'European Model' Could Die: French PM

And America might 'run into the wall'

(NEWSER) - Dr. Doom isn't happy with what he sees happening in Europe, which the NYU economist (real name Nouriel Roubini) says is on the path to recession or something very much like it. Some interview highlights, as reported by Reuters and Bloomberg :

• In the euro zone, "growth will fall toward zero. Even if that is perhaps not a real recession, it will feel like one. Greece was just the tip of the iceberg."

We've made progress—now don't let economy destroy it

(NEWSER) - Carla Bruni-Sarkozy gets in the op-ed game today, urging G8 leaders who are converging on L’Aquila, Italy, to continue the commitment their predecessors made 8 years ago to fighting HIV/AIDS in Africa. The earlier initiative helped the Global Fund to Fight Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria save some 4 million people, the French first lady says in a piece in the Guardian. Now, leaders must not let the economic crisis dismantle the life-saving program. “We have made inspiring and dramatic progress, but this journey has just begun.” More»

Paul Krugman: Voters clearly 'wiser' than their leaders

(NEWSER) - Paul Krugman is applauding France and Greece for the results of their elections : "Time is clearly running out for the strategy of recovery through austerity—and that’s a good thing," writes the longtime critic of austerity measures in the New York Times . Austerity measures depend on a false "confidence fairy" that asserts that consumer and business spending will rise if government spending is cut. Just look at Ireland, whose borrowing costs remain higher than Spain and Italy's despite following the strategy. More»

Paul Krugman: Europe realizing those policies made things worse

(NEWSER) - Paul Krugman doesn't use the words "I told you so," but he does pronounce the notion that austerity measures would fire up Europe's economy good and dead. European policy-makers had the misguided idea—one embraced by Republicans in the US—that cutting back on spending would spur confidence, he writes in the New York Times . Instead, we see nothing but "Depression-level slumps" all over Europe. More»

'Boomerang kids' have trouble finding well-paying work

(NEWSER) - As many as three out of 10 young adults are moving back in with their parents—resulting in the highest share of 18- to 34-year-olds living with multiple generations since the 1950s—after finding themselves unable to find lucrative employment in this dismal economy. They're dubbed "boomerang kids" because they depart for school or work only to return to the nest, but surprisingly, reports the Christian Science Monitor , 78% say they're happy living at home and 24% say it's positive for their relationship with their parents. More»