Investing in Europe

The crisis in Greece will continue regardless of the outcome of the present negotiations between the government and the troika of creditors. Investors will find that Greece will be mired in debt for years to come, because the economy will be unable to grow sufficiently to meet present expenses and liabilities. The idea that enough income will be generated to repay the massive debt owed to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the European Central Bank (ECB) and the German government through the […]

The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership is a proposed free trade agreement that is being negotiated between the European Union and the United States. This commercial pact has become quite controversial between those groups who fear the loss of more national sovereignty and other elements of society, who favor widening opportunities for trade and investment on both sides of the Atlantic. As the individual economies of Europe and the United States continue to struggle to return to more normal growth, the public […]

At the beginning of the 21st century, France was still considered a leader in the world of business. As the 2nd largest economy in Europe, the country was able to greatly influence the biggest trade bloc in the world. Investing in France for the long term, seemed to make sense as it was recognized that there were a number of French companies considered world class. The country’s stock market at that time, (CAC-40) contained 5% of the global total of shares traded. […]

The European economy was stagnating in 2014. A number of the major economies in the region were on the verge of recession and deflation was haunting the continent. Austerity was being pursued with a vengeance in a number of countries, in an attempt to pay down debt and bring national budgets back into balance. Unemployment stubbornly refused to move down with joblessness among European youth approaching 50%. Economic growth meager at best, was limited to just a number of countries that had […]

Sweden has entered the spreading currency war by cutting interest rates from 0% to -0.1% and launching its own version of quantitative easing (QE). As the central bank of the country the Riksbank was announcing the new monetary initiative, politicians inside the country cheered on the effort to stimulate new growth and investment in Sweden. It seems that every country around the world is joining the effort of devaluation in a race to the bottom. At this point, one might begin to […]

Many international investors continue to ask the question whether Greece will actually leave the Euro? A newly installed leftist government in Greece, does not change the dire fiscal circumstances that the country finds itself in. At the end of the month the current financial aid package ends and Greece will need to renegotiate the crushing debt, that the country has accumulated over decades of profligacy. The open secret that no one wants to acknowledge, is that Greece is essentially bankrupt. The country […]

Europe will begin a full fledged version of quantitative easing beginning in March of this year. To many in the markets it comes as a relief. They have allowed themselves to believe that expanding the money supply through the purchasing of government debt, will bring back growth to the staggering continent. The hope is that this infusion of new money will stimulate the economy enough, to allow a return of the lost prosperity of a bygone era. The policy makers of Europe […]

European investors are facing a year of economic diminution and uncertainty. A number of underlining forces are working in tandem to bring about a declining consumer price index and a depreciating currency. The monetary leaders of Europe are now faced with the prospect of real deflation gripping the continent, for the first time in five years. This arrives as the Euro has already lost 14% in value against the American dollar during the last year. Consumer prices have dropped 0.2% on an annual […]

The investors and economies of the European Union are in the doldrums. Of the major economic powers, France teeters on the brink of recession and Italy already has entered one. Germany’s economy, the normal engine for growth in Europe has now stalled. Spain is sputtering and the United Kingdom although growing, is heading into headwinds that will make growth difficult in 2015. The ECB (European Central Bank) has taken interest rates to as low as they can go. At 0.05%, there is […]