The Gary Null Blog

Never before has the EU's political elite been so far apart from its citizens, or so fragmented

The Guardian

March 25, 2011

They thought it was all over. It isn't now. Europe's debt crisis remains toxic and unresolved, even as EU leaders meet in Brussels to back action that is supposed to restore the continent to good financial health.

Yesterday Moody's, a credit ratings agency, exercised irresponsible omniscience to downgrade 30 Spanish banks and warn Britain that cuts in George Osborne's budget may not be severe enough to sustain Britain's AAA rating, while Ireland reported that last year its economy had shrunk for a third year in a row. Yields on Irish government 10-year bonds peaked at 10.21% – which is market code for the rising risk of a default. To put this in context, Ireland, an independent nation still with a big economy, is now trusted less by investors than John Lewis, the British retailer, whose bond offer, at a much lower rate, was oversubscribed this month.