Capital is leaving southern Europe. One way or another, it’s leaving.
It is quite remarkable that just a couple of months ago the European supercrats were patting themselves on the back in Davos, sighing and telling the world that the storm was lifting. Someone please pass the caviar.
The great hope for business leaders and those of the political sort was that China would pull the world out of the greatest economic downturn in 3 generations. This has failed to happen and is failing more with each passing day. China isn’t going to save the day. China has been built on a good amount of economic magic and it needs a correction desperately. It likely has one on its hands though this still is not the official consensus.
And like today, during the Great Depression government enabled monopolies in big business, which hurt the overall economy.
A very good (and brief) video from Prager University
4 years ago Rick Santelli freaked out and raged with well placed righteous indignation on the floor of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. I saw the moment when it was originally broadcast and the now famous rant was a highlight in a very bleak winter.
One would think with the economy on the rise (as we’ve been told that it is) this wouldn’t be the case. All that money printing by the Fed and an exec at Walmart is seeing the worst start to a month in his time with the company? Clearly this executive must have misplaced a decimal point or something. Things are going great.
Just a few weeks ago many leaders in Europe were talking about the end (or at least the beginning of the end) of the Eurozone crisis. It now appears that was wishful thinking at best. Now even mighty Germany is starting to suffer.
Just a few weeks ago many leaders were tentatively looking at what they thought might be more than just a respite in the ongoing European (world) economic calamity. But this storm is far from over. It’s shifting into a new phase as Spain continues to spin out, Italy’s industrial output is the lowest it’s been since its been recording the stat, and even tiny Cyprus is causing real problems.
Take a look at this chart of economic recoveries in the United Kingdom over the past century. Ugly.
A cold wind blows across the USA this January. Word comes that the economy contracted in the 4th quarter of 2012 by .1%.
