Four Dark Clouds Are Now Forming Over Europe

European leaders are claiming Europe’s problems have all been solved. The mainstream media repeats their talking points, telling investors and viewers what they want to hear. Maybe they think repeating it often enough will make it come true. Unfortunately, the numbers show Europe’s problems are far from solved. In fact, things are getting much worse. On top of that, four dark clouds are looming just ahead.

The 2008 collapse of the U.S. housing market dealt a big blow to European economies, especially the ones carrying large sovereign debt, including Greece, Portugal, and Italy. By 2010 bailouts were needed in several countries to avoid defaults.

Despite all the claims that these problems have now been solved, the numbers show a very different story. Not only have the sovereign debt levels not been lowered, they have increased significantly in almost every EU country. The chart shown below shows the debt to GDP ratios have grown sharply since 2009, which is the last year before the bailouts started.

The numbers are ugly no matter how you look at them. The debt levels have steadily increased every year in almost every country. Comparing 2012 with any previous year tells the same story. Unfortunately, it is not the story we are being told. [Continue reading at Z3news.com]