Three Stories from Europe

1) Divorce in the Low Countries

With the rise of a sense of a central government in Europe, regional identities have become stronger. Scots, Basque, even Catalan have seen a growth in their nationalism, or regionalism, as it were. This has effected the Flemish and the Walloons as well. One difference between the last two, the Flemish and the Walloons, is that they have the distinct ability to rip a country in half. Europe may be gaining a new country, as one might break into two, Flanders and Wallonia. It would have already happened if not for the child. And in this case, the child is also kind of the parent of the whole experiment.

Flanders is the Dutch speaking half, the newly powerful home to European tech companies and financial institutions, and Wallonia is the French half, the former industrial powerhouse that, like American manufacturing regions, is in a state of decay. The child, is the European Union's unofficial "capital", Brussels.

I'm talking abut Belgium, at least as it still exists. The breakup of this Low Country bodes poorly for Europe in general, and about the only thing trying to keep it together is Brussels itself. Belgium historically had been seen as the best blueprint for a completely united Europe: here are two separate ethnic and language groups able to find common ground and be successfully united, able to help each half when it was needed. When, in the mid 1800s, the north was a Dutch-speaking backwater, the south kept both afloat with the Industrial Revolution. Lately, with the rise in China's industry, the south is being propped up by the north.

In Belgium there are already two sets of bureaucracies, two sets of parliament, two sets of pop-stars and authors...the connections of the past are at their weakest, and both leaders of the respective French and Dutch political parties are calling for the dissolution.

2) Bailouts?

Last year the EU bailed out both Greece and Ireland, and this year the talk is about two more countries that need some bailout attention. Portugal is the first, and will probably get the nod soon enough. The second country is a little more complicated.

Spain is that country, and with the third largest economy in the EU, any post bailout problems would cause major havoc for all of Europe, and most likely the world's economy.

It was Germany that put the breaks on the Spanish bailout, wanting more time to study all angles. Being the largest by population and economy gives Germany that ability.

3) Bolshoi Petroleum?

Something occurred recently that has hurt British Petroleum's assets and appeal in their biggest market, America. I wonder what that could have been? Oh, yeah...toxifying the entire Gulf of Mexico for a thousand generations.

Sensing the coming financial ramifications, BP has signed an enormous deal with Russia's state-owned Rosneft. The deal will give BP access to Russian oil reserves in the Arctic Sea. This "strategic global alliance" will give Rosneft 5% of BP's shares and BP will get 9.5% of Rosneft's.

This has inspired an analyst to pine, "We should start calling it 'Bolshoi Petroleum'."