Despite decline, US GDP shows growth
By Paul Nolte.
“Full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.” While that is usually the only part of the quote that is used, the words
immediately in front are: “A tale told by an idiot”. The tale told last [...]
Currency wars, again
By Steve H. Hanke.
The specter of currency wars rises like a phoenix once again. This time around, most of the warriors reside in Washington, D.C.. The strong dollar has inflamed the currency warriors (read: mercantilists) led [...]
Who is destabilizing the EU? Greece or Germany?
By Jon Kofas.
Does Greece with just 2% of EU GDP have the ability to destabilize the EU simply by refusing the IMF-EU imposed austerity program, or does Germany have such power because it has been trying to impose [...]
Holy-conomy
By Dock David Treece.
Of all the obstacles to economic growth, uncertainty is undoubtedly the most hindering. Uncertainty about policy, prices, armed conflict, even weather; the more uncertainty that exists in an economic system, the [...]
Regulation of Shadow Banking Takes a Dark Turn
By Peter J. Wallison.
A ‘chain’ of routine securities transactions, the Fed suggests, can transform a nonsystemic firm into a systemic firm.
Recent statements by senior Federal Reserve officials show that the agency [...]
Regulation of Shadow Banking Takes a Dark Turn
By Peter J. Wallison.
A ‘chain’ of routine securities transactions, the Fed suggests, can transform a nonsystemic firm into a systemic firm.
Recent statements by senior Federal Reserve officials show that the agency [...]
Measuring Misery in Latin America 2014: More Dollarization, Please
By Steve Hanke.
In my misery index, I calculate a ranking for all countries where suitable data exist. My misery index — a simple sum of inflation, lending rates, and unemployment rates, minus year-on-year per capita GDP [...]
To leave the euro or not to leave the euro, that is the question
By Julian D. W. Phillips.
As we watched the Prime Minister and the Finance Minister of Greece travel though Europe in a failed attempt to re-negotiate the terms of the “Bailout” it received, we find ourselves thinking [...]
U.S. corporate tax reform: why Obama’s good ideas don’t add up
By Robert Pozen.
While the president’s plan could return millions worth of U.S. foreign profits home, the tax rates he has proposed are politically unrealistic.
In President Obama’s new budget released earlier this [...]
Fiscal Policy: Cycle and Space Matter
By Otaviano Canuto.
I am among those economists who have argued that expansive fiscal policy has been missing as a lever to support recovery in advanced economies, especially in the Eurozone — see here and here.
At the same [...]
The end of Currency ‘Safe-havens’
By Julian Phillips.
Swiss – Negative rates
In the past [even the recent past] investors have often ‘parked’ their funds in a ‘safe-haven’ currency, when fears about the dollar or other currencies [...]
Why FATCA Is a Train Wreck Waiting to Happen
By Mark Nestmann.
FATCA, otherwise known as the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, is one of the most arrogant and one-sided laws ever passed by Congress. I first wrote about it in this essay.
The idea behind FATCA, which Congress [...]
The European Central Bank Commits Monetary Suicide
By Michael Bach and Ed Burgos.
Yesterday the European Central Bank (ECB) announced an expanded 1.1 trillion euro (US$1.3 trillion) asset purchase program to start in March 2015 and continue through September 2016 (19 months) that [...]
China’s rise to global economic superpower
Nake M. Kamrany and Frank Jiang.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF), the most prestigious international financial institution in the world has rated China ranking to number one economic superpower in the world surpassing those [...]
General Education Requirements Perpetuate Financial Subservience in Graduates
By James O’Connor.
The advent of liberal arts education 2,000 years ago during Hellenistic Greece spurned an educational philosophy that many believe is nobly upheld in contemporary higher education’s coursework. However, [...]
What about the Ruble?
By Steve H. Hanke.
The Russian ruble ended 2014 in bad shape. Not as bad as the Ukrainian hryvnia or the Venezuelan bolivar, but bad, nevertheless. For most of 2014, Russia faced an ever-increasing ratcheting up of economic [...]
The illegitimate Dodd-Frank law has nothing to do with the financial crisis
By Peter Wallison.
Shutterstock.com
From the time it was first proposed by the Obama administration early in 2009, the legislation that eventually became the Dodd-Frank Act was opposed by Republicans in Congress. It got [...]
Economic optimism
By Richard Larsen.
As we embark on a new year, positive economic indications are abundant. Having experienced the worst recession in modern financial history six years ago, the U.S. has slowly but surely emerged [...]
What’s your edge?
By Richard Mills.
As a general rule, the most successful man in life is the man who has the best information
In early July 2014, Mark Bristow Randgold Resources CEO, said the gold mining industry was fundamentally broke at a gold [...]
It’s Official: The Worldwide Bail-ins Are Coming
By Mark Nestmann.
In case you missed the announcement, Cyprus-style bail-ins are coming to a bank near you.
On November 16, leaders of the G20 Group of Nations – the 20 largest economies – made an important decision. The [...]