Analysis Topic: Economic Trends Analysis
The analysis published under this topic are as follows.Monday, September 08, 2014
Why Economic Growth Is Finished / Economics / Economic Theory
By Pure Economic Decision
Firstly Tweeted by journalist Peter Spiegel, late Sunday, September 7, a leaked copy of proposed and agreed new EU28 sanctions against Russia, dating from September 5 confirmed that Russia's energy giants Rosneft, Gazprom and Transfeft will all be hit by European capital market bans:
Friday, September 05, 2014
Two Questions for Krugman / Economics / Economic Theory
Paul Krugman is at it again. That is, Mr. Krugman continues to myopically attack anyone who has warned that money printing could lead to 'inflation'.
Read full article... Read full article..."...as I have written many many times, this inflation paranoia has proved remarkably resilient, enduring despite five-plus years of utter empirical failure." Three Roads to Hard Money
Friday, September 05, 2014
The Collapse of Income REAL Wealth in Something for Nothing Societies / Economics / Social Issues
In this final chapter of Useful Idiots and the Something for Nothing society, we show the final elements leading to the societal and economic collapse that we are currently caught in. The system I have outlined here and in previous chapters is INSANE when viewed through the lens of history. Unfortunately, our leaders and our society have forgotten it and, therefore, we are doomed to repeat it. Nothing will stop it and very little can be done to slow it down. You must embrace it, acknowledge it and turn it into your opportunity rather than your demise. We are at the tail end of an insanity seen throughout history, which began now almost 100 years ago. We are at the end game in the near future. If you haven't read the previous chapters PLEASE DO SO as it will connect the dots for you.
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Friday, September 05, 2014
What does a “good” Chinese Economic adjustment look like? / Economics / China Economy
People of privilege will always risk their complete destruction rather than surrender any material part of their advantage. Intellectual myopia, often called stupidity, is no doubt a reason. But the privileged also feel that their privileges, however egregious they may seem to others, are a solemn, basic, God-given right. The sensitivity of the poor to injustice is a trivial thing compared with that of the rich. - John Galbraith, The Age of Uncertainty
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Thursday, September 04, 2014
Why Raising the Minimum Wage Will Increase Inflation and Hurt the Economy / Economics / Inflation
It goes to show that even the president of the United States doesn’t understand why America’s economy is structurally flawed these days, despite the recovery.
At a Labor Day rally in Milwaukee on Monday, Mr. President said that if he had a service-sector job and “wanted an honest day’s pay for an honest day’s work, I’d join a union.”
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Thursday, September 04, 2014
Urbanization and Demographics Could Skew China's Economic Rebalancing / Economics / China Economy
China's urban population may grow by as many as 230 million people in the next 15 years. But most growth will take place not in metropolises like Beijing, Shanghai and Chongqing but in the myriad small- and medium-sized satellite cities around them. And as residents flock to these cities, China's working-age population will begin to decline, and its elderly population will grow dramatically.
Together, these processes will underpin major changes not only in China's overall economic structure, but also in the financial, fiscal and political relationship between central and local government. The added burdens facing small- and medium-sized cities, especially those located deep inside China that are sequestered from mainstream global trade, will be substantial and perhaps socially and politically destabilizing.
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Thursday, September 04, 2014
Turning Japanese / Economics / Deflation
A theme I have written of many times, during the last few years, is how we, in the West, may be #turningjapanese. What this refers to is Japan’s lost TWO decades between 1989 and 2012 when Japan had Deflation and a slow growing or mostly falling economy – in other words a generational Depression. During this period their stock market and their real estate valuations collapsed 80% each.
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Tuesday, September 02, 2014
The Wages Fuel Economic Demand Fallacy / Economics / Economic Theory
In recent months talking heads, disappointed with the lack of economic recovery, have turned their attention to wages. If only wages could grow, they say, there would be more demand for goods and services: without wage growth, economies will continue to stagnate.
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Monday, September 01, 2014
The Ultimate Demise Of The Euro Union / Economics / European Union
The European Union (EU) was created by the Maastricht Treaty on November 1st 1993. It is a political and economic union between European countries which makes its own policies concerning the members’ economies, societies, laws and to some extent security. To some, the EU is an overblown bureaucracy which drains money…and compromises the power of sovereign states. For others, the EU is the best way to meet challenges smaller nations might struggle with – such as economic growth or negotiations with larger nations – and worth surrendering some sovereignty to achieve. Despite many years of integration, opposition remains strong.
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Monday, September 01, 2014
Marx And The Capitalist Cancer Of Overproduction / Economics / Economic Theory
Thomas Piketty Tried
Unremarked by most reviewers of Piketty's book “Capital” earlier this year, he also tried to “square the circle” on this longstanding subject. Marx argued that capitalist blind faith in ever-growing markets on the back of ever-growing populations in ever-growing economies could and would try to increase industrial production “until the last moment”. To do this, not only would they need more credit at lower interest rates – harming their pure financial banker brethren – but they would have to pay ever-lower real wages to their slavish workers. With lower real incomes, unsurprisingly, their workers would buy less - but the capitalists “could not understand”. So crisis was hard-wired into the system.
