30th June
 * Merkel versus Renzi over the eurozone - Rome’s demand for a fundamental rethink of the fiscal rules sets the scene for a political tussle - 23rd June
 * Drifters wait but inflation never comes - Draghi is trying a new approach, and if that does not work, he will try another - 9th June
 * Renzi needs to organise an Italian rescue - The prime minister may even be capable of saving the eurozone from itself - 2nd June
 * Inflation orthodoxy has lasted too long - Central banks should try to hit a predetermined price level each year - 26th May
 * Draghi missed his chance on inflation - QE might not work precisely because it has been left too late - 19th May
 * Italy’s europhiles need to get to work - Globalisation brought new customers for German cars, but for Italy it brought new competitors - 12th May
 * Voting will not change Europe’s real power balance - A popular backlash against Brussels should not be surprising - 5th May
 * Confidence is a poor measure of health - An improvement in mood in the eurozone is far from being a signal a robust recovery - 28th April
 * This could be when Greece defaults - It not in recession nor is it recovering. It has collapsed. But there is another story - 14th April
 * An austere test awaits Europe’s new boys - Renzi and Valls will need to mount a broader challenge - 7th April
 * ECB talks too much and acts too little - It’s showtime and quantitative easing is the only big policy tool left to do the heavy lifting - 31st March
 * Play the long game on sanctions - The region needs to address its dependence on Russian energy and cash - 24th March
 * Europe must veto a flawed banking union - To sacrifice important principles and hope for the best is not a sensible idea - 17th March
 * National interests undermine EU again - With Ukraine as with the debt crisis, the interests of the 28 member states are not aligned - 10th March
 * Bitcoin reflects flawed financial system - The law alone will not guarantee the status quo indefinitely - 3rd March
 * Europe cannot ignore deflation problem - The ECB sees the evidence but its economic models ignore financial markets - 24th February
 * Renzi needs more than reforms - The immediate tasks will be to sort out the country’s banks and stand up to its European partners - 17th February
 * German ruling strengthens eurosceptics - To read the ruling, little short of a coup would breach as many constitutional principles as OMT - 10th February
 * Europe will feel pain of emerging markets - The last thing the global economy needs is a resurgence of the European debt crisis - 3rd February
 * Renzi stands out as Italy’s best hope - The leader of the Democratic party is challenging the country’s old ways - 27th January
 * The real scandal is France’s stagnant economic thinking - Scooter antics are just a sideshow in an economy that needs a change of priorities - 20th January
 * The eurozone needs nurture not neglect - Quantitative easing is still my preferred choice but more extreme options are also available - 13th January
 * What 2014 holds for eurocrisis watchers - This year the emphasis shifts from the policy choices to their consequences - 6th January



