Comment, analysis and other offerings from Tuesday’s FT,
Britain needs a stable and legitimate government to navigate its fiscal crisis and punch its weight abroad. The Financial Times has no fixed political allegiances. We stand for a liberal agenda. But we do have a vision of the changes needed for economic and political renewal. It is on this basis that we judge the fitness of the contenders for power. On balance, the Conservative party best fits the bill.
European View: Eggheads set their minds on the futures
The future, we all know, is in the stars. So it is appropriate that the multinational team of eggheads trying to predict bubbles in financial markets at Switzerland’s prestigious Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich should call itself the financial crisis “observatory”, the FT’s Haig Simonian writes.
Analysis: Britain — faring less well
The coming years may prove a bitter battle over the boundaries of Britain’s “cradle to grave” welfare state – and over its affordability. These structures were already under pressure from the cost of an ageing society. Now, in the wake of the banking crisis and the global recession, their affordability is subject to big fiscal deficits and a mountain of debt.
Lex on Chinese tightening
You’ll rarely hear the word “bubble” from a Chinese policymaker. Then again, you don’t need to. But in spite of evidence of over-exuberance right on its doorstep, the People’s Bank of China is still limiting its tightening efforts.
Lex on Japan’s debt
The beatings handed out to Spain, Portugal and Ireland show that bond vigilantes are in no mood to be reasoned with. Borrow too much externally and you have a problem, no matter what promises you make. The alternative – internalisation of the national debt – is not a whole lot prettier. Consider Japan.
Gideon Rachman’s blog: Eurosceptic Germany
I have never known the German establishment be quite so open about the depth of Euroscepticism in their own nation, the FT columnist notes. Normally, the Germans talk about Euroscepticism as some sort of nasty British disease – while stressing their own country’s level-headedness and “European vocation”. Not any more.
Brussels: Greek rescue plan leaves troubling questions unanswered
Better late than never. That is one way of looking at the three-year, €110bn rescue plan for Greece that was announced on Sunday by eurozone governments and the International Monetary Fund. Looked at in a different light, however, the rescue package does not appear to be such a masterstroke.
John Gapper’s blog: Warren Buffett disappoints over Goldman Sachs
The shareholders of Berkshire Hathaway were disappointed by Warren Buffett’s defence of Goldman Sachs at their annual meeting in Omaha, Nebraska this weekend, and I admit to being disappointed too, the FT columnist writes.