There it is.

Corner turned?

Things are getting worse less slowly.

Monetary and fiscal help on the way.

Disastrous numbers.

The latest retail PMI is dismal.

Services PMI disappoints.

More disaster.

Economic disaster.

Economic tailspin.

A bottomless pit.

Bank lenders should wig out a bit, too.

Cyprus holds no cards.

A nation on the verge of collapse. 

[credit provider=”Ralph Orlowski / Getty”] Why is it that 17 nations have to fundamentally reorganize themselves and shift sovereignty away from national parliaments to new layers of transnational, beyond-control bureaucracies that can extract untold wealth from taxpayers—just to save the banks?That’s what the Eurozone has to do, or else banks […]

[credit provider=”Archives”] You can be forgiven for thinking that you don’t need to give a hoot about what’s going on in Cyprus this weekend.

Another awful European economic datapoint.

[credit provider=”www.youtube.com” url=”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TITLqWtxLPk”] 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 […]

Earlier we wrote a post about the economy tragedy in Europe.

[credit provider=”Fabrizio Goria” url=”https://twitter.com/FGoria/status/303954748602712064″] “I’m appalled that two clowns have won,” said Peer Steinbrück about the Italian election, referring to former comedian, now hot politician, Beppe Grillo, head of the 5 Star movement, and former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.One of them is “a professional clown who doesn’t mind being called […]

[credit provider=”flickrfriendsofeurope” url=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/friendsofeurope/6244928468/”] In the just-concluded Italian election, the big loser was Mario Monti. The outgoing Prime Minister only garnered 10% of the vote, which has to be one of the worst showings for any incumbent in the history of elections.Monti came into power in late November 2011, when surging […]

[credit provider=”AP Images”] Bank bailouts in the Eurozone, like bank bailouts elsewhere, have made owners of otherwise worthless bank debt whole through a circuitous process where, in the end, taxpayers transferred their money to investors.Even in Greece, investors were coddled. Even Proton Bank that had siphoned off $1 billion in […]

[credit provider=”Joe Weisenthal, Business Insider”] The most dramatic moment in last night’s Italian election came from the second in command in the centre-left PD party.He announced to a room of reporters that voters had staged a “rebellion” and that the country would likely be ungovernable.

[credit provider=”Bloomberg TV”] Nouriel Roubini and Ian Bremmer, the president of Eurasia Group, spoke with Bloomberg TV’s Tom Keene this morning on “Surveillance.”The pair touched on a gamut of topics including the eurozone debt crisis, U.S. fiscal policy and North Africa.  

[credit provider=”YouTube via LadyAmaltheaUnicorn”] Eleven members of the Eurozone have finally agreed to adopt a financial transaction tax often referred to as a ‘Robin Hood tax’ first discussed in September 2011.The tax will apply at the rate of 0.1 per cent on stock and bond transactions and 0.01 per cent […]

In case you haven’t seen it, here’s a chart of the Swiss Franc vs. The Euro, via BofA. It’s incredibly important, as we’ll explain below.

According to new numbers, youth unemployment rates across Europe just hit new highs.

Matthew O’Brien at The Atlantic was nice enough to solicit our contribution for their roundup of the best charts of 2012.

Citi’s call for Greece exiting the EMU in the next 12 to18 months with a 60% probability (see discussion) looks even more out of sync with current expectations. The latest survey from Barclays shows that 70% of investors do not expect any nation to drop the euro next year. This […]

[credit provider=”Andreas Rentz/Getty Images”] Europe’s crisis has entered a quiet phase, which is no accident.The current period of relative calm coincides with the approach of Germany’s federal election in 2013, in which the incumbent chancellor, Angela Merkel, will be running as the woman who saved the euro.

[credit provider=”Ralph Orlowski / Getty”] Europe is taking it on the chin today, the culprit seems pretty clearly to be Silvio Berlusconi and Italy, where market sare getting crushed, thanks to his desire to return to politics, and Mario Monti’s resignation.It’s debatable how big of a deal this is, really. […]

There are green shoots in Europe.

In a note authored Astrid Schilo of Exane BNP Paribas on the politics and disfunction of the Eurozone, this drawing is shown to describe the current situation.

The below graph is from the latest Eurostat GDP release for the EU area.  Let’s consider the following information to illustrate the depth of the EU problem. 1.) The EU 17 and 27 have both contracted YOY for the last two quarters.  With the exception of the .1% Q/Q growth […]

The year isn’t over yet, but we have an early, sleeper suggestion for Chart Of The Year.