Articles: 2013

 * Don’t fret about soaring asset prices - The probability of a rerun of what happened in the past decade is low - 30th December
 * How to prolong a banking credit crunch - The lousy agreement on banking union will produce the financial sector equivalent of austerity - 23rd December
 * This is not the banking union for Europe - The resolution fund is useful if a bank manager runs off with the till, but not as a crisis policy tool - 16th December
 * A perilous time to switch Italy’s voting - An extensive discussion about electoral changes will hinder economic reform - 9th December
 * Germany’s coalition will break promises - The political class will be tested by what the eurozone will throw at it - 1st December
 * Europe will struggle even to disintegrate - The hard reality is that all the radical options require a consensus that does not exist - 25th November
 * Europe needs to try unconventional policy - It is time for its central bank to consider starting quantitative easing - 18th November
 * Eurozone needs to get inflation up again - Deflation is less likely than protracted below-target price rises and low economic growth - 11th November
 * Worry about the euro, not the EU - The union is not compatible with a single currency in the long run - 4th November
 * No end to the euro crisis in sight - The scale of the required adjustment is enormous and the IMF does not believe it will happen - 28th October
 * Italy misses the chance to reform - Stand by for budget amendments designed to cater to special interests - 21st October
 * Blame bad policy for Europe’s lost growth - Had the eurozone fixed its banks, growth would be on its way back to its pre-crisis trend - 14th October
 * The eurozone is far from recovering - The main constraint on the resumption of growth is the failure to clean up the banking sector - 30th September
 * Economic consequences of Merkel’s win - Crisis-resolution will take the form of ‘pretend and extend’. Nothing will be resolved - 24th September
 * Merkel’s almost total political triumph - Lack of threat from lefty coalition marks major victory - 23rd September
 * Germany’s election is vital to Europe - If the SPD and Greens won outright, they would move faster than Merkel on crisis management - 16th September
 * German politics heading for instability - We should be looking at the impact of the polls closer to home - 9th September
 * Lessons for Greece from derelict Detroit - The US city symbolises modern industrial decline. There is no reason to think it could not happen elsewhere - 2nd September
 * A Grexit begins to look more feasible - For Greece to reform and not default makes sense only from Berlin’s perspective - 22nd July
 * The dangers of Europe’s technocrats - EU officials care little about the deep causes of the economic crisis - 15th July
 * Guidance only works if you do it right - The ECB appears more pessimistic about the eurozone than I am - 8th July
 * The EU will regret terminating a banking union - Banks are the buyers of last resort of their home countries’ national debt - 1st July
 * Europe is ignoring its huge bank losses - Consider the sheer number of crises in which lenders have lost money - 24th June
 * Bond jitters threaten Europe’s calm - There is quite a bit of bad news still to come out of the eurozone itself - 17th June
 * Hail the honesty about Greece’s bailout - The IMF’s admission is welcome but the hard part will be acting on it - 10th June
 * Why austerity is like a B-movie monster - The eurozone behaves like a closed economy. But it is run as though it were just the sum of its parts - 3rd June
 * EU’s future looks Japanese, not German - The process to resolve the crisis will take many years to complete - 27th May
 * It makes little sense but I’m a eurofanatic - It is better to make the case for the EU on the basis of geopolitics rather than economic efficiency - 20th May
 * Lawson is right about the UK and Europe - A departure need not be a disaster if the terms are negotiated with skill - 13th May
 * Italy’s change from austerity is all talk - Germany will not accept a fiscal stimulus for the sake of southern European countries - 6th May
 * Letta needs to push banking union - Italy’s latest prime minister will need all the help he can get - 29th April
 * Perils of placing faith in a thin theory - Reinhart and Rogoff told policy makers what they wanted to hear - 22nd April
 * Poser of a single currency with many values - The euro is not worth the same amount across the region – Spain and Germany have different currencies - 15th April
 * Zero rate cut should be first step in ECB programme - Mario Draghi should prioritise the unconventional over the conventional - 8th April
 * Economics will catch up with the euro - In southern Europe the hurdle for a case in favour of eurozone exit is shockingly low - 1st April
 * Eurozone break-up edges even closer - Cyprus is a perfect illustration of the way the region struggles with collective action - 25th March
 * Europe is risking a bank run - Creditor nations will now insist bank rescues must be co-funded by depositors - 18th March
 * Italy must seek generational change - There should be a handover of power to younger leaders, with Matteo Renzi to the fore - 11th March
 * Bonus issue marks start of a long battle - It is in the eurozone’s collective interest to stop London from acting as its main financial centre - 4th March
 * The case for a grand coalition in Italy - Partnership among the divergent majorities can break the political gridlock - 26th February
 * Austerity obstructs real economic reform - An article of faith that means different things to different believers - 25th February
 * Expect the unexpected in Italy’s election - But one safe prediction is that Monti’s coalition will come last among the four major contestants - 18th February
 * Ireland shows the way with its debt deal - Rescheduling of promissory notes is monetary financing in all but name - 10th February
 * The eurozone crisis is not finished - The renationalisation of banking means that the monetary union is still unsustainable - 4th February
 * Euro and trade will make EU irrelevant - Appeal will diminish amid a eurozone economic union and transatlantic free-trade zone - 28th January
 * Monti is not the right man to lead Italy - Most Italians know they owe the fall in bond yields to Draghi - 21st January
 * It does not really matter if Britain leaves - The idea of the UK at the heart of the EU is bizarre - 14th January
 * US joins misguided pursuit of austerity - Governments have pushed themselves into a corner where austerity is the default choice - 7th January



