Thursday, May 27, 2010

Europe cannot agree with itself, let alone the US on financial market reform

By Michael Prowse

If Tim Geithner, US Treasury Secretary, did any blunt talking in Europe this week, it was strictly reserved for off-the-record meetings. In public he was as diplomatic as he was optimistic. He failed to chide Germany for not adopting more expansionary macroeconomic policies and claimed that the US and Europe are “in a very good position to reach agreement on a global framework to implement common rules for regulating financial institutions”.

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Don’t write off the EU

By Michael Prowse

From a US perspective Europe may appear to be self-destructing. Speaking on Tuesday Oli Rehn, the EU monetary affairs commissioner, warned of a “lost decade” in the wake of the financial crisis if member states failed to introduce structural economic reforms to boost productivity and innovation. The euro, meanwhile, seems in free fall with talk of parity against the dollar against $1.60 as recently as the summer of 2008.

Introducing New Rules Blogger Michael Prowse

Dear Members of New Rules',

It is my pleasure to introduce Michael Prowse, a volunteer with a background in journalism. Thanks to Michael, New Rules will be setting up a blog—which in turn requires an overhaul of our website. We should be operational in about a week.

Michael’s first posting is copied below. He is a British citizen, so not surprisingly his first posting is on the financial situation in Europe. Please join me in welcoming Michael, and start writing your own submissions, or comment on Michael’s piece.

Jo Marie