Well, I personally am looking forward to a sharp decline in the european economy later on this year. I have been following the stories of protesting truckers and fishermen, and I know that the average person is NOT doing well, even in Germany (where I have friends) or France, where I have distant family...
never mind Italy, where I have some friends and family as well.
We will see how this all turns out, but there is no way that the US can slide into depression without bringint the whole shebang down with her...unfortunately. Perhaps in the future there will be 'decoupling'...I don't think we're there yet. Many european banks are sitting on major losses and exposure to counterparty risk, and they are actually less well equipped to handle sharp declines, per the Times of London articles and the UK Telegraph stories I have posted.
There is the official ECB 'party line', and then the actual report from the street...just as here. In the U.S. I have been closely tuned into the real story, which is why I could say with assurance last September that we were already in recession while the 'experts' were still arguing over definitions of terms.
Lets see what happens in Europe as Italy gets pushed to the breaking point...with their new ally France. The old rivalries between southern europe/France and Germany's interests may still break this cobbled together union, as individual countries are pressured by their populations to put national interests ahead of the mythical union (i.e.Germany/NL/Belgium).
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If you take anything I say as advice, you're crazier than I am.
