A 3ª classe com provas de verificação semanais que era para empertigar o neurónio.

É a previsão do Pedro Castro que começo a considerar mais provável do que apenas previsível…

EU buys itself time

In the end, there was no choice. Faced with an existential threat, the European Union has demonstrated that it can act fast if necessary. European leaders deserve respect for finally getting ahead of the situation.

That said, we should also realise that by throwing money at the problem, mostly in the form of backstop guarantees, the EU has merely bought itself time to sort out the eurozone’s governance mess. The real test is yet to come.

There are important parallels to the EU’s guarantees for the financial sector in October 2008 following the collapse of Lehman Brothers. That decision, also made in a dramatic session over a weekend, solved an immediate liquidity problem of the European sector, which was on the verge of a meltdown. But the decision did not, and could not, address the sector’s underlying solvency position, which is still a problem two years later.

The same applies here. We know now that Greece, Portugal and Spain will always be able to refinance their government debt, but the long-term solvency position of the Spanish state remains unchanged. The private sector is massively indebted. The prices of assets that serve as collateral are still falling. The Spanish government, as guarantor of the banking sector, will be lumbered with rising debts at a time of stagnating economic growth. We should remember that solvency is not primarily related to financial markets’ willingness to lend. That’s liquidity. You are solvent when you can stabilise your debt as a proportion of income. Southern Europe’s solvency position is thus unaffected by the billions.

So this deal is going to be ineffective beyond the very short term, unless it is followed up by substantive reforms – the introduction of a single European bond, an agenda to co-ordinate economic reforms with specific relevance for the monetary union, policies to reduce economic imbalances, much tighter supervision of fiscal policies that kick in well before budgets have already been announced, and, in my view also a kernel of a fiscal union – in essence all the things over which the EU has been, and still is, in denial.

It is my judgment that hardly any of those will happen. I thus remain sceptical about the long-term prospects of the eurozone. The time will come when throwing money at problems without structural change will cease to work, and even to impress.

Wolfgang Munchau

World Races to Avert Crisis in Europe

Immediately after the announcement, the European Central Bank said it is ready to buy euro-zone government and private bonds “to ensure depth and liquidity” in markets, and the U.S. Federal Reserve announced it would reopen swap lines with other central banks to make sure they had ample access to dollars.

The money would be available to rescue euro-zone economies that get into financial troubles. The plan would consist of €440 billion of loans from euro-zone governments, €60 billion from an EU emergency fund and €250 billion from the International Monetary Fund.

The European Union agreed on an audacious €750 billion ($955 billion) bailout plan in an effort to stanch a burgeoning sovereign debt crisis that began in Greece but now threatens the stability of financial markets world-wide.

European Markets Surge

European stocks surged Monday, as investors cheered a €750 billion ($954.83 billion) rescue package intended to stabilized the euro and prevent the Greek fiscal crisis from spreading to other member countries.

The news also sent the euro sharply higher against the dollar, but the single currency retreated from its highs later in the session. Oil prices rose, while gold fell.

Um bocadinho em forma de assim e coiso e tal, mas já sabemos que os critérios nunca são consensuais. De qualquer maneira não percebo muito bem o que ali fazem o Zé Castro, o Daniel Fernandes, o Paulo Ferreira e apenas dois guarda-redes…

OS 24 DE PORTUGAL

Sócrates omite ao PS medidas que pretende tomar para reduzir o défice orçamental

Pelo menos numa escola foi feita a devida divulgação:

REUNIÃO DO CONSELHO DAS ESCOLAS

Realizou-se no passado dia 26 de Abril uma reunião do Conselho das Escolas.

Na ordem de trabalhos constava:

- Apresentação das conclusões do estudo “Know and Pol”, pelo Prof. Dr. João Barroso;
- Ponto de situação do desenvolvimento dos projectos pela empresa Parque Escolar, Nunes;
- Central de compras do estado (CAPI) – Procedimentos e dúvidas – Sr. Secretário – Geral do M.E., Dr. João Batista;
- Organização do ano lectivo 2010-2011 – Sr. Secretário de Estado da Educação – Dr. João Trocado da Mata.

Daqui a pouco a caminho da 5ª temporada (nos setes últimos anos que leccionei) de classificação das provas de aferição. Confesso que não me preocupa ou chateia demasiado a classificação, mas ouvir de novo o mesmo sobre a aferição dos critérios.

Portugal entre os melhores países para as mulheres terem filhos

Paulo

Reencaminho um texto que enviei a uma jornalista, com a esperança de que ela não se esqueça do que aconteceu ao nosso colega Luís. Se o quiser publicar (…).

Um abraço,

A petição a favor da redução do número máximo de alunos por turma.

Por muito quem tipo tente, não há título que não se preste a leituras subliminares…