Out of control: credit

By: Casper de Vries, Erasmus University Rotterdam

The Fed deliberately ignored traditional indicators that provided early warning about the credit crisis to come.

Ben's depression

By: Wolfgang Münchau

A return to a monetary policy to stabilise prices ended the Great Depression in the 1930s. This time it will work the other way round. Once the Fed is forced back onto a path of price stability, our depression will begin.

Juncker to remain as eurogroup chief

Luxembourg premier under pressure to accept eurogroup secretariat as a price for his renomination; Commerzbank buys Dresdner as Germany secures a second national banking champion; the French Socialists remain confused about their future strategy; Germany’s Left Party, meanwhile, is ready to support the SPD, as new political alliances are building up in Germany.

Let them eat cake...

By: Wolfgang Münchau

Inflation, not global depression or a financial meltdown, is now the biggest problem facing the world economy. The core inflation measure, ever so popular among central bankers and academics, is a dangerously complecent metric that should be discarded.

So how about this rate increase?

By: Eurointelligence ECB Watch

Believe it or not: The ECB policy stance is not neutral anymore. The central bank is more likely to raise interest rates now than to cut them.

Is Europe Finally Back?

By: Johnny Munkhammar

Europe has declined economically compared to the United States for three decades, following differences in economic policy. As the US pursued free-market reforms, Europe maintained or expanded the size of government. Following a shift in policies, however, this development might be changing to the opposite. The current dramatic economic slowdown in the US may be temporary, but we are also likely to see a long-term comeback for Europe.

Pessimism about the eurozone is misplaced

By: Wolfgang Münchau

The euro area is stronger than the forecasts of the IMF believe. The crisis will eventually affect euro area growth, but not so much in 2008. There is also some evidence that the euro area is a touch less dependent on the US than previously.