Germany wants deputy finance minister to join ECB (AP)

[AP] - Germany's finance minister said Saturday he wants his deputy to take on a key position at the European Central Bank and will make proposals for the governance of the eurozone next week.

By Peter Boone and Simon Johnson

France has encouraged Spain to apply for aid as soon as possible. In Germany, Wolfgang Schäuble wants anything but a timely application. Note that unless a country requests a bailout, and agrees to terms set by the IMF (something Spain does not want to do), the entire OMT plan of Draghi is useless. Finally, at the latest EU finance meeting on Saturday, battles between eurozone and non-eurozone countries erupted over the banking union.

MARSEILLE, France (AP) -- Germany's finance minister said Saturday he wants his long-serving deputy to succeed Juergen Stark on the executive board of the European Central Bank....

George Orlwell coined the term doublethink in his classic book 1984. Doublethink is the power of holding two contradictory beliefs in one's mind simultaneously, and accepting both of them. Have you listened to the conflicted beliefs coming from Spain lately? Conflicted Beliefs

Japan's Nikkei has been on a surge in recent months, and there are even signs now that consumer confidence is starting to spike. This is all because the new administration has promised to get the Bank of Japan using aggressive monetary policy to stimulate the economy. So the crucial decision that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe must take is: Choosing the next leader of the Bank of Japan.