World's Most Powerful Passports: UK, US, Germany, S. Korea, France

Chart: The world's most powerful passports: 

Source: Statista

According to the Passport Index, holders of a passport issued in the United Kingdom or the United States can visit 147 countries. This makes them the most powerful passports in the world. The least powerful were named as being the Solomon Islands, Burma and South Sudan. Holders of these passports can only visit 28 countries worldwide. Read more in Statista's latest infographic feature in the Independent.

The chart above shows the number of visa free countries passport holders can visit in 2015.

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News from Paris, France

Tweets by @AFP

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Is France a "Luddite" nation?

This is a classic example of old media and government (in this case the French government) joining together to thwart innovation and new technology (in this case Google) merely because it "upsets" the "established order."  Watch Jeff Jarvis enlighten the French and turn the question around: "Are old media and government too powerful?"

Is Google too powerful? - FRANCE 24: "Is Google too powerful?--On the old continent taking on old media, Eric Schmidt meets the French president in a bid to thwart plans to tax links to media websites. François Picard’s panel argues over whether the IT giant is stealing money or making it for an ailing French press." 

Jeff JARVIS. Author of "What Would Google Do?" - from New York;
Philippe MOREAU-CHEVROLET. Columnist, Nouvel Observateur;
Olivia PHELIP. Editor-in-Chief, JOL Press;
Waddick DOYLE. Professor, AUP School of Communications.

Produced by Anelise Borges, François Picard, Shamira Muhammad, Mary Colombel.

Part 1--http://www.france24.com/en/20121029-debate-Is-Google-too-powerful 

Part 2--http://www.france24.com/en/20121029-debate-Is-Google-too-powerful-part2

Oh, you might need to know the meaning of "luddites"--In modern usage, "Luddite" is a term describing those opposed to industrialisation, automation, computerisation or new technologies in general. (source: wikipedia)

Apparently, France is becoming a "Luddite" nation.

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French Beekeepers find the cause of their bees' green and blue honey

Beekeepers in northeastern France have been alarmed to find their bees producing honey in unnatural shades of green and blue.

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Greek Default is not End of the World

Climax nears in Greek drama | Reuters: "Tortuous negotiations over a second bailout for Greece are set to come to a head on Wednesday, putting fragile market confidence to the test on the same day data is tipped to show the euro zone is entering a mild recession." 

While the crazy Europeans continue their state of denial, let's pause for a little reality check. Greece is in default--it is insolvent and cannot pay its creditors. The question is whether the Greeks will continue to agree to the Eurozone's (Germany et al) funding of Greece's payments to its creditors (Eurozone banks et al) and in return submit to further punishment ("austerity") of the Greek people. Hopefully, the Greeks will soon come to their senses--

Krugman Says Greece Will Default on Its Debt, May Leave Euro - Bloomberg: "Greece will default on its debt and will probably quit the European monetary union, Nobel economics laureate Paul Krugman said. “The Greek situation is essentially impossible,” Krugman said at a conference in Moscow today. “They will default on their debt. In fact they already have. The question is whether they will also leave the euro, which I think at this point is more likely than not.”"

Note: leaving the euro doesn't mean leaving the European Union, just the Eurozone.

And the sooner Greece defaults and leaves the euro, the better off the Greeks will be in the long term.

A euro exit is the only way out for Greece - FT.com: "The Greeks will have to leave the euro, recreate the drachma and re-enter the still-existing exchange rate mechanism of the European Monetary System, the so-called ERM-II, which they departed in 2001."

Oh, and who owns the Greek debt? Go here and here. Biggest losers outside of Greece: Germany and France--surprised?

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Eurozone 2012: Greece, Italy, France

In 2012, the main driving story, globally, will continue to be the continuing saga of the Eurozone crisis which is far from over.  Here's a snapshot of just 3 of the Eurozone countries (Greece, Italy, France) heading into the new year (none of it sounds good):

AFP: Greeks must avert economic collapse, euro exit: leader: "ATHENS — Prime Minister Lucas Papademos on Saturday warned Greeks of another difficult year ahead as it battles to avert economic collapse and an exit from the single European currency. "A very difficult year, marked by necessary but painful measures, is ending... a very difficult year is around the corner," Papademos said in his New Year's message. "We must pursue our efforts with determination... so that the crisis does not lead to a disorderly and catastrophic collapse. So that we can keep the euro," he said."

