Off the Cuff: Europe Is A “Train Crash In The Making”

In this week's Off the Cuff podcast, Chris and Alasdair discuss:

• The Insane UK Housing Bubble
  • Courtesy of central bank-driven low rates & hot money
• EU Banks Are As Vulnerable As Ever
  • None of the issues from 2008 have been resolved
• The Coming EU Energy Drought
  • Worsened by Russia's new gas deal with China
• The Lack of Churchills
  • Strong leaders are needed, but nowhere in sight

The troubles in Europe have largely subsided from media headlines over the past 2 years. One could be forgiven for assuming that the relative quiet is due to the macro risk environment improving over that time. But you'd be wrong.

Very wrong.

In this week's podcast, Chris and Alasdair discuss the continued rot and denial at the core of the EU experiment these days. Pretty much absolutely zero progress has been made in the aftermath of 2008 to shore up the stability of the EU banking system or the fundamental shortcomings of the EU model (a monetary union without a political one).

As a result, as with the US, central bank shenanigans have been employed to paper over the problems without resolving them — and in the process — escalating the risks.

For example, London is now the lucky possessor of the world's biggest property bubble thanks to all the hot money sloshing around the Continent.