European Economy
New report documents extreme poverty in Poland
By Clara Weiss, 11 January 2017
The report reveals the miserable living conditions facing broad sections of the working class and the peasant population who lack access to basic elements of civilization.
Brexit seized on by Scottish government to mount new power grab
By Steve James, 28 December 2016
The Scottish National Party government are hoping to directly benefit from the Brexit debacle by laying claim to additional powers for the Scottish parliament.
Monte Paschi bank will seek Italian state bailout
By Alex Lantier and Marianne Arens, 23 December 2016
As Europe slides ever deeper into slump, tens of billions of euros are to be handed to the financial aristocracy in a bailout that only sets the stage for more social attacks.
Irish government defends tax dodging by Apple
By Chris Marsden, 21 December 2016
The Fine Gael government opposes demands by the European Union that the American technology giant pay $13 billion in back taxes.
Germany’s low-wage sector is expanding
By Elisabeth Zimmermann, 20 December 2016
More than one in five Germans work for a wage of less than €10 per hour.
Finnish government prepares new attacks on working class
By Ennis Wynne, 20 December 2016
The attack on the living standards of the working class is set to intensify due to Finland’s escalating economic crisis.
Berlin’s Humboldt University plans massive job cuts
By Katerina Selin, 19 December 2016
The latest developments at Humboldt University are linked to the drastic austerity policy of the Berlin Senate regarding higher education.
Bank of England governor warns of the “spectre of communism”
By Richard Tyler, 12 December 2016
Mark Carney compared the crisis today with the period of revolutionary upheavals that swept across Europe in 1848.
European Central Bank rejects request by Italy for more time to rescue ailing lender
By Nick Beams, 10 December 2016
The move increases the odds of a government bailout that would impose major losses on small investors and bondholders.
European Central Bank cuts asset purchases but insists “quantitative easing” continues
By Nick Beams, 9 December 2016
President Mario Draghi emphasised that “uncertainty prevails everywhere” and it was very difficult to assess the long-term impact of the “radically new administration” in the US.
Italian Prime Minister Renzi officially resigns
By Marianne Arens, 8 December 2016
Italy’s Senate voted in favour of the budget and thus cleared the way for Renzi’s resignation.
European Union finance ministers insist on more austerity
By Julie Hyland, 7 December 2016
Following seven years of austerity, the EU insists that Athens impose an extra €4.2 billion in austerity savings and further labour reforms, including abolishing collective bargaining.
"No" vote in Italian referendum could spark banking crisis
By Nick Beams, 29 November 2016
Finance capital sees the referendum as a test of whether Prime Minister Renzi can push though “market restructuring” of the banking system and deepen attacks on the working class.
Poverty on the rise in Europe
By Elisabeth Zimmermann, 29 November 2016
According to the latest study by the Bertelsmann Foundation, 118 million people live in poverty in the EU. This equates to one in four EU citizens.
Growing concerns in Europe over Trump agenda
By Nick Beams, 26 November 2016
The European Central Bank has warned of increased financial turbulence as a result of the rise in interest rates and the trade policies of a Trump administration.
UK government Autumn Statement: Economic crisis accelerates after Brexit vote
By Robert Stevens, 24 November 2016
Workers whose living standards have already been devastated face more years of brutal austerity.
European Central Bank “obfuscation” likely to fuel market volatility
By Nick Beams, 21 October 2016
The decision by the ECB not to indicate the future of its bond-buying program reflects deep divisions inside the central bank with growing opposition from Germany.
British pound plummets over “hard Brexit” fears
By Nick Beams, 8 October 2016
The currency’s sudden fall on Friday was a warning that capital inflows needed to finance the British current account deficit could dry up.
Deutsche Bank and the global financial crisis
By Nick Beams, 1 October 2016
The contradiction between booming financial markets and intractable slump in the underlying economy is assuming an ever more explosive form.
Crisis at Germany’s Deutsche Bank intensifies
By Ulrich Rippert, 30 September 2016
Following the plunge in Deutsche Bank’s share price to its lowest level since 1983, Germany’s second largest bank, Commerzbank, has announced a major restructuring.
