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Troubled EU economies look worse off now than in decades. Money power in private hands bears full responsibility. They're heading societies off a cliff. Proposed fixes work short-term. Greater problems result.
Unvarnished reality looks dire. Economic numbers heading south show it. Markit Economics provides independent data. Its composite economic index showed contracting activity for six consecutive months. In July, its manufacturing component hit a three-year low.
Markets rise on hopes and prayers. Central bank rhetoric and bravado substitute for sound policies. Economic reality looks bleak.
Powerhouse Germany got a credit warning. Europe's Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) looks increasingly like a failed experiment.
From inception, the euro was a disaster waiting to happen. Dissolution appears just a matter of time. Existential reality shows breakup draws closer.
Trouble also looms in America. One analyst said it wins first prize in the ugly contest. Europe ranks last. Nomura's chief European economist Jacques Cailloux asked:
"What can they do and what would bring about a sustained turnaround in market confidence? There I struggle to find something that would really be convincing."
Regardless of up and down market swings, a secular bear market in equities persists. Two ECB LTROs (Long-Term Recovery Organization) bought little time and nothing else.
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