While the mainstream media desires to fill time it seems that Iowa has become less important this year as a barometer of the national mood. The agrarian sector of the economy is very healthy and with their stomachs full, the people of Iowa can ponder and think and be much more philosophical in terms of candidate selection. Rick Santorum can play to the high-mindedness of the social conservative agenda because in Iowa those voters have two loaves of bread under each arm. It is much tougher to be concerned about the ideological nature of life when you are fighting in a line to pick up an unemployment check or applying for a job.
Posts Tagged ‘EUR/GBP’
Notes From Underground: ECB DAY IS HERE-A GUIDE FOR THE PERPLEXED
December 7, 2011Thursday, DECEMBER 8 will it be a day that lives in INFAMY. The Bank of England will be the first mover tomorrow morning as the BOE announces its interest rate policy at 6:00 CST. It is expected that Mervyn King will direct the MPC board to keep rates steady and to keep the QE program at its present 275 BILLION POUNDS. At 6:45 CST the ECB will announce what it plans to do amidst the turmoil. Most analysts expect a 25 basis cut as Mario Draghi undoes the second inane rate increase promoted by Trichet. The more important factor will be if the ECB announces some type of ECB large-scale asset program in an effort to mirror the FED and BOE.
Notes From Underground: Franco/German spat ahead of this week’s SUMMIT of LOVE
March 23, 2011This Thursday and Friday the European Union had hoped to put the finishing touches on the European Stability Mechanism that will go into effect in 2013. The Sarkozy/Merkel-crafted plan would give succor to Chancellor Merkel ahead of this Sunday’s elections in Baden-Wurttemberg and hopefully halt the German voters’ antipathy toward all things EU. However, there appears to be friction between the giants of the European Union. Sarkozy is reportedly furious at the Germans for abstaining on the UN vote to impose a no-fly zone in Libya. Also, the French believe that Frau Merkel played politics and an anti-French card by moving to halt electricity production at seven NUCLEAR POWER plants, thus making the French look bad as well as having the impact of driving up electricity prices.
Notes From Underground: ENGLAND GROWS AND BIG BEN’S FED MAY SHRINK
October 26, 2010
“EVERYBODY HAS A STRATEGY UNTIL I HIT THEM”
Notes From Underground: For London it was the best of times and the worst of times
May 12, 2010Today as Gordon Brown departed the scene, the Tories and Libs agreed to terms and will form a coalition after reaching a compromise regarding some contentious issues. Last week we wrote that hung Parliaments are not by definition bad outcomes. Stalemate forces compromise and often the result is more pragmatic policies and better solutions to difficult problems. In times of national emergencies, wide ranging political groups join together to promote the national good and the results are often successful as the nonsense of petty politics gives way to serious governance.