[credit provider=”Wikimedia Commons” url=”http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Earth-Erde.jpg”] As we prepare for the holidays, Societe Generale’s Michala Marcussen and her team are out with their latest update on the global economy.Policy uncertainty was a big factor in dragging down growth this year.

[credit provider=”Twitter / @paaiiss” url=”http://www.twitter.com/paaiiss”] In response to a shocking spike in the number of suicides by evicted homeowners, the Spanish government will implement a two-year eviction moratorium for “the most vulnerable homeowners unable to keep up with mortgage payments,” AFP reports.Deputy Prime Minister Soraya Saenz de Santamaria told reporters […]

The Flash PMI report for Europe — an index based on a survey of manufacturing and service companies — looks awful.

[credit provider=”flickr/ MorBCN” url=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/bcnbits/2101901830/”] Despite being in the midst of the worst financial crisis since the formation of the European Union, Europe is still home to the world’s most “prosperous” cities.A new report from the United Nations Human Settlements Program (U.N.-Habitat) ranked the world’s cities on a unique prosperity metric, and 19 […]

[credit provider=”GoldMoney Foundation via YouTube” url=”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JSfJR6yR7p0″] Swiss hedge fund manager Felix Zulauf believes everyone is overestimating China’s growth rates while underestimating its problems.Speaking at an investor conference sponsored by the CFA Institute in Prague, Zulauf said China is actually growing at a 3 per cent rate.  This is according to […]

[credit provider=”Wikimedia Commons” url=”http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:080403_1_2_g.jpg”] Yesterday, we reported on an alleged Chinese mafia money-laundering plot in Spain that led to scores of arrests — including that of a Madrid Councilor and a Spanish porn star.Well that was just the tip of the iceberg.

The Eurozone crisis has spiced the once dormant government debt markets and has put bond traders in the spotlight. 

[credit provider=”Drudge”] Christine Lagarde has called for decisive action from world leaders to end uncertainties in the global economy that are prolonging “terrifying and unacceptable” levels of unemployment.Rounding on Europe and the US in particular, the managing director of the International Monetary Fund said this week’s annual meetings in Tokyo […]

[credit provider=”Wikimedia Commons” url=”http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gary_D._Cohn_-_World_Economic_Forum_Annual_Meeting_Davos_2010.jpg”] Oct. 11 (Bloomberg) — Goldman Sachs Group Inc. President and Chief Operating Officer Gary D. Cohn sees a “small” probability that the euro area will stick together, saying it’s more likely that some countries will exit to pursue growth.”In federalism, you create a unified Europe, where […]

[credit provider=”Jamie McDonald/Getty Images)” url=”http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/spain-fan-is-pictured-with-a-flag-ahead-of-the-uefa-euro-news-photo/81760846″] Markets in Europe got slammed today. However, they closed off of their lows.England’s FTSE 100 down 0.4%.

[credit provider=”Ralph Orlowski/Getty Images” url=”http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/the-symbol-of-the-european-common-currency-the-euro-stands-news-photo/127296927″] BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Debate about the idea of creating a separate budget for euro zone countries is intensifying in the run up to an EU summit later this month, with less opposition to the proposal than many officials first expected, diplomats say.At a private dinner […]

[credit provider=”AP Images” url=”http://www.apimages.com/OneUp.aspx?st=k&kw=protest&showact=results&sort=date&intv=24h&sh=10&kwstyle=and&adte=1348659842&pagez=60&cfasstyle=AND&rids=9511f2e7b3ec40ac9a58e6bf756a65b7&dbm=PThirtyDay&page=1&xslt=1&mediatype=Photo”] While Europe watches and waits for Spain to submit a formal bailout request to the EU and the ECB, the economic situation on the ground there continues to deteriorate.Huge protests against austerity measures engulfed Madrid recently as angry voters displayed their discontent in the streets.

The Markit Eurozone Composite PMI fell to a four month low of 46.1 in September.  This was slightly higher than the flash estimate of 45.9.

[credit provider=”marcus_jb1973 on flickr” url=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/marcusjb/432600086/”] Awful as Greece’s GDP has been, it doesn’t do justice to the economic fiasco.Take new vehicle registrations: in August, they plunged 46.7% from prior year. Only 3,886 new vehicles were sold. A collapse of 80% from August 2008 at the cusp of the crisis. For […]

[credit provider=”Abysim at www.flickr.com” url=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/abysim/4860128797/”] SpainSpanish prime minister Mariano Rajoy has battled for months to avoid the indignity of applying for a formal bailout from his European partners.

