Increasing debt imposed on EU citizens and businesses by EU institutions

Title of article in the Journal des Libertés

This is the article that has been published in the Winter 2023/4 edition of the Journal des Libertés and which is based on my address to the IES-IREF Summer University in Aix-en-Provence.

You can download the full article here.

Its major topic is InvestEU, the scheme arranged by the European […]

How can HSBC’s China real estate lending be unsecured?

Daily Express headline for the article on which this blog is based

Published on 6th December 2023

This is the third and final blog in my mini-series about the exposure of Britsh banks to China, and to Chinese real estate lending in particular.

You can acecss the whole Daily Express article of which the snapshot above is the […]

HSBC and Standard Chartered send the same emollient messages about heavy losses on China

Daily Express article headline

Published on 5th December 2023

This is the second of the three blogs on the problems of British banks in China.

You can access the whole article to which the above snapshot is the headline, via the Daily Express website through this link:

https://www.express.co.uk/news/politics/1831225/china-contagion-hsbc-standard-chartered

HSBC released their Q3 2023 results a few days after Standard Chartered […]

Big hit for UK’s Standard Chartered Bank on Chinese business

Original Daily Express article

Published on 4th December 2023

This is the first in a series of three blogs that I will be releasing in quick succession, on China and the problems of British banks there.

You can access the whole article beneath the Daily Express headline via this link:

https://www.express.co.uk/finance/city/1829526/china-economy-standard-chartered-bank-contagion

Standard Chartered took two write-downs in Q3 2023.

Firstly […]

New task bolted on to European Stability Mechanism – with how much extra risk?

How the ESM now backstops the SRF

– First published by IREF Online –

Published on 27th November 2023

Introduction

The European Stability Mechanism (ESM) will now be backstop-of-last-resort to the Eurozone banking system, in addition to backstopping the Eurozone member states and the currency itself. Its resources have not been increased, though, despite its credibility and firepower already […]

Eurozone unemployment – a testimony to the failure to create a genuinely harmonised economic zone

Daily Express headline

Published on 27th November 2023

Eurozone unemployment is an average and disguises wide variations, with youth unemployment being unacceptably high in several Club Med countries.

That is the problem with making important policy decisions at several levels removed from economic units whose characteristics widely diverge.

The fact that this is the situation is a testament to […]

The dire state of creditworthiness in the Eurozone governments and banks

Published on 12th September 2023

I had an interview with John Butler on the state of creditworthiness amongst Eurozone governments and banks – not good!

Eurozone dream in tatters as ‘financial vandalism’ threatens EU stability

Blog published on 11th September 2023

Article as published in the Daily Express on 31 August 2023

With the Eurozone’s money supply shrinking for the first time since 2010, a banking expert has said Europe’s economy has been damaged by what he called “incoherent financial vandalism”.

Bob Lyddon also believes the situation is being exacerbated by members of […]

Cross-examination by contrepoints.org of my presentation in Aix-en-Provence about the European Stability Mechanism

My book, upon which all is based

Published on 7th September 2023

After my presentation at the IES-IREF Summer School in Aix-en-Provence about the European Stability Mechanism and its dependency on France’s retaining its AA-rating, the French business website contrepoints.org asked me a series of follow up questions, and here are the answers in English.

Here is a […]

Euro is like Bitcoin, substantially without backing

Collapsing Euro is riskier than ‘gambling on Bitcoin’

Published on 6th September 2023

The Express reinforced my Comment piece themselves the following day:https://www.express.co.uk/news/politics/1800197/collapsing-euro-bitcoin-gambling-debtA leading economist has warned that the Euro is only being sustained because the credit rating agencies have not downgraded Germany yet.

Writing for Express.co.uk Bob Lyddon, has warned that investing in the currency is now less safe than “gambling on bitcoin” […]