Yves Smith — Naked Capitalism Blog, “Interview with Costas Lapavitsas: The Financialization of Life“, Real News Network, 23 Οκτωβρίου. Yves here. One of the efforts the Naked Capitalism community has been engaged in is trying to understand and map our emerging political and economic order. Over the last four decades, massive changes have taken place in social values, in job security, in the importance of communities relative to other …Read More
Still sinning … a German economist who cannot face facts
Mitchell, B. (2014) “Still sinning … a German economist who cannot face facts“, Bill Mitchell Blog: Modern Monetary Theory… Macroeconomic Reality, 23 Οκτωβρίου. German economist Hans-Werner Sinn, who has been implacably opposed to the Eurozone bailouts and so-called debt mutualisation is at it again with an article in the UK Guardian yesterday (October 22, 2014) – Europe can learn from the US and make each state liable for its …Read More
Ilargi: 40% of Eurozone Banks Are In Bad Shape
Smith, Y. (2014) “Ilargi: 40% of Eurozone Banks Are In Bad Shape“, Naked Capitalism Blog, 23 Οκτωβρίου. Yves here. While investors remain fixed on how much more the Fed and the ECB will pump into financial assets via QE, Eurozone banks lumber on in their walking wounded state. Deflationary pressures and lousy growth grind down weak and even once-good borrowers. And it’s not as if the banks who lent …Read More
The ECB as lender of last resort?
Goodhart, C. & Schoenmaker, D. (2014) “The ECB as lender of last resort?“, VoxEU Organisation, 23 Οκτωβρίου. As part of the move to a banking union, the largest banks in the Eurozone will soon be supervised by the ECB. This column argues that supervision and the lender of last resort function should be seen as a joint product. After the introduction of the euro, the national central banks continued …Read More
Why Inequality Matters
Bill Gates (2014) “Why Inequality Matters“, LinkedIn Influencers, 15 Οκτωβρίου. A 700-page treatise on economics translated from French is not exactly a light summer read—even for someone with an admittedly high geek quotient. But this past July, I felt compelled to read Thomas Piketty’s Capital in the Twenty-First Century after reading several reviews and hearing about it from friends. I’m glad I did. I encourage you to read it …Read More
‘Mensch tracht, und Gott lacht’ – what’s the best guidance on monetary policy?
Miles, D. (2014) “‘Mensch tracht, und Gott lacht’ – what’s the best guidance on monetary policy?“, VoxEU Organisation, 22 Οκτωβρίου. Many central banks embrace forward guidance by announcing expected interest rate paths. But how likely it is that actual rates will be close to expected ones? This column argues that quantifying such uncertainty poses great difficulties. Precise probability statements in a world of uncertainty (not just risk) can be …Read More
Why the German economy is in a rut
The Economist Explains: “Why the German economy is in a rut“, The Economist, 21 Οκτωβρίου 2014. In the second quarter of this year the German economy shrank by 0.2%. Economists expect it to contract again in the third quarter, meaning that the economy will technically be in recession. Some believe that the economy will not grow until the middle of next year. This performance has taken some people by …Read More
Europe’s Original Sin and the Dangers of Doing Good
CFI (2014) “Europe’s Original Sin and the Dangers of Doing Good“, Capital Finance International (cfi.co), 02 Οκτωβρίου. Carlos Rangel, the Venezuelan diplomat and essayist, once pointedly remarked that western nations often send their failed politicians – the dreamers, utopians, and other ineffectual romantics – to far-off places where they can do no harm other than to their host countries. Mr Rangel (1929-1988) deplored the lack of pragmatism and structure …Read More
The Importance of the Internet and Transatlantic Data Flows for US and EU Trade and Investment
Meltzer, P. J. (2014) “The Importance of the Internet and Transatlantic Data Flows for US and EU Trade and Investment“, Global Economy & Development – Brookings Institute, Working Paper 79, Οκτώβριος 2014. The most globally significant bilateral trade and investment relationship is between the US and the EU An increasing amount of this economic relationship is underpinned by cross-border flows of data. Cross-border data flows between the US and …Read More
Does The Secular Stagnation Theory Have Any Sort of Validity?
Hugh, E. (2014) “Does The Secular Stagnation Theory Have Any Sort of Validity?“, A Fistful of Euros: European Opinion Blog, 20 Οκτωβρίου. In a number of blog-posts (Paul Krugman’s Bicycling Problem, On Bubble Business Bound, The Expectations Fairy) I have examined some of the implications of the theory of secular stagnation. But I haven’t up to now argued why I think the hypothesis that Japan and some parts of …Read More