Why the IMF Cried “Uncle!,” and How Big Companies Are Preparing for a Euro Crash

This week we witnessed an intellectual revolt by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the key partner involved in this European crisis with the European Commission and European Central Bank (ECB), aka the Troika. And it validates my long-term, euro bearish view.

The IMF finally concluded that austerity measures are squeezing the life out of the euro-zone economy. Most of the economies imposing strict austerity are fading fast. They include: Greece, Portugal, Spain, and Italy.

Here is the policy path that the IMF had endorsed until its about face this week: A country with a massive welfare society can cut spending, while raising taxes and expect the economy to grow and produce more tax revenues.

That’s hardly how the real world works.

The IMF has finally realized that the path of austerity and tax increases leads to a viscous downward spiral of lower growth, lower tax revenue, more cuts, lower growth, lower tax revenue … etc. It is what many have been saying for a long-time and why most have predicted a Great Depression era settling over the zone. (more)