Slowdown in growth of trade highlights global economic stagnation
By Nick Beams, 29 September 2016
Both the World Trade Organisation and the International Monetary Fund warned of an increase in protectionist measures alongside a fall in the rate of world trade growth.
Deutsche Bank plunge sparks talk of “Lehman moment”
By Nick Beams, 27 September 2016
The turmoil surrounding Deutsche Bank is only the sharpest expression of a crisis gripping the whole of the European banking system.
ECB signals more austerity amid mounting economic divisions in Europe
By Alex Lantier, 23 September 2016
Despite a deepening economic slump, European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi signaled continued austerity against workers and handouts to the banks.
The 2008 crisis and the lessons of history
By Nick Beams, 15 September 2016
The ensuing eight years have shown that the financial crisis of 2008 was not a conjunctural downturn but a breakdown in the very foundations of the global capitalist economy.
ECB keeps monetary policy on hold as tensions grow
By Nick Beams, 9 September 2016
The European Central Bank has kept its monetary policy on hold but there are growing concerns about what it can do as deflationary pressures continue.
Spanish economic recovery through savaging workers’ living standards
By James Lerner, 9 September 2016
Millions have been plunged into poverty as the wealth of the elite has soared.
Fears of rising social opposition hung over G20 summit
By Nick Beams, 6 September 2016
At the conclusion of the summit, IMF managing director Christine Lagarde also addressed these issues warning that economic growth had been “too low for too long for too few.”
IMF issues warning on global growth to G20 summit
By Nick Beams, 2 September 2016
International Monetary Fund managing director Christine Lagarde has said the world economy could suffer from “disappointing growth for a long time to come.”
Growing perplexity as central bankers confront permanent stagnation
By Nick Beams, 30 August 2016
With the business cycle set to enter a “dangerous” phase, central bankers are concerned that interest rates are already so low they will not be able to counter any economic downturn.
Bank of England announces record rate cut in windfall for financial markets
By Barry Grey, 5 August 2016
The rate cut, together with other measures announced by the bank, will pump 170 billion pounds ($223 billion) into the UK’s financial markets.
Manufacturing slows in Europe and Japan
By our reporter, 2 August 2016
The continued slump in the real economy is in marked contrast to the ongoing and ultimately unsustainable speculative frenzy on international share markets.
Slowdown in US, global economy
By Tom Eley, 1 August 2016
Second-quarter gross domestic product figures for the US and Europe show a further slowing in economic growth and business investment.
Growing opposition in Berlin to exorbitant rents and evictions
By Verena Nees, 1 August 2016
The city is increasingly divided: discernible poverty and a growing housing crisis for many families—wealth and success for a super-rich glitterati.
IMF chief points to war danger
By Nick Beams, 8 July 2016
International Monetary Fund head Christine Lagarde warned against the dangers posed by the prospect of a “wave of protectionism.”
Signs of post-Brexit financial crisis mount
By Nick Beams, 7 July 2016
The suspension of cash redemptions by six property investment firms in Britain could set off a crisis extending to the banking system.
Syriza government cuts pensions and privatises state property in Greece
By Katerina Selin, 6 July 2016
While the Syriza government is throwing pensioners into even more dire poverty, they are also selling off state property to foreign investors.
Brexit financial fallout widens
By Nick Beams, 4 July 2016
Bank of England Governor Mark Carney has warned of “economic post-traumatic stress” hitting financial markets, businesses and households.
Brexit vote highlights deepening crisis in global economy
By Nick Beams, 30 June 2016
The Brexit outcome has revealed acute problems in the “quantitative easing” program that the world’s major central banks have used to sustain the global financial system over the past eight years.
Financial market turmoil continues in wake of Brexit vote
By Nick Beams, 28 June 2016
British government leaders have issued statements claiming they have the situation under control, but to no avail as financial markets continue to plummet.
On eve of Brexit referendum, mounting warnings of global trade war
By Andre Damon, 22 June 2016
The World Trade Organization warned that protectionist measures by leading economies has hit the highest level on records dating back to 2009.
