European Union

Back in September, when Berlin and Brussels were busy devising a quota plan to settle the millions of Mid-East asylum seekers flooding into the country, Slovakia said that if Germany called for financial penalties against countries unwilling to accommodate their “share” of migrants, it would be “the end of the EU.”

Over the past week, Poland's relations with Europe have gone from cordial to abysmal, when first Poland's new Eurosceptic government compared the EU and Merkel to Nazis, with Polish weekly Wprost releasing the following cover saying "they want to supervise Poland again"...

... only for Brussels to retaliate and launch an "unprecedented" review of Polish media laws, a move which Poland angrily responded is far beyond the EU's domain.

• Oil slips toward $30, traders bet on more falls (Reuters)
• Oil Plunge Sparks Bankruptcy Concerns (WSJ)
• RBS cries 'sell everything' as deflationary crisis nears (Telegraph)
• World stocks drop but Europe shrugs off oil slide, China money market surge (Reuters)
• Canadian Stocks Fall in Longest Slump Since 2002 as Oil Slides (BBG)
• State of Union Speech to Note Work Yet to Be Done (WSJ)
• "Murderous" Yuan Rate Jolts Hong Kong as Top Currency Hub (BBG)
• Putin Says Sheltering Assad Would Be Easier Than Snowden Asylum (BBG)

Submitted by Nauman Sadiq

Islamic radicalism, a consequence of Petro-imperialism:

Brave New World of Bank Bail-Ins As Of January 1st

On January 1st, 2016, the new bail-in regime became law putting at risk the deposits of savers and companies in the EU.