Reports

At the pandemic’s onset, few paid any attention to exchange rates. The U.S. dollar has weakened significantly since March 2020, surprising many observers. Some of the drop can be ascribed to the diminished international trade flows, which cut the demand for the globe’s leading exchange currency. There may also be, ...

Many have hailed the EU’s July decision to partially mutualize its newly issued debt as a “historic step.” Massive as it is, the stimulus package is unlikely to fix Europe’s fragile and crisis-stricken economies, even if the Union’s show of unity has already firmed it politically. However, the change in ...

Once a staunch defender of financial responsibility in the eurozone, Germany has thrown its support behind the European Commission’s ill-conceived, unwarranted and politicized spending scheme to aid the eurozone’s economy.

Six months into 2020, the effects of the Covid-19 crisis on the global economy are becoming clear. Not only has it disrupted supply chains and upended long-standing industry alliances, it has reinforced governments’ spendthrift habits and central banks’ tendency to print money. GIS experts have offered their analysis and predictions ...

In late March, Mario Draghi broke his post-ECB silence with an article in the Financial Times that set out several recipes for how to address the economic difficulties brought on by measures to contain the COVID-19 pandemic. Essentially calling for a “whatever it takes” part two, he urged central banks ...

Germany’s Federal Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe made history on May 5, 2020. The justices found that the European Central Bank could have acted outside its remit by purchasing government debt. Accordingly, the court suspended the Bundesbank’s participation in the ECB’s program.

When governments and critical financial institutions rig the system to facilitate irresponsible public spending, trouble is inevitable. Today’s crony socialism, masquerading as capitalism, is at the root of the crisis unleashed by the anti-coronavirus measures. Unfortunately, panicked citizens perceive the government as a part of the solution, not the problem.

Pumping still more liquidity into Europe’s pandemic-frozen economy hardly addresses underlying problems, but this happens to be the most politically palatable strategy that Brussels could pursue. How EU leaders go about financing the massive new outlays, however, is a tricky question. The most likely borrowing scheme will have long-term consequences ...

As the coronavirus pandemic freezes large swaths of the economy, the world’s three most important central banks find themselves under tremendous political pressure to flood the markets with easy money again. Their approaches may prove significantly different. 

The COVID-19 pandemic is dealing body blows to the world economy, but it is not the root cause of concerns about Europe’s future. Brussels’ and Frankfurt’s stock responses to the impending crisis – money printing, easy credit and massive public expenditure – only bring Europe closer to socialist-style centralization.

Public debt levels are at an all-time high – in Europe the problem is particularly acute. The lessons from the Greek debt crisis seem not to have been learned, as Italy alone carries debt that is three times larger than the European Union’s emergency fund. Some economists now argue such ...

When Sabine Lautenschlaeger became the fourth representative of Germany on the ECB governing bodies to resign on former President Mario Draghi’s watch, the issues of his legacy and the collegiality in the EU’s central bank have come to the fore. Growing doubts over the bank’s stimulus policies combined with ignoring ...

The launch of a Sovereign Bond-Backed Security (SBBS) is advocated by EU leaders as the best way to overcome the flaws inherent in the monetary union, which became notably obvious after the euro debt crisis of 2009. The SBBS is supposed to offer European investors new reliable stores of value, ...

Unconventional monetary policies saved many financial institutions in the U.S. and Europe after the financial crisis. However, near-zero to negative interest rates and central banks’ massive debt-purchasing programs, which pumped trillions of dollars and euros into economies, failed to restore growth and have had potent, negative and lasting side-effects. Relaxing ...

Two legal challenges to the EU central bank’s most controversial policies have been working their way through Germany’s Federal Court of Justice, the country’s supreme court equivalent. In one of the cases, the justices in Karlsruhe already ruled that the authority of the EU Banking Union ought to be limited. ...

Like medieval alchemy that failed to turn lead into gold, today’s easy-money folly of central banks and governments will lead to crisis, not economic growth and prosperity. After years of addiction to overspending, neither politicians nor central bankers seem capable of returning to responsible policies. New technologies such as cryptocurrencies, ...

France used to be one of the European Union’s “twin engines” along with Germany. These days, this once-proud civilization is considered more of a problem than a solution for the European project. Its economy is ailing under excessive government spending and overregulation, its enterprises are stifled by a rigid system ...

The world has grown addicted to ceaseless injections of new money, which can only be generated by incurring debt. As relentless fiscal expansion continues on both sides of the Atlantic, politicians have no long-term plan for dealing with the crushing liabilities it generates. A financial meltdown can be delayed for ...

Politically and financially, Italy has come to be regarded as a weak link in the European Union. Its shaky banks and enormous public debt almost blew apart the euro area during the debt crisis of 2010-2012, and could still do so. Its government, a marriage of populists on the left ...

It has been a decade since global interest rates reached the zero lower bound, where monetary policymakers lose their ability to stimulate the economy using conventional policy tools. Among the largest global central banks, only the United States Federal Reserve has set its benchmark above 2 percent. Will this anomaly ...

U.S. President Donald Trump worries that the Federal Reserve is raising interest rates too quickly. In fact, the Fed has engaged in only moderate tightening so far. By mid-2019, it is likely to end the cycle and hold rates steady, since the U.S. central bank is probably focusing on restricting ...

When Angela Merkel finishes her term as German chancellor in 2021, it will mark the end of an era. Love her or hate her, this shrewd political operator has had a huge impact on Germany, Europe and the wider geopolitical scene. This GIS Dossier compiles our experts’ analysis of her ...

Italy’s public finance troubles are making waves again, but the new government’s budget proposal does not spell disaster, nor should debt servicing create a big problem, considering today’s low interest rates. But Italy’s leaders have decided to transform their conflict with the European Union into a casus belli. Will the ...

As the European Central Bank winds down its quantitative easing program, none of its future policy options look especially promising for the euro. While investors would welcome a more neutral monetary stance, that could spur political tensions in the euro area that could roil financial markets. Meanwhile, regulation is on ...