Articles: 2012

 * Politics undermines hope of banking union - A division into larger and smaller banks makes no economic sense - 17th December
 * Politics have burst the Monti bubble - Two things need fixing in Italy, both of which are beyond the scope of the technocrats - 10th December
 * Merkel’s opponents offer too much consensus - The Social Democrats do not want to be responsible for a Greek exit - 3rd December
 * Britain’s bluster serves the eurozone well - David Cameron is giving the grouping the nudge it needs - 26th November
 * What not to worry about in the euro crisis - Never underestimate the ability of Brussels technocrats to find money - 19th November
 * Competitiveness will not save the euro - A cut in unit labour costs is only a gain if you achieve it but nobody else does - 12th November
 * Why I remain a pessimist on Europe’s solvency - The national backstops have not removed the total solvency riks - 5th November
 * Crutches prop up euro, but it’s still lame - Move to stop liquidity crisis is matched by refusal to recognise solvency crisis - 28th October
 * Banking union will not end Europe’s crisis - The project could unite the EU’s core but it will also separate it from the rest - 21st October
 * Heed siren voices to end fixation with austerity - IMF must have realised that the present policy is not working - 15th October
 * Relentless austerity will only deepen Greek woes - In the absence of a very big change in policy, we should expect Spain to go down the same tube - 8th October
 * Welcome back to the eurozone crisis - The political process slows when the central bank tries to help out - 1st October
 * Draghi is the devil in Weidmann’s eurozone drama - The ECB president is sabotaging the euro by reinforcing people’s innate fears - 24th September
 * QE would be right for Europe, too - The biggest danger for the eurozone right now is a rapidly deteriorating economy - 17th September
 * Weidmann is winning the debate on policy - The ECB may now be more inclined to raise rates at the first false dawn of recovery - 10th September
 * My one piece of advice for Mr Draghi - A proper banking union is the bare minimum for the eurozone to function - 3rd September
 * The ECB must still do its bit to help solve the crisis - There is a law against monetary financing of sovereign debt. But there is no law against lying - 27th August
 * The eurosceptics have the best lines again - The debate takes on a chilllingly familiar tone - 16th July
 * Eurozone crisis will last for 20 years - Italy and Spain should tell Germany they will withdraw from the eurozone if there is no change in policy - 9th July
 * The real victor in Brussels was Merkel - If you look behind the curtain, you will find that, for Italy at least, nothing has changed at all - 2nd July
 * Why Mario Monti needs to speak truth to power - No one is better placed to stand up to Angela Merkel than the Italian prime minister - 25th June
 * What happens if Angela Merkel does get her way - Irony is an Italian or Spanish exit would probably end up hurting France and Germany more - 18th June
 * How to save Spain’s banks – and the eurozone - Unless you separate Spanish PM from banks, you will not re-establish trust - 11th June
 * A real banking union can save the eurozone - The greatest danger now is that leaders change their minds - 4th June
 * How to build a fiscal union to save the eurozone - European leaders paused to think. But they may have left it too late - 28th May
 * The only way to stop a eurozone bank run - Case for bloc-wide deposit insurance and bank resolution regime - 21st May
 * Default now or default later? - By following the bailout programme, Greece will suffer a decade of depression - 14th May
 * The only solution to the eurozone crisis - The answer is a combination of debt monetisation through the ECB and default into the ESM - 7th May
 * Hollande is start of progressive insurrection - Sarkozy flunked reform in 2007 for a reason: hyperactivity - 30th April
 * The sadly unpalatable solution for the eurozone - A centralised banking resolution and supervision system is the of its needs - 23rd April
 * Spain has accepted mission impossible - To hit its target Madrid would have to fire so many people there would be a political insurrection - 16th April
 * The prize for European political illiteracy - Economics is doing itself no favours - a shame because the eurozone lacks macroeconomic input - 9th April
 * The G20 should say no to the eurozone - A return to the negotiating table is best option - 2nd April
 * Europe’s bailout bazooka is proving to be a toy gun - If you do not want a eurobond there is no likely backstop for Spain - 26th March
 * There is no Spanish siesta for the eurozone - ECB has slowed down process to solve the crisis - 19th March
 * Bravo Merkel on campaigning for Sarko - We are seeing a move to pan-EU party politics - 12th March
 * The Bundesbank has no right at all to be baffled - Mr Weidmann might as well have suggested sending in the Luftwaffe to solve the euro crisis - 5th March
 * Greece really needs a year to prepare for total default - Months of misery lie ahead but if all goes well, Greece will have some room to manoeuvre - 27th February
 * Greece must default if it wants democracy - Germany’s proposal for Greek elections to be postponed is unethical - 20th February
 * Why Greece and Portugal ought to go bankrupt - To ignore reality for another two years will be ruinous - 12th February
 * Germany: A Bric, or just stuck in a hard place? - Germany too big for normnal European state, not big enough to for superpower - 6th February
 * Fiscal treaty could trigger a debt explosion - If Spain follows Greece and ignores what happened in Japan, a lengthy recession is likely - 30th January
 * The IMF should stay out of the eurozone crisis - Considering how rich the eurozone is, the request to involve the fund in a hypothetical rescue is morally reprehensible - 22nd January
 * After the downgrades comes the downward spiral - The eurozone has exhausted its toolkit - 16th January



