Stop coddling Europe’s banks

Thorsten Beck, Harald Uhlig, Wolf Wagner, 17 September 2011While almost everyone is agreed that the Eurozone is in crisis, there is much less agreement about how to stop it. This column argues that policymakers should move beyond the current proposal for Eurobonds – something the authors label as “economically wrong and politically indefensible”.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said banks must be allowed to fail if they run up unsustainable losses because her government can’t afford to rescue them a second time after the 2008 financial crisis.

The soap opera in Greece continues with Germany and France tugging on opposite sides of the rope, and support for Golden Dawn, an alleged neo-Nazi party rising in the wake. French president François Hollande is on the sidelines, not wanting another battle with German chancellor Angela Merkel who has her own set of problems.

By Jeff Miller: EU Commissioner Ollie Rehn started the countdown six days ago with his "ten days to save the euro" statement. Shortly thereafter, Angela Merkel warned that this is a marathon.

The Mark Hurd soap opera is turning into more than just a diverting tale of a chief executive’s foibles and a board’s willingness to countenance a severe dent in the share price to protect its company’s ethical values