Wall Street turmoil leaves Europe on sidelines - by David Gow
The past two weeks of deepening financial turmoil have left mainland Europe on the sidelines. The gigantic bailouts of Wall Street institutions, the socialisztion of vast tracts of the US economy and enforced US and British banking mergers have, in eurozone eyes, passed Europe by but rendered the dominant Anglo-Saxon economic model of the past quarter of a century kaput. The protagonists of modern Rhineland capitalism, Germany's centre-right chancellor, Angela Merkel, and her Social Democrat finance minister, Peer Steinbrueck, have delivered the same message. We warned the US and UK about the need to rein in runaway finance capital with greater regulation and transparency, they said, but were ignored. They and other leading eurozone players are refusing to take part in Washington's $700bn plan to acquire banks' toxic assets.
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