Financial Crisis and Geopolitics

European financial markets were expected to suffer another week of turmoil after the Spanish government was forced over the weekend to rescue a regional mortgage lender and European leaders revealed deep divisions over how to tackle mounting deficits in the eurozone.

Galbraith to senators: "I write to you from a disgraced profession. Economic theory ... failed miserably to understand the forces behind the financial crisis."

The prominent economist explains why the model of the financial supermarket is a disaster, and why it's so dangerous that Wall Street is back to business as usual.

The efforts of Brazil and Turkey to find a negotiated solution to the standoff over Iran's nuclear program, which generated a negotiated agreement with Iran last week, must be seen in the context of a growing challenge to the international political order.

First the financial crisis, then the Greek debt crisis and now speculative attacks on the euro. As European leaders desperately struggle to stabilize their common currency, concerns over inflation are growing.

Hedge fund regulations, a tax on financial markets, a ban on naked short selling. The EU's bid to rein in the speculators has the financial industry up in arms. Lobbyists are already preparing to systematically attack the new proposals.

El balón es el símbolo obligado del encumbramiento de Brasil como superpotencia. Su brillante tradición deportiva obliga a evaluar en términos futbolísticos sus crecientes éxitos económicos y diplomáticos. Así lo ha hecho el ministro de Exteriores, Celso Amorim, a la hora de calificar el acuerdo obtenido por su presidente, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, junto al primer ministro turco, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, y al presidente Mahmud Ahmadinejad, sobre el programa iraní de enriquecimiento de uranio: "Brasil sólo ha colocado la pelota en el área".

Financial markets have become increasingly volatile, largely because of computer trading on a massive scale. A "transaction tax" could slow down the entire operation

Angela Merkel told a meeting of international financial leaders that the G-20 must work together to reform the finance system. Merkel is pushing for tougher market regulations despite resistance from many countries.

Según publicó la prensa paulista, el presidente Obama envió una carta a sus pares de Brasil y Turquía en la que apoyaba un acuerdo similar al alcanzado hace diez días en Teherán. La Casa Blanca insiste con más sanciones.

DOMINIQUE PLIHON, de ATTACT, dice que detrás de la crisis están la dominación de las finanzas y la especulación por encima de los Estados, la pérdida del poder político frente al financiero, la degradación consiguiente de la democracia, los déficit y la pobreza.

Se admitirmos que os efeitos das prováveis sanções serão mínimos, qual o sentido da tentativa do governo Obama sabotar o esforço diplomático do Brasil e da Turquia? Trata-se, ao que tudo indica, de uma resposta às crescentes críticas na sociedade norte-americana - provavelmente devido às eleições no Congresso norte-americano em novembro -, de que os EUA estão aceitando o seu declínio, ao permitir que países emergentes estejam preenchendo o vácuo de poder na política mundial. Talvez o custo dessa irresponsabilidade seja alto demais.

Ratings agency Fitch cut Spain's credit rating due to weak growth prospects, dealing a blow to efforts to rein in spending and ease fears of a Greek-style crisis. US stocks slid and the euro weakened on the news.

La mediación de Lula con Irán enturbia el foro de la Alianza de Civilizaciones.- Moratinos defiende el "tremendo esfuerzo de Brasil y Turquía"

The White House unveiled a new National Security Strategy that will serve to guide America's approach to the world. It signals a sharp break from the previous administration whose unilateral, reckless, and ideologically-driven policies left America isolated, overstretched, and weaker. This strategy outlines a clear vision that reflects the the last decade of progressive thought; it demonstrates a comprehension of the geopolitical landscape and of the challenges confronting the United States and the world.

The conference of the signatories to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty is a diplomatic victory for Egypt and a failure for Israel.

Across Western Europe, the "lifestyle superpower," the assumptions and gains of a lifetime are suddenly in doubt. The deficit crisis that threatens the euro has also undermined the sustainability of the European standard of social welfare, built by left-leaning governments since the end of World War II.

Um dia depois de a secretária de Estado americana, Hillary Clinton, criticar a aproximação do Brasil com o Irã, o presidente Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva voltou nesta sexta-feira a defender o acordo nuclear que mediou ao lado da Turquia.

Economics: I'm going to discuss trillions of dollars in a moment. As an economics teacher, I understand numbers this large are extremely difficult to imagine. If you are among the majority with this difficulty, I recommend that you follow the expert testimony that paints the picture, and know that success in this area of public education transformation that unleashes trillions of our dollars for human creative capacity in unimaginable power is sufficient to end the current economic crisis. This is the longest section of my briefing. If you tire in reading, please consider that at trillions of dollars of annual public benefits, you literally have nothing more valuable to do than understand the following facts and ideas. Harvard's Linda Bilmes co-authored a paper with Nobel Prize winner Joseph Stiglitz estimating the long-term costs of current US wars at now $3 to $5 trillion ($30-$50,000 per US household of $50,000/year income), with total debt increase since 2001 of over $10 trillion. Remember, as demonstrated by the evidence disclosed by our own government, all the reasons Americans were told to go to war were known to be lies as they were told and applicable law proves these wars Orwellian unlawful. Just down the Charles River from Harvard, MIT's Simon Johnson (and former Chief Economist of the International Monetary Fund) describes our economy being lead by gambling oligarchs who have captured government as in banana republics (his words), and might plunge the US into an economy worse than the Great Depression. From his article under the telling title, The Quiet Coup: "Elite business interests-financiers, in the case of the U.S.-played a central role in creating the crisis, making ever-larger gambles, with the implicit backing of the government, until the inevitable collapse. More alarming, they are now using their influence to prevent precisely the sorts of reforms that are needed, and fast, to pull the economy out of its nosedive. The govern

El premio Nobel de Economía Joseph Stiglitz, (Indiana, EEUU, 1943) se dibuja como el último baluarte de la economía progresista. Miembro del Comité Científico de la Fundación Ideas, creada por Jesús Caldera para servir de think tank del PSOE, visitó ayer Madrid para promocionar la adopción de una tasa financiera. Defiende la estrategia económica que ha adoptado Zapatero y lo anima a subir más algunos impuestos.