Greece’s Syriza government presses ahead with privatisations
By Katerina Selin, 17 June 2016
The Syriza-led government, elected on a wave of opposition to austerity, is presiding over a sweeping sell-off of state assets for the benefit of the Greek and European financial elites.
The financial skulduggery behind the collapse of UK retailer BHS
By Jean Shaoul, 14 June 2016
While the press have called the revelations “extraordinary” and “shocking,” implying that the events behind the collapse of BHS are a “one-off,” these corporate practices are the norm.
Bond yields fall as fears rise over global economic growth
By Nick Beams, 11 June 2016
As the pile of negative yielding government debt passes the $10 trillion mark, it has been described as a “supernova that will explode one day.”
Economic conflicts threaten global trade war
By Nick Beams, 3 June 2016
The decision by the US International Trade Commission to launch an investigation into 40 Chinese steel producers has far-reaching implications.
International finance capital and the strikes in France
By Nick Beams, 25 May 2016
The aim of the “structural reforms” demanded by the IMF and the financial elites is the destruction of all the social gains of the European working class won in the past seven decades.
Currency conflicts surface at G-7 meeting
By Nick Beams, 23 May 2016
As with other major economic summits in the recent period, the weekend meeting of the G-7 could reach no agreement on co-ordinated measures to halt the stagnation of the global economy.
IMF warns against British exit from EU
By Julie Hyland, 14 May 2016
IMF head Christine Lagarde warned that in the event of a vote to leave the European Union, the UK could enter into recession.
Forty million Russians in debt
By Clara Weiss, 7 May 2016
Household debt has more than doubled in Russia since 2008, with the total currently $159 billion.
Deepening contradictions within the global economy
By Nick Beams, 5 May 2016
Just as the economics of the present period are increasingly resembling the 1930s, so are the politics.
Eleven thousand jobs threatened at British Home Stores
By Jean Shaoul, 26 April 2016
Pension obligations will be transferred to the taxpayer, while the corporate heads’ own tax obligations are wiped out, courtesy of debt-financed transactions and off-shore tax havens.
Divisions grow over European Central Bank policy
By Nick Beams, 22 April 2016
German criticism of the ECB’s negative interest rate regime is not the result of differences over monetary policy philosophy but is rooted in the political economy of German capitalism.
Steel producers summit threatens stepped-up trade war against China
By Robert Stevens, 20 April 2016
The focus of the Brussels summit on the global steel crisis was “promoting structural adjustment” through job losses, deregulation and trade war measures against China.
VW hands out massive bonuses to company executives
By Dietmar Henning, 18 April 2016
The granting of bonuses to executives at VW illustrates how management is reacting to the exhaust emissions scandal, which has resulted in losses and potential fines.
UK Brexit referendum campaigns officially begin
By Jordan Shilton, 16 April 2016
The referendum on the UK’s membership in the European Union is taking place under conditions of a deepening crisis for the Conservative government of David Cameron.
Conflicts over European financial policy point to coming attacks on workers
By Alex Lantier, 16 April 2016
Criticisms by German officials of easy-money policies at the European Central Bank were bitterly denounced by British, French, and US media and politicians.
IMF to meet amid worsening stagnation and rising geo-economic tensions
By Nick Beams, 12 April 2016
As global growth continues to slow, there are rising concerns that the negative interest rate policies of major central banks are worsening the situation.
Defend jobs in the steel industry!
For international workers’ unity, not national unity with the corporations!
By the Socialist Equality Party (Britain) and Partei für Soziale Gleichheit (Germany), 9 April 2016
The only way to fight the destruction of tens of thousands of steel jobs in the UK and Germany is a struggle for the international unity of the working class.
European steel workers face massive attacks on jobs and pensions
By Dietmar Henning, 8 April 2016
The proposed merger of Tata Steel and the steel division of Thyssen Krupp would be accompanied by an assault on jobs and pensions in the European steel industry.
German report confirms poor die younger
By Dietmar Henning, 4 April 2016
The link between income and “years lived in good health” is even clearer than the link between income and life expectancy.
Forty thousand jobs threatened as Tata Steel announces end of UK operations
By Robert Stevens, 31 March 2016
Neither Labour leader Corbyn nor the trade union bureaucracy proposes any struggle by steel workers in defence of their jobs.
