The Great Global Bargain Hunt

Given the global menace posed by Europe’s sovereign-debt and banking crises, measures to strengthen the European banking system and encourage fiscal integration gained some momentum at the recent G-20 summit in Los Cabos, Mexico. But some countries, notably China, have seen Europe's agony as an opportunity to go shopping.

TOKYO – Few recent elections have grabbed world attention in the way that Greece’s vote on June 17 did. Now that the center-right New Democracy, which finished first, has formed a coalition government with the center-left PASOK and the Democratic Left, the key issue for Prime Minister Antonis Samaras’s administration is whether it can implement the austerity measures agreed with Greece’s eurozone partners in exchange for continued support from the International Monetary Fund and the European Union.

The situation remains dangerous – and not only for Greece. Spain and Italy face the redemption of government bonds valued at €13.2 billion ($16.5 billion) and €17 billion, respectively, in July, with redemptions continuing every month thereafter like an unstoppable tsunami, ensuring continued turmoil in Europe and beyond.

Given the global menace posed by Europe’s sovereign-debt and banking crises, measures to strengthen the European banking system and encourage fiscal integration gained some momentum at the recent G-20 summit in Los Cabos, Mexico. The summit’s concluding statement declared that countries with ample finances are prepared to provide economic stimulus if growth weakens.

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