Articles: 2011

 * Grim lessons from the 30 years war - Europeans have been delaying making hard decisions for a long time - 29th December
 * UK will fare better in this Anglo-French spat - Britain is not trapped – France is economically a sub-sovereign zone - 19th December
 * Snags, diversions – and the crisis goes on - Leaders should have admitted the summit had simply failed - 12th December
 * Europe has created a new crisis - The A-List - 9th December
 * France and Germany look set to fudge it yet again - What is needed is not to reconcile austerity and sovereignty proposals, but to reject them - 5th December
 * The eurozone really has only days to avoid collapse - Angela Merkel can get her fiscal union, but in return she will now have to accept a eurobond - 28th November
 * The only way to save the eurozone from collapse - The introduction of a Eurobond would catalyse further political integration - 14th November
 * Summitry again proves its own irrelevance - Each G20 gathering promises solutions and fails to deliver - 7th November
 * What saves the euro will kill the union - Policies needed to solve the crisis are inconsistent with the idea of the EU as a ‘club of clubs’ - 31st October
 * Half measures and wishful thinking do not a solution make - A-List: The day may yet come when the eurozone finally agrees a comprehensive package to end the crisis, but this was not the day - 27th October
 * Europe is now leveraging for a catastrophe - Biggest danger now is the large number of political red lines - 24th October
 * Why Europe’s officials lose sight of the big picture - The experts are either ill-informed or lying - 17th October
 * The fallacy of the ‘big bazooka’ -The A-List: Adopt joint and several liability if you want to preserve global financial stability - 12th October
 * Eurozone quick-fix will create political monster - Countries such as the UK might block move for a single banking supervisor - 10th October
 * Eurozone fix a con trick for the desperate - The most recent crazy idea pursued by officials is to turn the rescue fund into a collateralised debt obligation - 3rd October
 * Zero hour for the euro - The world’s inability to shake of the economic downturn and contagion in Italy have changed the nature of the eurozone crisis - 25th September
 * Eurobonds and fiscal union are the only way out - A periphery that includes Italy and Spain is too big to save with the current limited liability process - 19th September
 * Stop rejoicing. This was no victory for the eurozone - Only the ECB is left to prevent a break-up of the eurozone - 12th September
 * The worst of the euro crisis is yet to come - Uncoordinated policies give us contagious austerity and downturn - 5th September
 * a joint bond might not save the euro'' - Uncertainty over a fragile consensus suggests investors are perfectly rational to bet against the single currency - 29th August
 * eurozone crisis is on pause, not over'' - A third loan package to Greece is on the cards - 25th July
 * on the precipice'' - Leaders should not get obsessed with obscure technicalities of a deal - 21st July
 * D stands for default . . . and the death of the euro'' - The crisis is now moving at a rate that exceeds Angela Merkel‘s political speed limit - 18th July
 * blame Moody’s for a messy euro crisis'' - Everybody hates the rating agencies. But last week, they did us a favour - 11th July
 * Greek rollover pact is like a toxic CDO'' - Once the contraption’s treacherous nature is known, the politics of crisis resolution will be even harder - 4th July
 * Greek MPs would be right to say No'' - The EU/IMF programme is hard to justify - 27th June
 * debt rescues will boost the scenario of a closer union'' - A miniature fiscal union will not rid member states of economic sovereignty but will involve some loss of political control - 13th June
 * of a European political union'' - The first, and probably most important change would be the creation of the office of a eurozone treasury secretary - 6th June
 * options are no longer viable options'' - Bankroll Greece for as long as it takes, or face a hard default - 30th May
 * surgery will not save the eurozone'' - Do we really want the ECB to choose between a reputational and a factual disaster? - 22nd May
 * IMF needs another European head'' - Europe would be foolish to let go of this position at a time like this - 16th May
 * raise the costs of eurozone crisis'' - The EU has only a single policy tool at its disposal until 2013: continued bail-out linked to continued austerity - 16th May
 * political causes of a not-so-secret meeting'' - This is not a debt crisis. This is a political crisis - 9th May
 * eurozone’s quack solutions will be no cure'' - A premature Greek default would be no bargain - 25th April
 * long road of tears to fiscal union'' - The choice today is between crisis resolution and putting off making a decision - 18th April
 * Europe must realise Spain will be next'' - Spanish property prices have so far fallen only moderately - 11th April
 * will bedevil resolving the euro crisis'' - Must it be eurozone break-up or fiscal union? - 4th April
 * grand bargain that cannot end the crisis'' - Wolfgang Münchau on bad news for eurozone members - 28th March
 * giants’ will not save the eurozone'' - The European Council’s crisis resolution strategies have seemed impressive until you look closer - 21st March
 * through will not work this time'' - The deal reached by EU leaders is politically smart, but will not resolve the debt crisis - 14th March
 * real reasons for a rate rise'' - The ECB is becoming a party in an inter-institutional war - 7th March
 * no to Germany’s competitiveness pact'' - Veto in March is a necessary first step - 28th February
 * misguided German narrative of the crisis'' - While the rest of us are debating how to solve Europe’s crisis, Angela Merkel is solving a crisis in a parallel universe - 21st February
 * can lead the eurozone out of danger'' - If the ECB succession turns into a long and bitter fight, it could trigger another loss of confidence - 14th February
 * planning to solve the wrong crisis'' - Wolfgang Münchau laments why we dream about policy co-ordination in a post-crisis world, instead of tackling the problems we already have - 7th February
 * to get real on Europe’s inflation target'' - When Germany exceeds the eurozone’s inflation average, a target below 2 per cent is as unrealistic as a no bail-out clause - 31st January
 * eurozone’s best solution is the least likely'' - EU officials have considered a bond repurchase programme for Greek debt but although Wolfgang Münchau sees how such a policy could be made to work, he points out that there would be problems - 24th January
 * German-led eurozone rescue'' - Angela Merkel is not going to take the kind of risks a genuinely expanded European financial stability facility would entail - 17th January
 * shock jocks at the gate'' - We too often presume the US “public square” style of partisan television cannot happen elsewhere - 17th January
 * happy new year for the eurozone'' - The bond market crisis is affecting the core eurozone and is spreading fast - 10th January



