“President Obama’s whirlwind tour of Europe is a mix of his own domestic political needs with re-election looming, by visiting his Irish roots, the high ceremonial of a state visit to London which will include an address to the British parliament (a privilege not often given to visiting leaders), and then a working visit on the continent to meet with key leaders of the G9 summit.

“All this against the ongoing conflict in Libya which involves several of America’s key allies and which the president must want brought to a conclusion. With his international standing heightened by the killing of Osama bin Laden, now is his opportunity to crystallize the rebuilding of America’s alliance network after the damage caused to these relations during the Bush years.”

Contact Erik Goldstein, 617-353-9280, goldstee@bu.edu

“Early indications are that the European Banking Authority’s stress tests will be watered down in terms of Tier 1 capital and stress scenarios. When the purpose of stress testing is to restore market confidence, incredulous stress tests are worse than no tests at all.

“Is it a lack of will at the EBA that is the problem or is it a structural defect caused by the EBA not having the authority to enforce standards across twenty independent countries?”

Contact Cornelius Hurley, 617-353-5427, ckhurley@bu.edu, Twitter @ckhurley