2 May 2012

Europe on the Fringe - Politics in the Age of a New Depression


Nicolas Sarkozy and challenger Francois Hollande face off today in a live French election TV debate. This is reportedly being seen as the climax of the campaign. With elections in France and Greece this weekend, the results have the potential to send shockwaves across theEuropean debt-landscape. We speak with former diplomat and investment banker, and founder of creditwritedowns.com, Edward Harrison about how politics in single countries could impact the global economy. This includes a conversation on the latest PMI numbers that show growth could be slowing across the globe, including in China.


Meanwhile, what did outspoken and famed fund manager Hugh Hendry tell a panel about Europe at the Milken Institute Global Conference yesterday that has people talking? Could asset confiscation be top on the list of concerns for investors and businessmen in Europe? He seems to think so, saying that he believes we are a year away from the french nationalizing their banking system.

And speaking of asset confiscation, foreign financial institutions are reportedly frantically preparing and shelling out serious money in order to comply with US tax regulations. It's the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), and as US citizens are shunned by Swiss and German banks facing these rules, more evidence reveals American expats are lining up to give up their passports. We'll talk about what this means, and why we continue to see this trend of Americans preparing to flee the country.


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