Economics/All

August 1, 2010

Economics/All

THE BEAR'S LAIR

The verdict on Keynes

We should enjoy Keynes' witty aphorisms and respect his intellect, but avoid following his policy recommendations. The conditions under which Keynesian stimulus works almost never apply, and the United States economy will be paying the costs of turning to the misguided policy for a decade to come.

- Martin Hutchinson (Jun 01, '10)

CREDIT BUBBLE BULLETIN

Unwitting beneficiary?

The United States economy has been on the receiving end of stimulus benefits emanating from previous global crises, as a safe haven that benefits the dollar and Treasuries and that would lead immediately to lower mortgage borrowing costs. In the post-housing-mania era, those dynamics don't apply and there is no real US benefit from global financial tumult.

- Doug Noland (Jun 01, '10)

CHAN AKYA

Top kills and junk shots

The so-far futile efforts to plug the Gulf of Mexico oil spill offers telling lessons to governments seeking to resolve the financial crisis spreading from Europe. The oil companies are, at least, addressing the source of the leak. The equivalent priority for central bankers is to stem excessive leverage.

- Chan Akya (May 28, '10)

MARKET RAP

Stomachs churn

Stocks around Asia put in a strong end-of-week showing, but after a volatile five days overall short-term indicators are worse rather than better and the markets look set for more stomach-churning movements in the period ahead.

- Robert M Cutler (May 28, '10)

Sri Lanka bids to save EU trade pact

An offer by the Sri Lankan government for the European Union to join in a US$3 billion development project on the island may help Colombo to secure reinstatement of a trade concession vital for the country's garment sector and the livelihoods of the more than 300,000 people who work in it.

- Feizal Samath (May 27, '10)

Xiamen pointer to China's future

Chinese companies, in response to the global financial crisis, are developing new strategies to secure customers at home or abroad. In the process, they are discovering that selling in China's inland markets can be as tricky as building up business overseas.

- Benjamin A Shobert (May 26, '10)

HENRY C K LIU

Greek crisis, German politics

THE POST-CRISIS OUTLOOK, PART 9
Efforts to drive through bailout packages for Greece exposed and exacerbated strains between European Union member states and within those countries, notably German. The political, as well as the economic, costs of this crisis are rising, and spreading to the United States.

- Henry C K Liu (May 26, '10)

Central banks - crisis creators

The US Federal Reserve admonishes commercial banks for taking excessive risk, yet it does so itself with impunity, operating in a manner that would put any car rental company out of business. The folly of central banks running a loose monetary policy is well known, yet the Fed continues to fuel the present instability.

- Hossein Askari and Noureddine Krichene (May 26, '10)

US fumbles through Greek crisis

The reaction in the United States to the country's involvement in the Greek bailout displays an unfortunate failure to grasp what is involved, never mind that politicians are using it to deprive President Barack Obama of the ability to prod the International Monetary Fund into lending money to friends and to possibly block development aid to poor countries.

- Julian Delasantellis (May 25, '10)

THE BEAR'S LAIR

The second Bernanke crash

Recent market turbulence, superficially attributed to concerns over the euro and the finances of European countries, has its roots as far back as the 1950s, while the insanity of excessive money creation since 2008 has put a sustainable recovery out of the question. A second crash at the hands of US Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke now appears unavoidable.

- Martin Hutchinson (May 25, '10)

Management crisis may kill Turkmen dream

Efforts by Turkmenistan to revitalize the economy, based on a "post-industrial modernization program", could be thwarted by the authoritarian policies of the president, whose support of rigid top-down management and irrational appointments prevent the rise of a new generation of managers with the powers to make their own decisions.

- (May 25, '10)

Pakistan raises growth hopes

Pakistan's economy may grow more than 4% in the year to June 30, thanks to better-than-expected performances by large-scale manufacturers and services. That would be more than three times last year's growth, but might not be enough to prevent the country going back to the International Monetary Fund, cap in hand.

- Syed Fazl-e-Haider (May 24, '10)

Nepal's garment industry in tatters

Once the backbone of the country's foreign exchange earnings, Nepal's garment industry has been reduced to insignificance since the end of the world textile quota system in 2005. That decline could be at least partially reversed if the United States grants duty-free access and the government commits to improving export and labor laws.

- Bhuwan Sharma (May 24, '10)

CREDIT BUBBLE BULLETIN

Just the facts

As the European Union pledged to "flood light" on the sovereign credit default swap market and the US Senate passed a bill restricting banks' proprietary trading, stock option volatility hit levels unseen since the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy. A world away from the struggling West, Taiwan's economy grew last quarter at its fastest in more than 30 years.

- Doug Noland (May 24, '10)

Speaking Freely

The great American job hunt

With a depressed job market and no silver lining on the horizon for a full rebound in the US economy, Americans have to brace for a long spell of worklessness. Only pockets of economic freedom and entrepreneurship are able to survive the unemployment plague. The problem is that existing creative niches cannot be reproduced on a mass scale across the country in the short term.

- Brent M. Eastwood (May 24, '10)

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THE BEAR'S LAIR

The verdict on Keynes

CREDIT BUBBLE BULLETIN

Unwitting beneficiary?

CHAN AKYA

Top kills and junk shots

MARKET RAP

Stomachs churn

Sri Lanka bids to save EU trade pact

Xiamen pointer to China's future

HENRY C K LIU

Greek crisis, German politics

Central banks - crisis creators

US fumbles through Greek crisis

THE BEAR'S LAIR

The second Bernanke crash

Management crisis may kill Turkmen dream

Pakistan raises growth hopes

Nepal's garment industry in tatters

CREDIT BUBBLE BULLETIN

Just the facts

Speaking Freely

The great American job hunt

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