For over a year, Deutsche Bank and the ECB made us believe that a Greek default would be disastrous for Europe. They were lying through their teeth. In Frankfurt, two of Europe’s most powerful men sit virtually across the street from one another in the high-rise headquarters of two of the continent’s most important institutions. No one elected these men to rule over us. No one voted for their institutions t ...

LATE one night in September 2008, as the financial world trembled,Josef Ackermannreceived an urgent call from Berlin. On the line was Angela Merkel, the German chancellor. She needed his help — now. A big German bank was about to collapse, much the way Lehman Brothers had only days before. It was 12:45 a.m. and shaky financial markets were about to open across Asia. Fear was in the air. Mrs. Merkel asked wh ...