Earlier this morning, Markit published its Flash Eurozone PMI, a key indicator of economic activity.  And it was ugly.  The composite index fell to 45.9 from 46.3 in August.  This is a 39-month low.

[credit provider=”Wikimedia Commons” url=”http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:StateLibQld_1_100348.jpg”] For the first time in over a year global investors think the U.S. fiscal cliff is more of a risk to the global economy than Europe’s sovereign debt crisis. This is according to a survey conducted by Bank of AmericaAnd more of them think the economy […]

[credit provider=”CFR screengrab”] Hedge fund god Ray Dalio, who runs the highly successful Bridgewater Associates, spoke at the Council on Foreign Relations this morning with CNBC anchor Maria Bartiromo.The discussion covered a gamut of issues with Dalio giving long-winded answers on topics such as the U.S. debt, gold, China and the eurozone […]

[credit provider=”CNBC” url=”http://video.cnbc.com/gallery/?video=3000079936″] In his latest Viewpoints note, Jim O’Neill addresses the intense pessimism toward the Euro zone.”Amongst many arguments the bears understandably make, is one that whatever the determination of the ECB (and perhaps others), the underlying fundamentals for economic growth in the Euro zone are so negative that […]

[credit provider=”coda on flickr” url=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/coda/1479423/in/photostream”] Is this what it looks like when animal spirits finally get unleashed? It appears that the desire to take a chance is coming back.Optimism seems to be breaking out all over the place.

BERLIN (Reuters) – Euro zone investor sentiment improved this month for the first time since March thanks to the European Central Bank’s plans to rescue the common currency, Sentix research group said on Monday.

PARIS (Reuters) – The euro zone enters a dangerous week, strewn with potential landmines, in a somewhat more optimistic mood after investors welcomed a European Central Bank plan to prevent a breakup of the single currency.

[credit provider=”Wikimedia Commons” url=”http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Trichet_SGS.png”] The creation of Europe’s economic and monetary union is unique in the history of sovereign states.The eurozone constitutes a “society of states” of a completely new type, one that transcends the traditional Westphalian concept of sovereignty.

[credit provider=”Getty”] The UN’s International Labour Organisation (ILO) has warned of a “catastrophic” rise in unemployment, especially among the young, if debt-wracked Greece were to leave the eurozone or if the bloc were to split.”It would be a catastrophe for the European youth,” Ekkehard Ernst, a senior economist at the […]

[credit provider=”en.wikipedia.org” url=”http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:DecayingPeachSmall.gif”] The eurozone looks destined for its second recession in three years, as business surveys showed the economic rot is even spreading to Germany, the region’s largest and strongest economy.Markit’s Flash eurozone composite PMI, which measures manufacturing and services activity, edged up to 46.6 in August.

[credit provider=”spanaut on flickr” url=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/cs___/203099199/”] A new note out from Citi’s Steven Englander tries to assess the latest state of play with regardes to ECB bond buying, the Greek situation, and so forth.It’s all solid, but the red highlighted line at the end is fantastic.

[credit provider=”Andreas Rentz/Getty Images” url=”http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/german-chancellor-angela-merkel-welcomes-dutch-prime-news-photo/106963948″] In Europe, attention is increasingly turning to the September 12 general election in Netherlands.The election bears more than just national importance because it could impact the handling of the eurozone crisis. 

[credit provider=”Flickr / Nick Sherman ” url=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/nicksherman/540157227/sizes/m/in/photostream/”] Stocks and commodities are increasingly impacted by macro and geo-political events.We drew on Alastair Newton’s latest calendar of political events to pick the important ones to watch for the rest of the year.

[credit provider=”Sean Gallup/Getty Images” url=”http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/german-chancellor-angela-merkel-awaits-the-arrival-of-heads-news-photo/145449139″] On Friday reports emerged that German chancellor Angela Merkel was preparing to ease concessions on Greek bailout terms.But a senior ally of Merkel, Volker Kauder, head of Merkel’s conservative bloc has told Der Spiegel that Greece cannot be offered any more concessions on the bailout. […]

[credit provider=”flickr/World Economic Forum” url=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/worldeconomicforum/6770844689/”] NYU economist Nouriel Roubini is worried that Europe may be throwing good money after bad as it hooks up peripheral banking systems to ECB life support.In a new piece on Project Syndicate, Roubini points out that while European leaders are currently busy buying time while […]

Every once in a while you see a statistic that just defies logic.  The one that really jumped out at me (that I vividly recall) was during the crisis when I read on a Bloomberg Chart of the Day that the US banking sector had fallen as much as the […]

[credit provider=”Magyar Nemzeti Múzeum Történeti Fényképtára, Budapest” url=”http://mek.oszk.hu/01900/01906/html/index1433.html”] BERLIN (AP) — An influential German business organisation is warning that proposals to allow the European Central Bank to buy up bonds of struggling euro countries could seriously damage the single currency.The ZDH, which represents some 5 million skilled craftsmen, said Friday […]

The cover of this week’s economist is darkly comedic, effectively dissing Angela Merkel for viewpoitnts and policies that are doing little to address the raging European crisis.