Germany’s Deutsche Bahn to slash 2,100 rail freight transport jobs
By Dietmar Henning, 29 March 2016
Works councillors and union functionaries have already indicated they are prepared to cooperate in implementing the cuts, the first step to a further wave of consolidations.
Living standards fall and discontent rises in Russia
By Vladimir Volkov, 18 March 2016
In a sign of the population’s intense economic distress, retail trade levels in Russia have fallen to their lowest level in 40 years.
Central banks confront unintended consequences
By Nick Beams, 15 March 2016
Markets are awaiting decisions by the Bank of Japan and the US Fed on monetary policies as concerns grow over negative interest rates.
European Central Bank cuts rates and pours more money into financial markets
By Nick Beams, 11 March 2016
The ECB’s latest measures will do nothing to boost the real economy, but only lead to further financial speculation and increase the danger of a currency war.
Report on German poverty refutes propaganda of social recovery
By Stefan Steele, 5 March 2016
Almost one in six in Germany were registered as poor in 2014.
Bombardier adds to Northern Ireland manufacturing jobs massacre
By Harvey Thompson, 1 March 2016
The corporation announced that 1,080 jobs would go at its plant in Belfast, Ireland, which makes the wings for its new C-Series plane.
G-20 summit rules out coordinated stimulus
By Nick Beams, 29 February 2016
Despite calls for fiscal stimulus by the International Monetary Fund, the only area in which the major economic powers are increasing their spending is on the military.
Perplexity and divisions mark G-20 meeting
By Nick Beams, 26 February 2016
The G-20 meeting in Shanghai is riven by the widening divisions between the major capitalist powers as the crisis of the global economy intensifies.
Germany’s Deutsche Bank in crisis
By Gustav Kemper, 23 February 2016
Fears of collapse and panic sell-offs on the stock market have halved Deutsche Bank’s value over the course of a year to €20 billion.
European Steel unions demand trade war in Brussels
By Dietmar Henning, 20 February 2016
The European trade unions, led by Germany’s IG Metall, demonstrated last Monday in Brussels for trade war measures against Russia and China.
OECD downgrades global growth forecast
By Nick Beams, 19 February 2016
The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development said global growth has “practically flat-lined” and financial instability risks are on the rise.
Stock market panic risks new financial crisis
By Andre Damon, 12 February 2016
The global sell-off expresses growing fears that the trillions pumped into the financial system since 2008 have done nothing to improve its underlying health, and may have sown the seeds for a crash on an even greater scale.
A new stage in the global economic breakdown
By Nick Beams, 9 February 2016
The growing financial crisis in China, marked by capital flight and mounting concerns over debt levels, is accompanied by increasing doubts about the stability of the entire global banking system.
Global manufacturing continues to fall
By Nick Beams, 2 February 2016
The Chinese steel industry recorded a loss of more than $9 billion for 2015, in the clearest expression of China’s economic slowdown.
Global slowdown to deepen attacks on jobs
By Nick Beams, 25 January 2016
Stock markets recovered some of their losses at the end of the last week, but the underlying trend in the world economy is slower growth and outright recession.
The political significance of the global economic turmoil
By Nick Beams, 21 January 2016
The turmoil on global markets is an expression of the breakdown of the mechanisms and structures that have sustained world capitalism over the past quarter-century.
Major companies announce job cuts across Europe
By Kumaran Ira, 19 January 2016
The assault on the European working class comes amid mounting signs that the world economy is nearing another major crisis.
Wave of selling hits US markets
By Nick Beams, 14 January 2016
The sharp downturn in US markets has come amid a series of statements by banking officials that the conditions for a new financial crisis are rapidly developing.
Global markets continue to fall
By Nick Beams, 9 January 2016
The impact of events in China points to the worsening situation facing major Western corporations.
Stock markets continue to plunge amidst growing signs of economic crisis
By Andre Damon, 8 January 2016
The continued sell-off points to growing fears of a divergence between stock market values, which have been rising for nearly six years, and the slowdown of the world economy.
