Good morning D.

I think this is an excellent article. I have always found economics fascinating and have long seen how things were heading.
Financially, the world is at a dangerous place and I expect The Greater Depression in the next year or two. I haven't heard anyone else say that yet and I hope I am wrong.

Unfortunately I usually get long term trends right, although not always the timing. In our book published in 2006 I predicted "the coming foreclosure tragedy," which had hardly got started then.
America is so over-borrowed, both with its central and local government and households, that there is no way back, no "get out of jail" card.The debts can never be paid, the pension and social security promises never kept. Nobody ever admits this but just look at the figures, especially the retirement of the baby boomers.

All "Helicopter Ben" Bernanke can do is precisely what he is doing - cranking up the printing presses. That's where all the "liquidity" comes from, as you know.
And as central banks and money men round the world watch the non-Gold Standard Dollar vanishing before their eyes, who can blame them for wanting out? Almost anywhere will do.The wise are investing in gold. I advised people to do this at $600 and I saw yesterday it is now above $1000. I expect it to hit $2,000.

I have a dozen news stories about states that hold a lot of Dollars seeking to "diversify" their holdings. You probably saw the news report where the Saudis were discussing moves to dump the Dollar at an Opec meeting, and trying to keep the rest in line behind the Dollar, but it was a fascinating conversation, which we were not meant to hear (a mike was left switched on and the chat broadcast to the press room for 40 minutes!)

The Euro is one option, although it too comes with its own set of problems and contradictions, as the article states. Mercifully Britain remains outside it. Of course, the pound is overvalued too which is why British visitors like to use pounds to buy in the States!

The apparatus exists, as the article states, for the EU to impose draconian measures in many different spheres. Exchange controls is one policy that will be used at some stage.
Based on my knowledge of the EU and of prophecy, I do not expect the EU to break apart. Ruthless action will be taken to hold it together, even if that means a "currency devaluation war" with America.

The Germans hold the greatest sway in the EU and over its central bank and are unlikely to roll over and allow themselves to be priced out of world markets. As you see in the article, the French feel the same way. Of course, if you cut interest rates you stoke up inflation, which is already much higher than governments would have us believe. We could end up with the worst of all worlds, stagflation - inflation coupled with a stagnating world economy- and a trade war as well.

I slightly disagree with one point in the article, I do not think the EU is in financially as bad a state as America (although Britain on its own may be.) The EU has a current account surplus and is not as heavily in debt. Nor do individual householders across much of Europe dive into debt in the same way Americans do (although it varies a lot from country to country).

It is right on another major point which hardly anyone ever mentions:demographics. We are not producing enough Europeans to replace the population - not by a long way. There is an aging native population and a fast growing immigrant population, many of them Moslems.

The figures would make your hair stand on end, but that's another story. To take one example, in the capital of Europe, Brussels, half the live births are to Islamic mothers. Oh dear. America has a higher birth rate - but much of this is due to Mexican immigrants, I suspect.

I hate to say this, but what I actually expect to happen is this: there will be a worldwide crash, perhaps sparked off by a major bank going broke. A flight from the Dollar and a stampede into gold. Massive trouble and unrest round the world. Most people will be unemployed .Food riots ( there is a growing food shortage made worse by the idiotic move to use much good food to produce ethanol, which takes more power to make than it produces!). The collapse of China, with the mirror image of America's troubles backed up by idiotic borrowing and stock speculation.

The rise of ultra nationalist/fascist type movements in many countries, especially Europe, where it is already happening.(Also a fast rise in anti Semitism.)
Then, when things are black and nobody has any work, enter the strong man with all the answers.We know who he will be.
Expect him on the scene shortly after cash crashes in a flash. Then we will see the world electronic currency. Already many places here don't accept cheques.

None of this should depress Christians because these are the signs of the times - and we are in the times of the signs. However, it is a good idea for Christians to get their financial and spiritual houses in order, stop spending on credit and get into a good church Bible study group. Learning to grow our own vegetables is also a good idea- this can be done in the smallest garden.
Hope this doesn't worry you - until now my main problem this morning was stopping a heron from eating our goldfish!