Articles: 2010

 * some answers from the eurozone'' - The euro will remain a source of political, economic and financial instability - 30th December
 * goal is limited liability'' - Will the voters of Portugal, Ireland, Greece and Spain tolerate a decade of austerity to stay in a union with Germany? - 20th December
 * a mini fiscal union could end instability'' - Even minimal uncertainty will drive investors away from the bond markets - 13th December
 * plan could end the euro crisis'' - Once the eurozone reaches the moment of truth, it may not be in a position to agree a fiscal union, simply because it may not be physically possible. Jean-Claude Juncker’s and Giulio Tremonti’s proposal for a common European bond would start the process - 9th December
 * is edging towards the unthinkable'' - If we were not starting from here, a less invasive solution could have been found years ago - 29th November
 * to stop Ireland’s financial contagion'' - It is absurd to make a loan contingent on issues of tax policy - 22nd November
 * union is crucial to the euro’s survival'' - The German anti-crisis proposal is all about default - 15th November
 * EU treaty change is necessary but hazardous'' - If Europe gets a bail-out mechanism in whichever form, it may well provoke the German justices to rule it unconstitutional - 1st November
 * stability pact obsession is not helpful'' - The real irony is that the pact, in whatever form, is not even relevant to the eurozone’s future - 25th October
 * Weber really want to succeed Trichet?'' - It is hard to find someone who is more out of tune with the EU’s majority view on economic governance - 18th October
 * eurozone is wrong to look for the exit'' - It would be folly for the ECB to tighten policy - 11th October
 * taxpayers have shouldered too much'' - European governments everywhere are scared of touching bondholders - 4th October
 * any country risk a eurozone bail-out?'' - No euro member would want to borrow from the facility - 27th September
 * and loathing in Paris and Brussels'' - You can decline with a clear sense of direction. Or you can decline with panic and anger, as we see in Europe these days - 20th September
 * eurozone banking crisis left unresolved'' - Two years on there has been lots of activity but no resolution - 13th September
 * not fall for talk of European solvency'' - Some countries are likely to repay only part of their debt - 6th September
 * rebound is no cause for cheer'' - Country is recovering faster this year because it contracted faster last year - 30th August
 * test cynically calibrated to fix the result'' - Ignoring a possible Greek default is like a car crash tester failing to consider the possibility of an oncoming vehicle - 26th July
 * requires end of Merkel and Sarkozy'' - Both leaders lack convincing strategy on crisis - 21st July
 * eurozone optimists are not optimistic'' - The eurozone may end up in a low-growth equilibrium, similar to Japan in the 1990s - 12th July
 * risks failing the real test on banks'' - It is EU policy to deny that Greece might default - a real stress test might expose that as indefensible - 5th July
 * a closer union can save the eurozone'' - Revert to dysfunctional and insolvent nation states, or jump to a political and economic union - 28th June
 * need the figures on Europe’s toxic banks'' - This is not a sovereign debt crisis at heart, but a banking crisis and a crisis of policy co-ordination failures - 20th June
 * eurozone’s tragic small-country mindset'' - EU message seems not to care about growth - 14th June
 * shroud of secrecy should be shed'' - The EU and ECB need to have greater transparency - 7th June
 * false trail of austerity and a weak euro'' - The eurozone needs a consolidation strategy based on growth and a credible fiscal adjustment plan - 1st June
 * debt also threatens Europe’s strongest'' - If you believe some estimates, you might think Greece should be bailing out Germany - 24th May
 * save the eurozone, reform its governance'' - When the programme of credit guarantees ends in three years, the factors that led to the eurozone crisis will still be present - 17th May
 * pays for Merkel’s miscalculations'' - The population was not prepared for the chancellor’s U-turn - 11th May
 * choice is to integrate or disintegrate'' - The experiment of a monetary union without political union has failed - 4th May
 * is Europe’s very own subprime crisis'' - Portugal’s problems are different but they are no less severe - 26th April
 * Greek bail-out at last but no real solution'' - The numbers still don’t add up and I predict that Greece will default - 12th April
 * will default, but not this year'' - It is hard to arrive at any other scenario - 5th April
 * has resolved nothing over Greece'' - You wake up and realise the deal was mostly smoke and mirrors - 29th March
 * in the eurozone ‘football league''' - This is not a monetary union but a souped-up fixed exchange rate system - 22nd March
 * the eurozone, or create a fiscal union'' - Germany’s EMF idea is a smokescreen for helping countries leave the monetary union
 * the euro will continue to weaken'' - We have always known a monetary union cannot exist without political union in the long run - 8th March - 15th March
 * to outlaw naked credit default swaps'' - They have not one social or economic benefit - 1st March
 * must not become a moving target'' - Price stability is a critical part of the social contract we call money - 22nd February
 * political constraints of the eurozone'' - Germany will show solidarity to eurozone members if they are subject to attack - 15th February
 * needs to show it has a crisis endgame'' - The eurozone must end its fiscal ambiguity - 7th February
 * the eurozone must do if it is to survive'' - While the Greek government is at least beginning to recognise the need for reform, perhaps too late, Spain’s political establishment remains in denial - 1st February
 * solutions from Brussels will be fought by Athens'' - Greece has no easy options to escape its economic woes. But if Europe tries to fudge the issue it will turn the crisis into a disaster - 23rd January



