Banking Crisis
How the West poisoned its money – Project Syndicate op-ed
, 10/10/2022
ATHENS – Capitalism conquered the world by commodifying almost everything that had a value but not a price, thus driving a sharp wedge between values and prices. It did the same to money. The exchange value of money always reflected people’s readiness to hand over valuable things for given sums of cash. But, under capitalism, […]
The causes of inflation and what to do about it – Keynote at Banking Conference, Sofia 2 DEC 2021
, 26/01/2022
Invited by the Bulgarian Central Bank’s Deputy Governor, here is a keynote I delivered in Sofia, on 2nd December 2021, in which I offer a historical explanation of the nature and causes of our current inflation – as well as a proposed policy response that would help (but which vested interests are impeding).
EU Court defends the ECB’s right to cover up its illegal closure of Greece’s banks
, 12/03/2019
The European Union Court today delivered its verdict: European citizens cannot be allowed to find out whether the ECB acted legally in closing down Greece’s banks in June 2015. Why? In the wording of the three judges, because such disclosure would affect the ECB’s “space to think in 2015 and also after 2015”. If this sounds […]
CRASHED: Long version of my Observer review of Adam Tooze’s new book on the Crash of 2008
, 13/08/2018
Every so often humanity manages genuinely to surprise itself. Events to which we had previously assigned zero probability push us into what the ancient Greeks referred to as aporia: a state of intense bafflement urgently demanding a new model of the world we live in. The Crash of 2008 was such a moment. Suddenly, the […]
A letter to my daughter about the black magic of banking…
, 19/07/2018
As you grow up and experience more of the ups and downs of the economy, you will notice a piece of mindbending hypocrisy: during the good times, bankers, entrepreneurs—rich people in general—tend to be against government. They criticize it as a “brake on development,” a “parasite” feeding on the private sector through taxation, an “enemy […]
Want to know why the recent ECB stress tests of the Greek banks had to be fraudulent? – Video interview on TheStreet
, 17/05/2018
To watch the video click on the photo above or click here.
The Great Crash (2007/8) ten years on – talking on BBC Radio 4’s World At One special program
, 11/08/2017
In this BBC World at One program dedicated to the Crash of 2007-8, I try, in the space of two and a half minutes, to explain why those momentous events, ten years ago, changed the world in a manner that it no longer makes sense in terms common prior to 2007. Of why I claim […]
Mr Draghi, what are you afraid of? Release #TheGreekFiles!
, 19/02/2017
Join the campaign to demand that the ECB publish the legal opinion it commissioned on whether its closure of Greece’s banks in 2015 was… legal. CLICK HERE!
Reflections on the nature & causes of global financial uncertainty – Amsterdam 4th DEC 2016
, 07/12/2016
On 4th December 2016 I delivered the keynote at the RiskMinds International risk management conference in Amsterdam. A summary of my talk, compiled by the organisers, follows.
The Politics of Negative Interest Rates – Project Syndicate op-ed
, 23/08/2016
ATHENS – Objects of desire come at a cost. Only bad things, like toxic waste, have a negative price, the equivalent of a fee payable to anyone willing to make them disappear. Does this mean that negative interest rates embody a new perspective on money – that it has gone “bad”? [To read on, click […]
Is Finance Fit To Purpose?
, 14/04/2016
Yanis Varoufakis speaking at John McDonnell’s Economic Lecture Series Event, City of London, 30th March 2016
Britain, Greece & the Struggle for a Decent Future – Emmanuel Centre, London, 14th September 2015
, 15/09/2015
Jump to 1:04:50 for my address
The Greek Plan for Growth & Recovery: Two documents the Ministry of Finance tabled in May and June 2015
, 20/08/2015
Now that Greece’s Third Memorandum of Understanding has passed (see here for my annotated version), after the SYRIZA government surrendered on 12th July 2015, it is perhaps of interest to compare the ‘Reform Agenda’ in that agreement with the agenda the Ministry of Finance had presented to the institutions on two occasions, in May and June […]
Varoufakis and Tsakalotos on the Eurozone institutions and bank bailouts – INET-OECD April 9th 2015
, 13/04/2015
Two SYRIZA ministers for the price of one! Here you can find audio of our talks at the INET-OECD 9th April conference on the subject of ‘Eurozone institutions during the bank bailout negotiations’. Yanis Varoufakis’ talk below Euclid Tsakalotos talk below
Burst Greek Bubbles, Spooked Fund Managers: A cause for restrained celebration
, 07/12/2014
The international press is replete with reports of how London-based fund managers were spooked when they heard of SYRIZA’s views on the nature of Greece’s conundrum and on the party’s intention to work towards a debt restructure and a re-orientation of social and economic policies toward social cohesion and economic growth. Here is my reply…
Today’s Eurozone seen from an investor’s perspective – Keynote (audio)
, 01/11/2014
On 30th October I was invited to address a meeting of German, Austrian and Swiss pension fund managers on how they should make sense of the Eurozone’s current state of play. In this keynote (click below for the audio and the accompanying slides) I present an explanation of the causes underlying the impossible dilemmas pension fund […]
Discussing the ECB’s stress tests on ‘Boom Bust, RT tv
, 28/10/2014
For the tv interview click here or the photo above (and jump to 21′). A related, analytical, article, can be found here.
The ECB’s Stress Tests and our Banking Dis-Union: A case of gross institutional failure
, 27/10/2014
Last Sunday the ECB published its quality assurance results, its stress tests of our systemic banks. It was, from where I am standing, a sad day.
Another shady Greek banking deal: An exchange with Klaus Kastner on the Pireus-MIG deal
, 21/05/2014
The sordid relationship between the owners of the Bank of Pireus and MIG (a holding company that used to own one of the two failed Cypriot banks, as well as a swathe of Greek companies) is well documented. Recently we witnessed a new chapter in this saga, one that went almost unnoticed and which was quietly […]
Is Europe Reforming? At the Bellwether Economist Conference
, 19/05/2014
On 15th May, the Bellwether Economist Conference (see program) posed the broader question “Who will fill the funding gap?” and the narrower but crucial question “Is Europe Reforming?” In this post the reader can find/hear my contribution in lieu of an answer to the second question, as well as to questions on how the ECB should […]
How the Greek Banks Secured an Additional, Hidden €41 billion Bailout from European taxpayers
, 11/05/2014
In 2013 Greek taxpayers borrowed from the rest of Europe’s taxpayers €41 billion to pump into the Greek banks. This is well known. What is not known is that, also in 2013/4, the Greek banks received an additional, well hidden, €41 billion bailout loan from Greek and European citizens. This bailout was never authorised by any Parliament or […]
Europe’s slide into deflation, and what to do about it – Interviewed for Jornal de Negócios by Jorge N. Rodrigues
, 04/05/2014
Europe is in the clasps of the deflationary forces that resulted directly from its inane handling of the Eurozone crisis. In this interview, I discuss deflation and low-flation and suggest a particular form of quantitative easing that, unlike the Fed’s or the Bank of England’s QE, will not reinflate the bubbles of the financial sector but, instead, […]