“Markets eager for European bonds,” headlines Les Echos. On 25 January, the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) raised five billion euros, of which €3.3 billion will be immediately allocated to Ireland. “The demand for the bond issue was very strong, with more than 500 orders from all over the world, most notably from Asia,” reports the business daily, which describes the markets' response to the sale as “a vote of confidence.” The newspaper points out that “although eurosceptics would like to believe otherwise, the success of the operation is a testament to the efficiency of the EU’s response to the euro crisis. Community solidarity has paid off.” The bond issue may well “mark a turning point,” because “many investors believe that the EFSF bonds, which offer similar guarantees to German government Bunds but with a higher rate of interest, will pave the way for 'eurobonds'.”
The leader of Greece’s leftist alliance SYRIZA is the new bright hope of Greek politics. Steering a course between pragmatism and the rhetoric of class warfare, he has unsettled Berlin, and not just those who back Angela Merkel's austerity policies. 
Europe’s economic woes have forced us to try to understand the secret Olympian world of global finance. But now that we pay more attention to bond yields and stability mechanisms, isn’t it clear that the experts up on their lofty peaks don’t know what’s going on either? 
This year’s Eurovision Song Contest is hosted by Azerbaijan, a country that is far from being a model democracy. An Estonian journalist takes a critical look at the deferential treatment enjoyed by the regime in Baku.