Hidden in plain sight: What really caused the world’s worst financial crisis — and why it could happen again
By Peter J. Wallison.
Because of the government’s extraordinary role in bringing on the crisis, it should not be treated as an inherent part of a capitalist or free market system, or used as a pretext for greater [...]
The Coin of the Realm: How Inside Traders Are Rigging America
Robert B. Reich.
A few years ago, hedge fund Level Global Investors made $54 million selling Dell Computer stock based on insider information from a Dell employee. When charged with illegal insider trading, Global Investors’ [...]
What is he Hanke-Henry permanent calendar?
By Steve Hanke and Richard Henry.
The world did not come to an end on December 21, 2012, as the Mayan calendar had predicted. In 2012, news of Iran’s hyperinflation brought the solar Hijri calendar — used throughout [...]
Bank Capital Punishment and Other Nostrums
By Steve H. Hanke.
Bankers — facing a barrage of new capital requirements, regulations and investigations — must feel as if they are targets of a witch hunt. Well, if the truth be told, they are. Indeed, it’s gotten so bad [...]
Chinese Copper Elephant
By Richard (Rick) Mills.
As a general rule, the most successful man in life is the man who has the best information
Wood MacKenzie sees stronger prices for copper.
“Over the last 10 years, copper’s annual average growth rate in [...]
Why the IRS Goes After the “Minnows” and Ignores the “Whales”
By Mark Nestmann.
The intrepid bureaucrats at the Internal Revenue Service have done a superb job of making us fear them. We dutifully file our 1040s, FBARs, and all manner of other forms, consent to having our wages [...]
The Bolivian Miracle: a Master class in political economy
By Juan Carlos Zambrana.
Beyond the ideological differences and political rivalries that may exist in Bolivia, one thing that cannot be denied is that currently it is a very different country from the one that President Evo [...]
The link between economic and religious freedoms
By Brian J. Grim.
Freedom of belief is one of three factors significantly associated with global economic growth, according to a recent study by researchers at Georgetown University and Brigham Young University. The [...]
Entrepreneurship & SME Internationalisation: Country Risk and Competitive Intensity
By Lucas Juan Manuel Alonso Alonso
A. Country Risk:
This risk includes a collection of risks associated with investing in a foreign country. Such as political risk, exchange rate risk, economic risk, sovereign risk and transfer risk…
Political [...]
We’re Number Two
By Alan Caruba.
The U.S. was the world’s number one economy prior to World War II, but it took off big time after the war and there has not been a day of my long life in which we were not number one—until now.
The International [...]
$ Long/Short position
By Julian Phillips.
In the context of the gold price, many relate the net long/short position in the US.$ as an influence on the gold price. To a small extent this may be true, but not, in our opinion, to an extent that actually [...]
Adversarial Cyber Capabilities and the Conduct of Economic Warfare
By Richard Kaplan.
On 21 September 2012, attacks attributed to Iranian Hackers conducted a “Denial of Service Attack” on the Bank of America Corporation, JP Morgan Chase & Company and Citigroup Inc. In addition [...]
Why did regulators ignore rising risks at Citigroup despite warnings of the oncoming crisis?
By Dwight Haskins.
My concerns with Citigroup’s derivatives exposure was communicated to FDIC senior management in 2007. I doubt I could have been any more clear in my warnings that Citigroup and its accountants were “hiding” [...]
The Fed Needs More Than an Audit

By Peter J. Wallison.
With Republicans soon to hold majorities in the House and Senate, many commentators are speculating that the Federal Reserve will receive much more critical attention in 2015. In September, a large bipartisan [...]
Isn’t it time for reconsidering the European project?
By Lucas Juan Manuel Alonso Alonso.
European economy remains stagnant and in my view, mainly in the euro zone, unemployment rates will continue to rise or, at best, with only cyclical and insignificant downward variations. [...]
Another “universal” capital allocation algorithm
By Ernest Chan.
Financial engineers are accustomed to borrowing techniques from scientists in other fields (e.g. genetic algorithms), but rarely does the borrowing go the other way. It is therefore surprising to hear [...]
Israel’s defiant economic growth
By Yoram Ettinger.
The assumptions that Israel’s economic growth depends on the conclusion of peace accords, and that Israel’s economy cannot withstand BDS pressure (boycott, divestment and sanctions) are inconsistent [...]
The High Density of Brazilian Production Chains
By Otaviano Canuto.
International trade has undergone a radical transformation in the past decades as production processes have fragmented along cross-border value chains. The Brazilian economy has remained on the [...]
We Help You Make Better Decisions!
By John Hauserman.
October lives up to its scary reputation
October provided a roller-coaster ride for financial markets. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended the month up 2.16 percent, after a drop of more than [...]
Navigating Brazil’s Path to Growth
By Otaviano Canuto.
Brazil’s macroeconomic management will face four major immediate challenges in the near future. The response to them will be strengthened if we could have some indication of how to steer the [...]