[credit provider=”Guido Bergmann/Bundesregierung – Pool/Getty Images” url=”http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/in-this-photo-provided-by-the-german-government-press-news-photo/147356183″] Analysts have been paying close attention to the relationship between Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti and German leadership since June.That’s when Monti and Spanish PM Mariano Rajoy refused to go along with EU summit plans unless German Chancellor Angela Merkel and other EU […]

Europe is in some major financial trouble right now, and that’s certainly being reflected in bank stocks, which have taken a tumble across the board.

[credit provider=”Shutterstock”] We reported last week on the probable endgame for the European sovereign debt crisis.It begins with the European Central Bank explicitly commit ing to hold borrowing costs for peripheral European countries (at least, those countries not on a bailout) within a specific range.

[credit provider=”Wikimedia Commons” url=”http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/27/Hamburg_Bundesbank_Skulptur.jpg/635px-Hamburg_Bundesbank_Skulptur.jpg”] Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann has been one of the most outspoken critics of European Central Bank President Mario Draghi’s plan to buy sovereign bonds, a form of quantitative easing.Ironically, the Bundesbank itself side-stepped its mandate to buy public bonds on the open market back in 1975.

Tensions have been running high in Europe lately, and that’s been reflected in high volatility in the euro currency relative to proceeding months.

For the last few days, we’ve been spotlighting the dramatic fall in Spanish and Italian shorter-term yields.

[credit provider=”Flickr via bobalicious” url=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/bobaliciouslondon/5251504994/sizes/m/in/photostream/”] It has been an onslaught. Eurozone heads of state, top politicians, unelected kingpins, and bureaucratic honchos threatened everyone in sight with the demise of the euro, or promised to do “everything” or “whatever it takes” to save it even if it violated treaties or the […]

[credit provider=”National Library of Scotland, Flickr” url=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/nlscotland/4699056915/”] Last week, European Central Bank President Mario Draghi laid out the framework for the next developments he wants to see in Europe.Considering how important the ECB has been in slowing the crisis, it is likely that the ECB will get what most of […]

[credit provider=”AP Images” url=”http://www.apimages.com/OneUp.aspx?st=k&kw=draghi&showact=results&sort=relevance&intv=None&sh=10&kwstyle=and&adte=1343871142&pagez=60&cfasstyle=AND&rids=b352ba1f7340497f9b076c821ae1401b&dbm=PY2011&page=1&xslt=1&mediatype=Photo”] BERLIN (Reuters) – The European Central Bank (ECB) has saved Greece from bankruptcy for the time being by securing it interim financing in the form of additional emergency loans from the Bank of Greece, German newspaper Die Welt said on Saturday.The ECB’s Governing Council agreed at […]

UPDATE: European markets went bonkers today, as investors interpreted and reinterpreted European Central Bank President Mario Draghi’s comments yesterday.

[credit provider=”DrivingtheNortheast on Flickr” url=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/drivingthenortheast/7177307591/”] A lack of tangible action from European Central Bank President Mario Draghi yesterday sent markets hurtling downward.Today, however, they’ve rebounded after some analysts realised there was an upside to the remarks.

We have mentioned before that yields on Spanish (and Italian) bonds that mature before the European Central Bank’s three-year LTROs expire are the most important indicators of angst or strength in Europe.

[credit provider=”AP/Riccardo De Luca”] German newspaper Handelsblatt reports that seven members of the ECB’s Governing Council initially opposed President Mario Draghi’s plan to buy sovereign bonds in the open market, according to Marketwatch.Draghi outlined the ECB’s intent to step into the bond markets and purchase sovereign bonds in distressed countries […]

Spain held an auction today. It sold just over a billion of 10 year bonds, at what looks like an average price of 94.45. It sold 2 billion of other issues, but this is the most interesting one. The pricing was in line with where they were trading on the […]

European Central Bank President Mario Draghi disappointed investors hoping for explicit promises for central bank assistance to Spain and Italy in a press conference this morning.