Global financial turmoil continues on fears of slower growth
By Nick Beams, 7 January 2016
The fall in oil prices to their lowest level in 11 years points to deepening recessionary trends that increase the risk of defaults in high-risk, high-yield bonds.
Syriza presents plan for drastic pension cuts
By Kumaran Ira, 7 January 2016
Based on Syriza’s record in government, workers must assume that its assurances that it is seeking to protect pensions as much as possible are outright lies.
IMF head warns of slow growth and economic “shocks” in 2016
By Barry Grey, 31 December 2015
IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde wrote that global economic growth next year would be “disappointing” and the outlook for the medium term had also deteriorated.
A New Year’s sense of foreboding over the global economy
By Nick Beams, 30 December 2015
Economic developments in 2015 were dominated by intensifying recessionary trends throughout the world economy.
WTO buries Doha Round: Another rupture in the post-war order
By Nick Beams, 22 December 2015
The decision to end the Doha Round signifies the end of the multilateralism that formed a crucial foundation of post-World War II economic expansion.
A new tipping point in the global economic crisis
By Nick Beams, 10 December 2015
Corporate defaults are on the rise, not only in the energy sector hit by falling prices, but across the board.
Expansion of Russian-German Nord Stream pipeline exacerbates tensions within the European Union
By Clara Weiss, 9 December 2015
At the end of November, several Eastern European members of the EU urged the European Commission to stop the Nord Stream 2 pipeline project.
BIS warns of sudden end to “uneasy” financial calm
By Nick Beams, 8 December 2015
Junk bonds are heading for their first losses since the global financial crisis, indicating the present stock market boom may be living on borrowed time.
UK government outlines unprecedented public spending cuts
By Julie Hyland, 26 November 2015
In just 10 years, from 2010 through 2020, government spending as a percentage of GDP is projected to fall by 10 percent, with disastrous consequences for millions of people.
Global markets cheer dismal economic figures
By Andre Damon, 3 November 2015
Global stock markets are surging as negative economic news makes interest rate cuts by central banks more likely.
Deutsche Bank to cut up to 35,000 jobs
By Marianne Arens, 2 November 2015
The Ver.di trade union is cooperating with the Deutsche Bank management to lay off tens of thousands of workers.
Social crisis dominates municipal elections in Ukraine
By Markus Salzmann, 2 November 2015
Nearly 21 months after the coup that overthrew President Viktor Yanukovych the country is in social and economic free-fall.
Perplexity and gloom dominate IMF-World Bank meeting
By Nick Beams, 12 October 2015
A report issued on the eve of the IMF-World Bank meeting said that emerging market economies had over-borrowed by $3 trillion over the past decade.
Organizers promote economic nationalism at Berlin demonstration against transatlantic trade agreement
By our reporters, 12 October 2015
While many demonstrators sought to express opposition to inequality and war, the demonstration's organizers advanced a right-wing agenda of economic nationalism.
Syriza budget implements dictates of European banks
By Christoph Dreier, 6 October 2015
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said that austerity was the “only way” out of the country’s crisis, declaring, “we have to tighten our belts.”
Global recessionary trends intensify
By Nick Beams, 1 October 2015
The crisis of mining giant Glencore, whose shares plunged by 30 percent this week, is only one expression of the slump gripping the global economy.
Thousands more jobs to go across all sectors in UK
By Margot Miller, 19 September 2015
Local authorities in the UK face more devastating cuts, after already having their budgets slashed to pay for the bailout of the super-rich following the 2008 economic crisis.
Seven years since the Wall Street crash
By Nick Beams, 15 September 2015
Seven years after the eruption of the crisis, financial parasitism has reached unprecedented heights while the global economy stagnates.
Global Ponzi scheme threatens to implode
By Andre Damon, 24 August 2015
The global stock market selloff reflects the inability of governments and central banks to address the fundamental contradictions of the capitalist system that led to the Wall Street crash of 2008–2009.
Global markets plunge amid signs of deepening slump
By Andre Damon, 21 August 2015
US stocks fell by the largest amount since February 2014, as fears of a world economic slowdown mixed with concerns over global exchange rate instability and geopolitical conflict.
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