The Euro Crisis in Economist Covers

I haven’t done one of these animated .gifs in quite a while, but it seemed worth the effort to put together these Economist covers on the euro crisis, particularly when considering the treatment they provide for Germany’s Ms. Merkel, highlighted by that very first one.

Note that you’ll have to read fast because you can’t slow this down, despite the appearance of those little buttons in the lower right. If you’d like to view these at your own pace, just scroll to the bottom of this Economist story about Greece and the euro.

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Debt ‘Round the World

Today’s Daily Chart from the The Economist is chock-full of fun and interesting data on public and private sector debt around the world and, based on the graphic below, us Anglo-Saxons are clearly outpacing the rest of the world when it comes to household debt.

Of course, Japan is the unquestioned leader in government debt – about double that of second place Italy – but, flipping through the tabs of this interactive graphic reveals that, overall, the U.K. is the worst of the lot … it’s a good thing they can print their own money.

The Uneasy Calm in European Bond Markets

Here’s another one of those neat graphics from Spiegel Online, this one related to a story yesterday about what they consider to be only a “temporary respite” from the credit market troubles that have accelerated in recent weeks and months.

If not for the swath of S&P credit downgrades in recent days, there would probably be even more sore arms in Europe from everyone patting each other on the back, that is, after a $500+ billion program of back-door money printing seems to have produced the desired effects on the red and yellow lines above.

Ron Paul Continues to Confound

Not having watched much of the back-to-back debates for the GOP presidential nomination over the weekend, it’s just a guess (but a pretty safe one) that Rep Ron Paul (R-TX) continued to be a great source of cognitive dissonance for anyone watching. For those finding a way to avoid completely dismissing his views out of hand, this story at Mother Jones provides a handy  Venn Diagram that can be used to sort things out.

This related item at lewrockwell.com indicates some of the nation’s brightest business minds aren’t that confused about Paul, CNN’s Erin Burnett recently noting an “astounding number of top business leaders were OK with the idea of a Ron Paul presidency”. Pimco’s Bill Gross was the only name mentioned, though, I’d love to hear who the others are.

Rising Debt and the Rising Gold Price

Now, here are few data series that I’ve never seen on the same chart before – U.S. debt, the debt ceiling (just for fun, apparently), and the price of gold. This is from a presentation yesterday by Nick Barisheff, President & CEO of Bullion Management Group, at the 2012 Empire Club of Canada Investment Outlook Luncheon.

Perhaps today, gold is acting more like a hedge against debt than inflation…

Nick’s presentation “Why Rising Debt Will Lead to $10,000 Gold” can be viewed at YouTube here and is available for download here.

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Merkozy “Dinner for One”

I don’t know about you, but when I watch this video with the heads of French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel superimposed on characters from a 1963 sketch that, for some reason, is wildly popular when broadcast on German TV on New Years Eve, I can’t help but think of those Saturday Night Live caricatures of German TV personalities somehow working behind the scenes.

This story at Spiegel Online has all the particulars about the video that has gone a bit viral, also known as “The 90th Rescue Summit” or “Euros for No One”.

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