Lunch hour in Italy serves up some sour economic lessons

ROME (Reuters) - Of all the statistics available on Italy and its varied economic problems, few are as eye-opening as the fact that at around 1 p.m on any given day, three quarters of the population will normally be sitting down to lunch in their own homes.

Sovereign Debt and Beyond: Toward a New Magna Carta?

Source: The Globalist

Alexander Mirtchev and Norman Bailey

The global debt burden appears to have gathered an unstoppable momentum, prompting divergent reactions. The world economy cannot count on growth to solve the global debt problem — and stimulus measures are not a sustainable solution. In the second installment in the series “The Search for a New Global Equilibrium,” Dr. Alexander Mirtchev and Dr. Norman Bailey explain why the solutions currently being offered are wholly inadequate to the scale of the problem, and argue the time is ripe for a “new Magna Carta” — a redefinition of the social contract among the government, Main Street and Wall Street.

European banks to quit London if UK left EU: Goldman executive

LONDON: European banks would leave London "in very short order" if Britain voted to exit the European Union, a senior Goldman Sachs executive said in a newspaper interview published on Monday.

Will G-20 Counter Power of Uncertainty?

By Alexander Mirtchev 

In 2009, G-20 leaders met in Pittsburgh and emerged with a mandate ‘to be the premier forum for international economic cooperation,' endowing the G-20 with a leading economic role on the global stage. It appeared at the time that the leaders of the G-20 had successfully defeated pessimism. However, the rising tide of global economic turmoil and problems ranging from sovereign indebtedness to consumption and saving imbalances have created a ‘perfect storm' that is far from abating.

Germany's Merkel Taunts Opponents Over Euro Crisis

Chancellor Angela Merkel taunted her election opponent Tuesday over Europe's debt crisis, noting that his party had backed practically all of her rescue policies and arguing that their proposals might make things worse by pooling countries' debt.