Ideas and analysis on money, markets and the world around us.
An article by Professor Lew Spellman has caught the attention of the sharp-eyed, and may indeed be important. Spellman, who in the past has been an economist at the Fed and served as an assistant to the Chairman of the…
Read the articleMuch has been learned from the ongoing financial debacle that has been painfully rattling the world’s financial structure in recent years. Foremost among these valuable lessons is the realisation that all financial…
Read the articleHere is a puzzle for Keynesian and other neo-classical economists. When a consumer buys something, he must choose; and if he increases his purchase of one product, he must reduce his purchases of other products by the…
Read the articleIt seems that every time you turn over a stone on the rocky shore that is the financial condition of the eurozone you find yet another nasty creature underneath. This time it is to be found across the accounts of the…
Read the articleThere is a general belief that government finances are somehow immune from the financial reality faced by everyone else – an illusion fostered by bond markets and supported by the public’s wishful thinking. Look no…
Read the articleNeo-classical economists underestimate the importance of the link between savings and investment. The two should be regarded as linked together: you need savings to be available for investment in new production for the…
Read the articleFor most of the last century the default currency for international settlements has been the US dollar. This has given America ultimate power over international trade. In recent months, the US wielded this power against…
Read the articleSince China began to embrace economic progress in the 1990s and let the compelling forces of capitalism take hold to raise living standards in that country, its impact on world markets has been profound. Chinese capital…
Read the articleGreece has now defaulted, and other eurozone governments as well as agencies such as the International Monetary Fund, European Central Bank and European Investment Bank have retrospectively inserted themselves as senior…
Read the articleAs far as precious metals are concerned, there's plenty of comment about the bullish case for these metals with reference to economics and politics, but precious (if you'll forgive the pun) little analysis from a more…
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