This year all eyes have been on Europe. In a recent poll even most Guardian readers now accept that the EU is not good for Britain and that joining the Euro would be a disaster. “I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance.” I cannot put it better than the gospel of Luke (King James version natch). Even the most deluded of Euro loon (Charles Kennedy, after lunchtime?) must now accept that Greece, Spain and Portugal are bust and that Italy and France are heading that way. Not surprisingly the Euro is tanking, the dollar looks strong and the world seems to think that the Old World has a monopoly on insurmountable problems. It does not. The USA is in the same boat as Europe and that boat is called the Titanic.
Now I accept that Europe has its own particular issues. A fixed currency for uncompetitive economies is a killer (for them). A genetic aversion to hard work, addiction to welfare-ism and the need for regular fixes of industrial action ( i.e. inaction) across swathes of the Southern part of the continent post challenges that, in the current set-up, are insurmountable.
But the US also faces challenges. Some of those it has in common with Europe. I no more believe the stated NAV of most of the big American banks than I do that of Barclays.
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