Italians Must Make Sacrifices to Avoid Collapse, President Says - Bloomberg: "Italians will have to make sacrifices to avoid financial collapse and must keep faith in Europe, President Giorgio Napolitano said in a New Year’s speech. “Nobody, today -- no social group -- can stall on the commitment to contribute to the revival of public accounts to avoid the financial collapse of Italy,” Napolitano said in his televised speech late yesterday. “The sacrifices won’t be useless. Only united can we progress and count as Europeans in a radically changed world.”"

AFP: France's future hangs in balance in 2012: Sarkozy:PARIS — France's future will hang in the balance in 2012, President Nicolas Sarkozy warned on Saturday, four months before he faces a tough battle for re-election. With the economy and eurozone debt crisis set to take centre stage in the vote and recent figures showing unemployment at a 12-year high, Sarkozy promised "important decisions" in January to tackle joblessness. And with Socialist challenger Francois Hollande leading in the polls, Sarkozy vowed that financial markets and credit ratings agencies would not be the ones deciding French policy. . . . "This crisis... probably the most serious since World War II, this crisis is not over," Sarkozy said.

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Why the UK is a better bet than France

“...one prefers to be French than British at the moment on the economic level” – François Baroin, French economy minister

“ ... they should start by downgrading Britain which has more deficits, as much debt, more inflation, less growth than us and where credit is slumping” – Christian Noyer, governor, Bank of France

With reports that France's AAA credit rating will be cut by Standard & Poor's before Christmas, the eurocrisis is not going away or even taking time off for the holidays. French protestations aside, if you have a choice, you don't want to be "trapped" in the Eurozone--better the safe havens of the UK, Sweden, Switzerland, Norway--
UK will fare better in this Anglo-French spat - FT.com: ". . . . The real difference between France and the UK is simply that the UK is not trapped. Britain is a sovereign country. France is economically a sub-sovereign zone. That is the simple reason why the eurozone needs a eurobond and a lender of last resort function in the system. With those functions in place, policy errors are less catastrophic.Mr Baroin is therefore quite wrong. You do not want to be French, German or Italian if you have a choice. A rating downgrade for France and the rest of the eurozone is thus logical and deserved."

Or as the Nobel laureate Paul Krugman has explained (substitute France for Italy below):
". . . The answer lies in the concept of original sin. . . the economics kind — the long-standing notion that developing countries were especially vulnerable to financial crises because they borrowed in foreign currency. (Yes, the linked paper actually raises some distinctions between currency mismatch and original sin; never mind for now). The key point is that by joining the euro, Italy took a bite of the apple — it converted its advanced-country status, as a nation issuing debt in its own currency, into original sin, with debts in someone else’s currency (Europe’s in principle, Germany’s in practice). That is the root of its new vulnerability."

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Sarkozy's euroenvy is isolating France

France, increasingly isolated, is learning the hard way that euroenvy doesn't pay--

French attack on British economy is 'unacceptable', says Nick Clegg - Telegraph: "French attack on British economy is 'unacceptable', says Nick Clegg--The French government has been formally warned by Nick Clegg, the Deputy Prime Minister, that their recent criticism of Britain's economy was "simply unacceptable"." On Friday night, François Fillon, the French prime minister, interrupted an official visit to Brazil to call Mr Clegg to "clarify" his recent comments that Britain's credit rating should be reviewed. The Deputy PM told Mr Fillon that his recent remarks and those by other senior French figures had been "simply unacceptable and that steps should be taken to calm down the rhetoric". The conversation came as a major credit rating agency warned the French that it could downgrade the country's rating in the medium term. Fitch Ratings affirmed France's AAA rating but lowered its outlook for the French economy to negative, which usually means a downgrade is possible in 12–18 months. David Cameron and Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, enjoyed a "positive" discussion ahead of an official German visit to London next week. The conversation has added to speculation that Nicolas Sarkozy is becoming isolated in Europe. . . "

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S&P Creditwatch Negative: Germany, France

S&P ratings warning to top euro nations - FT.com: "Standard and Poor’s has warned Germany and the five other triple A members of the eurozone that they risk having their top-notch ratings downgraded as a result of deepening economic and political turmoil in the single currency bloc.

The US ratings agency is poised to announce later on Monday that it is putting Germany, France, the Netherlands, Austria, Finland, and Luxembourg on “creditwatch negative”, meaning there is a one-in-two chance of a downgrade within 90 days."

Caveat emptor!

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