Sunday, August 31, 2014
If U.S. Consumers are so Confident Why aren't They Spending? / Economics / US Economy
The sheep have been told their confidence is at a 7 year high by the propaganda peddlers working at the behest of the oligarchy. The sheep are also told that 10 million jobs have been added since the GOTUS played his first round back in 2009. The sheep have been told the record highs in the stock market prove that all is well. If the .1% are doing fantastic, some of the wealth must be trickling down.
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Friday, August 29, 2014
Rethinking Japan’s “Lost Decades” / Economics / Japan Economy
Peter St. Onge writes: One of the great economic myths of our time is Japan’s “lost decades.” As Japan doubles-down on inflationary stimulus, it’s worth reviewing the facts.
The truth is that the Japanese and US economies have performed in lock-step since 2000, and their performances have matched each other going as far back as 1980.
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Friday, August 29, 2014
The Eurozone is a Growing Problem for U.S. Economy / Economics / US Economy
· The 18-nation euro-zone is the largest economy in the world, eclipsing that of the U.S.
· The euro-zone is the largest trading partner of the U.S. (the largest importer of U.S. goods, the largest exporter of goods to the U.S.).
· The euro-zone is in an economic crisis.
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Thursday, August 28, 2014
U.S. Economic Contraction - Blaming That Cold Weather Culprit / Economics / US Economy
Devin Leary-Hanebrink writes: In February, the Federal Reserve made a cursory observation that the unusually severe winter was partly to blame for the stagnant pace of the US economy. The news media, ranging from liberal to conservative, all highlighted the Fed’s report and provided their respective “spin” on how the weather damages the economy. But soon enough, focus turned back to the brutally cold temperatures and not winter’s economic impact.
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Thursday, August 28, 2014
A Lesson in Economic Analysis from the Minimum Wage Debate / Economics / Wages
Kenneth A. Zahringer writes: In the ebb and flow of interventionist politics, there are some issues that surface periodically regardless of how many times and how completely they are proven to be harmful to the very people they are purported to help. Currently the tide is once again carrying the minimum wage to the forefront of collective attention. Supporters of this and similar measures often use straw-man arguments, like the one in the picture below.
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Thursday, August 28, 2014
Employers Aren’t Just Whining: The “Skills Gap” Is Real / Economics / Employment
Paul Krugman and other notables dismiss the notion of a skills gap, though employers continue to claim they’re having trouble finding workers with the skills they need. And if you look at the evidence one way, Krugman et al. are right. But this week an interesting post on the Harvard Business Review Blog Network by guest columnist James Bessen suggests that employers may not just be whining, they may really have a problem filling some kinds of jobs.
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Wednesday, August 27, 2014
A Look at the Coming 30-year Inflation Cycle / Economics / Inflation
The upcoming bottom of the 60-year cycle will drastically alter the U.S. economic landscape. The ending of the long-term disinflationary/deflationary undercurrent will soon give way to a new long-term cycle of re-inflation/inflation, bringing with it both challenges and opportunities.
As we begin a new 60-year cycle, the main challenge for the Federal Reserve will be to resist the temptation to stimulate the economy during periods of sub-par growth. The saying, "Old generals fight the old wars" applies here as the Fed has always had difficulty in discerning the dominant economic undercurrent.
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Wednesday, August 27, 2014
Europe’s Depressing Economy Dog Days of Summer / Economics / Euro-Zone
As we entered the dog days of summer, a flurry of negative economic news surfaced. The news from Continental Europe was worse than anticipated, catching most observers by surprise. Those who were caught off guard failed to keep their eyes focused on money and credit. In addition, they neglected to gauge geopolitical events and the state of economic confidence.Read full article... Read full article...
Tuesday, August 26, 2014
A Nation of Shopkeepers - Supply-Side (Voodoo) Economics? / Economics / Economic Theory
“To found a great empire for the sole purpose of raising up a people of customers may at first sight appear a project fit only for a nation of shopkeepers. It is, however, a project altogether unfit for a nation of shopkeepers; but extremely fit for a nation whose government is influenced by shopkeepers.”
– Adam Smith, The Wealth of Nations
Tuesday, August 26, 2014
65,000 U.S. Marines Hold up a Mirror to the Economy / Economics / US Economy
I was 18 years old when I left boot camp for Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, where the Marine Corps stationed 65,000 troops. When my unit got our first weekend pass and could actually leave the base in civilian clothes, something I hadn’t worn in several months, I put on a brand new pair of Levis, no belt, penny loafers, white socks, and a collared, buttoned shirt. I had no hair to comb—the Marine Corps saw to that.
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