Articles: 2009

 * farce descends into Greek tragedy'' - I am not condoning the way successive Greek governments have behaved. But to provoke a financial crisis is not a constructive way of dealing with this problem - 14th December
 * is no threat but shame about his job'' - The appointment of Mr Barnier to the most important Commission portfolio after the presidency is indeed unfortunate, but for reasons other than those insinuated by the French president - 7th December
 * can expect no gifts from Europe'' - The EU’s authorities, rightly or wrongly, are more afraid of the moral hazard of a bail-out than the possible spillover effect of a hypothetical Greek default - 30th November
 * Rompuy is the right man for the job'' - Belgian leadership consists of bringing consensus to a fractious coalition, exactly what the president of the EU has to do - 23rd November
 * Franco-German marriage of convenience'' - The need for France and Germany to pull together is ever more obvious to an increasing number of people in both countries - 16th November
 * to pick a new leader for Europe'' - An almost impossible job to fill - 9th November
 * must not be too late with starting the Big Exit'' - If we stick to the zero interest rate policy for too long, we risk a degree of economic instability much more extreme and costly than the recent financial crisis - 2nd November
 * polite discourse on bankers and bubbles'' - I suspect we are in another bubble in the global equity, bonds and commodity markets. Central banks should be prepared to prick them before they cause calamity - 26th October
 * to the next crisis is already under way'' - This bubble will burst sooner - 19th October
 * the case for a weaker dollar'' - Imagine a world with a small current account deficit in the US, a somewhat larger deficit in the eurozone and a not too excessive Asian surplus. In the long run, such a world would require significant reform of the monetary system. But in the short term, a fall in the dollar would help - 12th October
 * deficits could fracture the eurozone'' - What is happening in Europe? France and Germany are both guilty of flouting the most important economic policy rule of the Maastricht treaty - 5th October
 * recognition of the deep roots of the crisis'' - We are still a long way from effectively dealing with the underlying causes of the crisis, but global imbalances have finally made it on to the agenda of the G20 summit - 28th September
 * is at stake in the German election'' - There seems little enthusiasm for the forthcoming poll but there are matters of great importance to be decided - 21st September
 * pre-crisis treaty for a post-crisis world'' - I am an unenthusiastic supporter of the Lisbon treaty, but the Irish Yes campaign could once again find itself in a tight spot - 14th September
 * failure of ambition stunts growth'' - One of the probable long-term consequences of the financial crisis is an acceleration of Europe’s economic decline. This is by no means an inevitable outcome, but I fear it is likely - 7th September
 * banks can adapt to life below zero'' - Do not be afraid of negative interest rates - 31st August
 * toxic finance created an unstable world'' - Global imbalances would not have become so extreme if global finance had not provided the instruments - 24th August
 * is no easy way out for central banks'' - They would not readily adopt policies they knew would lead to excessive inflation later on. The point is that they may not have a choice - 27th July
 * and Barroso: Europe’s team from hell'' - José Manuel Barroso and Tony Blair look likely to take the top two jobs in the EU, but this combination does not come close to reflecting the diversity of European opinion - 20th July
 * has dealt a blow to European unity'' - Germany’s constitutional court has given a damning verdict on future European integration - 13th July
 * injections alone are not enough'' - Stimulus measures by a central bank, however large, cannot restore health to the banking sector in a sufficiently short period of time if the underlying problem is lack of solvency - 6th July
 * and France need to sing in tune'' - Debates over fiscal approaches aside, it is probably not a good idea for the two largest members of the eurozone to move in opposite directions - 29th June
 * weaves a deficit hair-shirt for us all'' - The balanced-budget law is economically illiterate, but universally popular – Germans see debt in terms of morals, not economics. It is also last thing the eurozone needs right now - 22nd June
 * is not enough for a global recovery'' - Instead of solving the problems to generate a recovery, the political strategies have consisted of waiting for a recovery to solve the problem. As everybody expects the others to move first, nobody moves. In the meantime, the problems grow worse - 15th June
 * and out for the long term in Germany'' - The classic export nations hope for a miraculous bail-out from the US consumer – which is not going to happen this time - 8th June
 * to safeguard Europe’s single market'' - After the moves to retrench back to national markets by the banks, there is a similar trend among carmakers. The single market is there on paper, but it is being undermined - 1st June
 * cannot inflate our way out of this crisis'' - It is a beggar-thy-neighbour policy - 25th May
 * needs more than an accounting trick'' - While US banks have already written off a fair proportion of the bad debts, the Europeans are adopting schemes that allow the banks to postpone resolution - 18th May
 * a fish, Europe is rotting from the head'' - I have on previous occasions criticised the unco-ordinated policy response of Europe’s political leaders. Their anti-crisis strategy is to hope the US and China deliver sufficient growth to pull Europe out of recession. That will probably not happen this time - 11th May
 * must learn from Japan’s experience'' - I see nothing in our situation or our policy response to persuade me that it will take less than a decade to get out of this - 4th May
 * banking needs a co-ordinated strategy'' - By pursuing what they mistakenly perceive to be their national interest, European leaders not only damage the prospects of the eurozone, they end up damaging themselves - 27th April
 * London summit has not fixed the crisis'' - It ducked the question of bank rescue beyond a few meaningless and self-congratulatory statements. Instead, our leaders showed more interest in future crises than in the current one - 6th April
 * needs a better plan for its banks'' - As European leaders focus on tax havens and hedge funds, it is hard to detect a sense of urgency in dealing with the wider crisis - 30th March
 * needs a better plan for its banks'' - As European leaders focus on tax havens and hedge funds, it is hard to detect a sense of urgency in dealing with the wider crisis - 23rd March
 * action on the crisis is our best hope'' - I sense that European leaders are again hoping for an American miracle. Only this time, it is not going to happen - 16th March
 * L of a recession – reform is the way out'' - We are nowhere near a solution to the crisis, and judging by the state of preparations, the forthcoming G20 summit is going to be a disaster - 9th March 2009
 * policy shortcomings will cost us dear'' - Speculators, once more, are getting ready to deconstruct a European edifice but this time it will be one on a bigger scale - 2nd March
 * crisis that could wreck the eurozone'' - The smartest answer to the prospect of meltdown is the adoption of the euro in the region as quickly as possible - 23rd February
 * leadership hurts Europe'' - The protectionism we are experiencing now is caused by co-ordination failure. It is neither sudden, nor surprising - 16th February
 * lethargic leaders must work together on the crisis'' - The world would have been much better off with a speedier, perhaps smaller and globally co-ordinated package to tackle the global crisis - 9th February
 * bank falls into a false-logic trap'' - To believe you can avoid a liquidity trap by not cutting interest rates is simultaneously dangerous and absurd - 2nd February
 * benefits of a single European bond'' - Any substantial move towards joint issuance would produce a government bond market that is large and liquid - 26th January
 * if’ becomes the default question'' - In a worst-case scenario with five or six eurozone defaulters, a full fiscal union would be more probable than a break-up - 19th January



