European Debt Crisis
On August 8, 2011, European and US markets plunged as fears over European sovereign debt — particularly Italy and Spain — threatened the euro's survival. Standard & Poor's had downgraded US debt for the first time just days earlier.
Was This Written in the Numbers?
Universal Year 4 enforces structural reckoning. When excess has built up, the 4 year forces systems back to solid ground. Market crashes in 4 years strip away what was built on sand and demand rebuilding on honest foundations.
What the Numbers Said
The ECB's Mario Draghi pledged to do 'whatever it takes' to save the euro in 2012. Southern European governments enacted austerity. The eurozone survived but inequality deepened across member states.
Monetary union without fiscal union creates structural fragility. Political will can move markets as powerfully as economic fundamentals.