“Under the Bundesbank’s new gold storage plan in 2013, [Germany]  decided to bring back 674 tonnes from abroad by 2020 and store half of its gold in its own vaults… Since the transfers began in 2013, the Bundesbank said it has relocated a total of 157 tonnes of gold to Frankfurt—67 tonnes from Paris and 90 tonnes from New York” (AFP, January 19, 2015).

“Just hours after bringing his far-left Syriza party to victory in the Greek elections, Alexis Tsipras has been appointed PM and shown that he is prepared to play hardball with eurozone fiscal hawks...” (EU Observer, January 26, 2015). Tsipras, age 40, “is the youngest Greek PM in modern times” and was elected to bring an end to austerity (ibid.). Greek debt is mounting and deadlines for repayment are looming in the next couple of months. While Mr.

The “European Experiment” appears to be reaching its end, at least in its present form. With the fiscal turmoil in the south, the European Central Bank just issued its own quantitative easing program, excluding Greece because it is too great a risk for default (Stratfor, January 27, 2015).

The last week of January 2015 marks the 50th anniversary of the death and burial of Winston Churchill, Britain’s great wartime Prime Minister. Churchill is revered as the leader who galvanized British resistance to Nazi Germany, and is remembered for his indomitable spirit and commitment to fight to eventual victory—no matter how slim the chances may have seemed. He is also remembered for possessing a profound sense of personal destiny, something which colored his entire life. 

“More than 170 people have been killed and 200,000 displaced by torrential rain and flooding in Malawi. Large areas in the south are underwater and homes, crops and livestock have been washed away” (BBC, January 19, 2015). Drinking water sources have been either submerged or contaminated and officials fear an outbreak of cholera (ibid.).