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Showing posts from January, 2021

Kafka reloaded

Kafka reloaded  My son, fresh out of the University, has had an early introduction to what working in Italy entails. Fresh out of the University, he landed a job offer (yes, miracles happen). He was sent a list of documents he has to provide. First on the list is a copy of the Identity Card. In Italy, this document lists your full name and surname, date and place of birth, place of residence at issuance, the Italian equivalent of the social security number, Citizenship, and the identifier of the birth certificate. After that, in quick succession, he was asked by this company to provide: ID card image Scan of the social security number ; Signed declaration of date and place of birth; government issued certificate of citizenship, (with stamp duty); government issued birth certificate (with stamp duty); government issued composition of the family unit (with stamp duty); Signed declaration of graduation (which is available to third party on the Univers...

Sliding Doors: what if Draghi had never been there at all?

  SLIDING DOORS Mario Draghi is rumored of becoming the new Italian Prime Minister. But what if we never had a Draghi at all? Frankfurt, January 4 th , 2021. Taunusanlage 5, 60329 Frankfurt am Main, Germany . Ladies and Gentlemen, Welcome! As Chancellor, it has fallen to me to thank our beloved Bundesbank, in its very offices, for having kept an even keel on our economy in these difficult times in cooperation with the European Central Bank. As you all know, I cannot stand to offer you a toast to your good health(laughter), but where the body fails the mind can try to overcome. But I particularly want to thank our former ECB head, Axel Weber, for having laid the groundwork that allowed the European economy to react so well and so flexibly to the COVID epidemics. Only his pigheaded insistence in the face of huge political pressures on having a firm plan for coming OUT of an easy money policy similar to those adopted in the US and previously in Japan BEFORE even trying ...