I'm on a plane to NYC, catching up on weekend reading. I will be posting several pieces on Greece and Europe. I have been warning for years about a Greek exit. We are closer to that point. Let’s hope it is done in a coordinated fashion and doesn't turn into another Lehman. My friend Niall Ferguson gives us this short piece from his travels to Germany (he makes me look like a stay-at-home kind of guy). While the whole thing is intriguing, this paragraph especially caught my eye: "Three days later, in Berlin, I finally reach the Europe that works. Well, sort of. As usual, I find myself marveling at the sheer idleness of the richest and most successful country in the European Union. Lunchtime in the leafy garden of the Café Einstein on the Kurfürstenstrasse shows no sign of ending even at 3 p.m. It’s Thursday. Did you know that the average German now works 1,000 hours a year less than the average South Korean? That’s why when you go on holiday the Germans are already there—and when you go home, they stay on." Really? I don’t know how that can even be. That's 20 hours a week. But it suggests a huge competitive advantage is coming, as automation is going to become ubiquitous. Productivity gains are moving to Asia, which is catching up. Complacency indeed.