Articles: 2008

 * Economy in 2009: Three priorities for recovery'' - Policymakers will have to smarten up, work together and start thinking outside the box ito combat the 2009 global recession - 29th December 2008
 * the Fed cannot save the world'' - Instead of propping up each bank, and swamping the market with cash, we need to restructure and shrink the banking system - 22nd December 2008
 * rules as time slips away'' - We have already failed to avoid 1929. The best we can do is to avoid 1930, 1931 and 1932. It will depend on the policy response - 15th December 2008
 * need to panic – we can beat deflation'' - There is a lot banks can do. For starters, they can drive through the zero boundary and impose negative interest rates - 8th December 2008
 * complacency poses a serious threat'' - Looking at the financial crisis from Berlin, you could easily delude yourself into thinking this is someone else’s problem - 1st December 2008
 * jeopardy for financial policymakers'' - Bernanke has already deployed his weapon of mass desperation while still some distance away from a zero interest rate - 24th November 2008
 * the British may decide to love the euro'' - The facts have changed and the world’s two large reserve currencies, the dollar and the euro, offer more protection from speculative attack than a free-floating offshore currency unit - 17th November 2008
 * policy is our most potent instrument'' - Monetary policy is playing little more than a supporting role in this economic crisis. It is fiscal policy which will count - 10th November 2008
 * they see the benefits of the eurozone'' - In good times, few people care about its offer of a joint policy framework and protection from speculative attacks. These are not good times - 3rd November 2008
 * attempted EU coup fails – for now'' - German officials have developed a habit of reacting negatively in anticipation of what the French might propose - 29th October 2008
 * needs more than one shot'' - Targeted recapitalisation, money market insurance and a stimulus package are all needed as part of a comprehensive strategy - 20th October 2008
 * offers Europe a lesson in leadership'' - The good news is that governments are at last abandoning an ad hoc approach in favour of a systematic response - 13th October 2008
 * case for a European bank rescue plan'' - A systemic banking crisis is one of the few conceivable shocks that could destroy Europe’s monetary union - 6th October 2008
 * problem presents lessons'' - While the US needs a better rescue plan, Europe needs a system that could produce a rescue plan in the first place - 29th September 2008
 * will test a fair-weather construction'' - The future of the global financial sector depends to an uncomfortable extent on speculative insurance market - 22nd September 2008
 * economic reform has come unstuck'' - You cannot lead the eurozone and break its most important rules. France has manoeuvred itself into a corner - 15th September 2008
 * a downturn could turn into a disaster'' - Recent research suggests global investors might be inclined to switch out of dollars much faster than some people believe - 8th September 2008
 * is the wrong time to demand a rate cut'' - The ECB should treat a temporary fall in headline inflation just as it treated the temporary rise last year. It should ignore it - 1st September 2008
 * Sarkozy needs a more subtle approach - The ECB is right not to identify individual views. This may be the most destructive advice one could give right now - 28th July 2008
 * Eurogroup must shed complacency - The shocks that face Spain and Ireland will test the see-no-evil-hear-no-evil approach to governance - 21st July 2008
 * The wrong tools to tackle rising inflation - I remember a popular sticker in Germany during the 1970s, designed to ridicule the opponents of atomic energy. It read: “Nuclear power? No thanks! We get electricity from our power sockets.” - 14th July 2008
 * Recession is not the worst possible outcome - If this had been a mere financial crisis, it would be over by now. The fact that we are suffering its fourth wave tells us there might be something at work other than merely financial euphoria and bad regulation - 7th July 2008
 * The options for a Europe without a script - Simply to continue with Nice is out of the question. The negotiation of yet another treaty is not going to happen either - 30th June 2008
 * Ireland is wrong to put its miracle at risk - After a week of what European leaders call reflection, another Irish referendum beckons, to be held early next year. Without it, there might well be an attempt to oust the Irish from the European Union - 23rd June 2008
 * Europe's plan B for the Lisbon treaty - What is going to happen now after the Irish No vote? I would expect the European Union to find a way to implement the Lisbon treaty, leaving Ireland potentially isolated within the EU - 16th June 2008
 * Trichet justified in diverging from the Fed - In terms of global monetary policy, we are in the middle of a shift from a unipolar to a bipolar world - 9th June 2008
 * Berlin should take note of French reforms - President Nicolas Sarkozy made an important announcement in Warsaw last week. From July, the Polish plumber and other citizens of the 2004 accession countries to the European Union will be able to work freely in France... – 2nd June 2008
