The risk of contagion is a real one, said
Scott Thiel, the head of European fixed income
at the asset management firm BlackRock in
London. Investor sentiment is now focused on
countries like Spain and Portugal, where
fundamentals are weakest. He said that for
now, he saw little risk for Italy, given the
relative stability of its economy.
We have a centralized monetary policy, but we
allow budgets and wages to move in different
directions, said Paul De Grauwe, an economist
in Brussels who advises the president of the
European Commission, José Manuel Barroso.
Without a political union, in the long run
the euro zone cannot last.
…
Striking is a bit of a national sport in
Greece. Last month, the countrys unionized
prostitutes took to the streets, protesting
unlicensed competition from Russian and
Eastern European immigrants.
Leave a Reply