European Central Bank President Mario Draghi disappointed investors this morning, when he failed to announce any new measures that would immediately alleviate concerns about rising borrowing costs in Italy and Spain.

[credit provider=”Wikimedia Commons” url=”http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:20091128_Loutra_Thermes_Xanthi_Thrace_Greece_2.jpg”] European Central Bank President Mario Draghi disappointed investors hoping for more central bank action to mitigate the effects of the sovereign debt crisis on Italy and Spain.Basically, he failed to announce any definitive measures at a press conference this morning.

European Central Bank President Mario Draghi failed to announce any definitive measures to address concerns about the burgeoning sovereign debt crisis in his latest post-decision press conference.

The euro has fallen fast, dropping below $1.22 again.

Investors are cautiously awaiting a press conference from European Central Bank President Mario Draghi, and the euro is climbing sharply higher.

[credit provider=”European Commission” url=”http://ec.europa.eu/avservices/photo/photoDetails.cfm?sitelang=en&ref=P-018816/00-08#0″] UPDATE: The ECB left its target rate unchanged at 0.75 per cent today.Believe it or not, this is just the prelude to a press conference later today, when the central bank could announce more potent policy measures.

[credit provider=”Ralph Orlowski/Getty Images” url=”http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/mario-draghi-new-president-of-the-european-central-bank-news-photo/131244333″] The European Central Bank will release its latest monetary policy decision tomorrow, and it’s likely to take some action to keep the financial system afloat for at least the next few month or so.A flurry of headlines recently suggest that EU leaders are working on […]

[credit provider=”Wikimedia Commons” url=”http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:D-BW-Jubilaeumsweg_Bodenseekreis-att001.jpg”] While analysts have been clamoring over a monetary policy decision from the Federal Reserve today, the more important decision will come from the European Central Bank tomorrow.The ECB Governing Council will meet in Frankfurt to discuss the bank’s latest policy action on Thursday, and according to […]

[credit provider=”Oli Scarff/Getty Images”] As markets continue to yo-yo and commentators deliver mixed forecasts, investors are faced with some tough decisions and have a number of important questions that need answering. On a daily basis we are asked what’s happening with oil prices alongside questions on China’s slowdown, which commodities […]

European Central Bank President Mario Draghi hinted to investors last week that the ECB would take action in short order to prevent Spanish and Italian borrowing costs from soaring out of control.

[credit provider=”Getty”] Spain’s banking system has suffered massive outflows of cash as investors become worried that the country will need a bailout and fragile banks count more and more troubled assets on their portfolios.The latest news from Spain isn’t reassuring.

[credit provider=”Ralph Orlowski/Getty Images”] Morgan Stanley chief European economist Elga Bartsch and her team released updated forecasts for every major economy in and around the euro area today, and the future as seen through their eyes looks pretty dark for Europe.The continent, plagued by the ongoing euro crisis, is feeling […]

[credit provider=”flickr/proimos” url=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/proimos/4199675334/sizes/o/in/photostream/”] Headlines generated by some promising statements from European Central Bank President Mario Draghi late last week have stirred investor belief that European leaders—and in particular the ECB—are about to announce some game-changing crisis-averting measures. Such action could happen as early as Thursday, when the ECB makes its latest […]

[credit provider=”Mammal” url=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/mammal/3455272493/”] Last week Mario Draghi, the president of the European Central Bank, declared that his institution “is ready to do whatever it takes to preserve the euro” — and markets celebrated. In particular, interest rates on Spanish bonds fell sharply, and stock markets soared everywhere.But will the euro really […]

[credit provider=”AP/Manu Fernandez”] BERLIN (AP) — Germany’s finance minister is rejecting talk of a possible application from Spain for the eurozone’s bailout fund to buy the struggling country’s bonds, a newspaper reported Saturday.This week, European Central Bank head Mario Draghi promised to do “whatever it takes” to preserve the euro. […]

[credit provider=”AP Images”] Reports from Bloomberg that European Central Bank President Mario Draghi and Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann will meet to discuss new crisis-averting measures by the ECB suggest that rumours of new intervention are indeed real.Investors began speculating that Draghi was likely to restart a controversial bond-buying program and/or […]

[credit provider=”Goldman Sachs” url=”http://www.goldmansachs.com/our-thinking/view-from/a-view-from-europe/index.html”] Goldman Sachs Chief European Economist Huw Pill exposes a terrible irony about the eurozone in a video filmed this month: at the signing of the Maastricht Treaty, both those who loved and hated the prospect of a European Monetary Union actually thought that the euro would […]