1.  Article | 19/02/2008

A crisis spreads around the world

Oliver Stock explains how US property owners with insufficient funds are causing the world economy to falter. What kind of consequences will the crisis have in Europe? » more

Robbing the financially innocent

The German Bundestag acted irresponsibly with its vote to increase Germany's contribution to the euro bailout fund, writes the liberal business paper Handelsblatt: "Very likely our children will realise that their parents and their representatives set a mechanism in motion that robbed them of their financial innocence even before they were born. A mechanism that concocted a mountain of debt for the future that in their lifetimes will make Europe dwindle to insignificance compared with other economic regions. ... Excuses to the effect that the money is only a loan guarantee are of little use. They merely reveal that none of those who have said 'Yes' to the increased bailout fund can know what the consequences of this decision will be. In such a situation It would have helped to stick to what is known for certain. For example the Swabian proverb: Those who pledge money would do better to give it outright. Those who can't give money shouldn't pledge it. The Members of the Bundestag failed to heed these words."

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More from the press review on the subject » EU Policy, » Fiscal Policy, » Financial Markets, » Germany, » Europe

A dangerous giant emerges

The fusion between Deutsche Börse and NYSE Euronext would result in the largest stock market operator worldwide, putting both staff and customers at a disadvantage, the liberal business paper Handelsblatt comments: "The new stock exchange won't confine itself to its domestic markets but will be active where there are still markets to be acquired: in Asia and South America. This will make stock exchange operators in London and elsewhere look like regional exchanges by comparison. ... So who stands to lose from the merger? Apart from competing exchanges, this will above all be the staff and customers of the new exchange. Employees will only be kept on if the new giant grows faster than it sinks costs. And customers must also beware: giants have a tendency to dictate prices. It would be an irony of this merger - which came about as the result of a price war - if stock trading became more expensive in future."

» full article (external link, German)
More from the press review on the subject » Financial Markets, » Germany, » U.S.