 * Inflation and the lessons of the 1970's - Inflation is rising and it seems the world’s central banks have critically misjudged the situation. Until a few months ago, most commentators worried about a repeat of the Great Depression. But the 1930s have virtually no relevance to our situation - 26th May 2008
 * The global euro needs a stronger apparatus - It happened to François Mitterrand in the run-up to the Maastricht Treaty on the European Union. It happened to Jacques Chirac a few years later and now it is happening to Nicolas Sarkozy. Successive French presidents have tried but failed to give the eurozone a layer of gouvernance économique beyond the present institutional setting - 12th May 2008
 * Italy needs to focus on its productivity growth - Over the years, I have observed this about the political economy of economic reform in Europe: there is an inverse relationship between the number of objectives and measures of a reform agenda and its ultimate success - 5th May 2008
 * Global adjustment will be long and painful - So this crisis is about to end, right? There are two failsafe ways to justify a solid dose of optimism: define the crisis in a sufficiently narrow way; and, even better, look at the wrong crisis. In that spirit I am happy to state my optimism about the prospective end of the subprime crisis - 28th April 2008
 * The princess’s cake gets an added crunch - “I remembered the way out suggested by a great princess when told that the peasants had no bread: ‘Well, let them eat cake.’” - 21st April 2008
 * Pessimism about the eurozone is misplaced - I am puzzled by the International Monetary Fund’s latest growth projections for the eurozone - 13th April 2008
 * Central banks must care about house prices - The International Monetary Fund last week gave central banks some wicked advice*. They should no longer ignore residential property prices when setting interest rates - 7th April 2008
 * Do not be alarmed by Icelandic whispers - Vicious rumours recently almost drove a British bank off a cliff. Could that happen to a country? - 30th March 2008
 * This crisis could bring the euro centre-stage - We know the credit crisis is a clear and present threat to the global economy. But its most important long-run legacy may not be economic, but geopolitical - 24th March 2008
 * Sarkozy’s reforms must reach beyond taxi licences - With the local elections now behind him, President Nicolas Sarkozy of France has an opportunity to relaunch his faltering reform agenda. It is impossible to underestimate the significance of such an effort, or its failure, to the Sarkozy presidency and the future of the French economy - 17th March 2008
 * Central bankers cannot stop this contagion - Since the start of the global financial crisis last August, monetary policy has been remarkably ineffective - 10th March 2008
 * A crisis in store for Spain’s election victor - The Spanish election this Sunday is too close to call. What is certain, however, is that the winner will spend the next four years cleaning up an economic mess of a scale not witnessed in Spain in modern times - 3rd March 2008
 * Britain can no longer depend on being cool - In the next few years, I expect the UK economic miracle to be exposed for what it was: an overlong joyride on the back of an overlong asset price bubble - 25th February 2008
 * Two nails in the coffin of German corporatism - It was always clear that German corporatism would not survive the first half of the 21st century. What was less clear was how long this process would last and which form its destruction would take - 18th February 2008
 * A repeat of the Great Depression is unlikely - How big is the risk of global deflation? Five years ago, central banks led by the US Federal Reserve fretted and cut short-term interest rates aggressively. This time the Fed is largely alone in seeking insurance against the possibility of a deflationary depression - 11th February 2008
 * Italy’s crisis offers a chance for change - Lasciate ogni speranza ch’entrate (Abandon all hope, ye who enter here) Dante, Inferno, Canto III. Dante’s hell is generally a good description of Italian politics - 4th February 2008
 * Expect the eurozone to show some resistance - Within minutes of last week’s rate cut by the Federal Reserve, market analysts predicted that the European Central Bank would have to do the same. When the US sneezes – you know the rest - 28th January 2008
 * America’s recession will be hard to shift - Monetary policy affects the economy with long and variable lags. This much we know. How long depends on the state of the economy in question - 21st January 2008
 * This is not merely a subprime crisis - If this had been a mere subprime crisis, it would now be over. But it is not, and nor will it be over soon - 14th January 2008
 * The credit revolution looks to the long-term - Over the past 20 years, the world economy has experienced two revolutions both of which gave rise to asset price bubbles. One was the rise of modern information technology. The other was the credit revolution – the inexorable rise of modern credit markets - 7th January 2008



News & updates:


References:
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Links:

 * http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolfgang_Münchau