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The US economy, Trump and Bessent: Outperformed and outplayed by Europe: open.substack.com/pub/independ...

ICE - cheap, safe and pretty good public transportion here in Europe.

I’m now waiting for Musk to forward this story and place it at the top of my feed, as he does with most other things. (Maybe he is still struggling how to word the clarification that this is not just BYD expanding, but Tesla shrinking?)

Letter: Brexiters showed a naive understanding of how Europe works

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Thank you. You are right: It depends on what one includes in healthcare, but 2-3 times is more accurate. Thanks for pointing out.

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10 lessons from 2025 - and one central prediction for the year ahead: open.substack.com/pub/independ...

Scandinavia got this one right!

Thanks @deutschewelle.dw.com for including me in yesterday’s debate on Europe’s strengths - at a time of renewed attacks by Trump. We could all agree that Trump is wrong - and that Europe needs to act in response to this new world m.youtube.com/watch?v=yFRq...

Europe is about to step up in security matters, starting with the main to Ukraine, but Commission President has been distracted from her job leading the economic reform agenda. Three recent reports illustrate the wilderness she is in. open.substack.com/pub/independ...

Come join the debate! Looking forward to it.

And rightly so!

In today’s note: The UK’s 3 unique challenges - which the government hasn’t even begun to acknowledge. This is worse than other European countries. open.substack.com/pub/independ...

Thanks for organising such an interesting panel discussion - and such a great conference.

Thanks. For me, it’s no longer a question, but a need that has to be met if we are serious about boosting investment.

My call for explicit policies in Europe to redirect the capital export to be invested in Europe instead of abroad. open.substack.com/pub/independ...

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In today’s Sunday Wrap - from my summer house in Denmark (on this winter morning): I remind Trump - who says he is sad about what happened to Europe due to immigration, crime and taxes, that he needs not worry. open.substack.com/pub/independ...

Lately I’m one of the few who has any optimism left about Germanys potential - alongside folks like @erikfossingnielsen.bsky.social The sense of doom and gloom amongst German experts and policy-makers themselves is quite something.

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Strange. You may have to sign on to it at Substack (it’s free). Alternatively, if you email me at [email protected] I’ll send it to you.

I wasn’t “praising it so much”. All I did was to note it’s higher than the US (which is the country of comparison in this note)

I have just reposted.

In today’s note I illustrate why German per capita GDP, while lower, is better than US per capita GDP - and I argue that Germany will outperform the US in 2026-27. independenteconomics.substack.com/publish/post...

At Substack - look for me, Erik Fossing Nielsen, at Independent Economics. …. And it’s all free!

Trump and Xi eased their tensions this past week, but the root cause - their excessive national - are not being addressed. To do so would require a different type and level of cooperation which - sadly - is not what drives today’s leaders. independenteconomics.substack.com/publish/post...

If you are nice to us Europeans, we could consider helping you out …

Impressions from Berlin Global Dialogue. Lots of positives, but key impression is one of anger - feeling of betrayal - by China due to rare earths ban. independenteconomics.substack.com/publish/post...

My impressions from the IMF annual meetings open.substack.com/pub/independ...

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The French budget and debt are no worse than in most other major economies. They all need a medium term plan to restore sustainability. That’ll require broad buy-in from society. It’ll have to include wealth taxation everywhere. independenteconomics.substack.com/publish/post...

This reflects well the majority of feedback I got in the note. Yet, the present state of affairs (community agreements after delays and “bribery” of small hold-outs along with watering down proposals) is not sustainable. So what’s going to give? I think it’ll be the community methods.

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In today’s Sunday Wrap I argue that this past week saw Berlin and Paris signal a move to more intergovernmental cooperation in the EU’s response to challenges posed by US and Russia. That’s good news. independenteconomics.substack.com/publish/post...

Sunday Wrap on the possible re-introduction of a wealth tax in France - the hottest debated issue in the present political crisis. Why I dont like wealth taxation, but think there is a case for an exemption now. open.substack.com/pub/independ...

Postcard from the real France open.substack.com/pub/independ...

My thoughts on von der Leyen’s State of Union address: On balance, I was disappointed. 1. on econ reforms, its was misguided and insufficiently ambitious, 2. On Ukraine, okay, but … 3. On the US, defensive but without explanation for the weird stuff open.substack.com/pub/independ...

Spot on.

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In today’s new 3-edition Sunday Wrap : - a brief history of what motivated 18 years of Sunday writing - the long (and predictable!) road to Trump - how his policies lead to a faster slowdown, and raises the risk of a major crisis erikfossingnielsen179.substack.com/p/sunday-wrap

Just a reminder: Greenland left the EU in 1985 (after having joined with the rest of Denmark in 1973) 🤔

The 10 year BTP-Bund spread is at its lowest since 2010 and Italy in 2024 went back to a primary surplus, as it consistently did for almost two decades before COVID (unlike France, who’s been overshooting its deficit forecasts for 30 years). Don’t cry wolf where there isn’t one, it’s irresponsible.

WHY DOESNT ANYONE IMMEDIATELY CORRECT HIM?

The ignorance of the US administration never stops shocking anyone with just basic knowledge.

Unbelievable indeed. But apart from the mark-up per se, one cannot help but note the US treasury secretary’s personification of the US treasury (supposedly) and Trump himself.

Fascinating story on so many levels www.ft.com/content/106b...