AUSTRIA: Dark Side

If clouds have their silver linings, they have also their dark exteriors.

The silver lining to the Austria cloud is that, despite outward suffering, there is an inner healing force working its way through the pangs of deflation to the bright sunshine of economic and financial prosperity.

But the dark side of the cloud is dark indeed. In January, there were 149 suicides in Vienna, most of which were attributed to “the general distress” now sweeping that city. The total of suicides for January is the largest known for 43 years. The average monthly number is about 40.