Analysis Topic: Economic Trends Analysis
The analysis published under this topic are as follows.Sunday, April 25, 2010
Argentina From Economic Depression to Recession to Resuscitation to Debt Retirement / Economics / Argentina
After nearly a decade of depression, recession and resurrection, Argentina wants to retire its remaining unpaid debt at about 50 cents on the dollar and rejoin world financial markets.
It all goes well, Argentine debt and the peso could be a very good investment.
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Sunday, April 25, 2010
Inflation or Deflation, What to Do and When to Act / Economics / Inflation
Have you ever seen a documentary where the herd of zebras is at the river's edge? The lions are behind them. The crocodiles are in front of them. What's a wise zebra to do?
Most of them wait. Then, without visible warning, they either run like mad or else plunge into the river.
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Saturday, April 24, 2010
The Six Key Drivers of Emerging Markets / Economics / Emerging Markets
Emerging markets are changing the way the world works by developing into global powerhouses. The latest edition of our “What’s Driving?” series identifies the six key drivers and the effect they have on the economic vitality of emerging markets.
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Friday, April 23, 2010
U.S. Debt and Bankruptcy / Economics / US Debt
There has never been as much attention paid to the situation of a looming American bankruptcy since the National Debt Clock made its debut many moons ago. It is hard these days to pick up a newspaper or look at a TV program without hearing someone mention our massive debt. And they’d be correct in saying we’re in big trouble. Numerous articles have asked the question ‘Is America Bankrupt?’ While bankruptcy on a family or individual scale is a fairly simple construct to grasp, such is not the case when it comes to a nation or group of nations, as is the case in Europe. This week’s essay is dedicated to making a rather complex question a little easier to understand, and more importantly – to arrive at a more definitive answer.
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Friday, April 23, 2010
Reports of Our Economic Recovery Are Greatly Exaggerated / Economics / Economic Recovery
From all outward appearances, it seems that a grim chapter in U.S. economic history has come to an end. Newsweek magazine declares that "America is Back," government statistics indicate revival, and our stock market has put in a rally for the record books (by rate of ascent, not highs - we are still more than 25% below the 2007 peak).Read full article... Read full article...
Thursday, April 22, 2010
No China Asset Bubble, Healthy Economic Growth to Continue / Economics / China Economy
Olivier Blanchard, chief economist at the International Monetary Fund (IMF), talks with Bloomberg this morning about the prospects for an asset bubble in China. Blanchard, speaking from Washington, also discusses the impact of sovereign debt on global economic growth.
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Thursday, April 22, 2010
Teaching Inflation / Economics / Inflation
Hunt Tooley writes: I had a great teaching experience early last school year. I taught the history of inflation, and I have never timed a course better. I have taught in colleges and universities since 1985, and I have often thought about doing a course on the history of inflation. But this time, current events pushed me to go ahead.
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Thursday, April 22, 2010
Real U.K. Unemployment is 5.5 million, the Jobless Economic Recovery? / Economics / UK Economy
The latest U.K. Unemployment and claimant count data released Wednesday show a confusing mixed picture which allowed both Labour and the Conservatives to broadcast election propaganda in their own favour.
- U.K. Unemployment ROSE to 2.502 million for January 2010, which elevated the Jobless rate to 8%
- U.K. Benefits Claimant Count (seasonally adjusted) FELL by 33,000 to 1.54 million for Feb 2010.
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Money Supply Metrics, the Austrian Take / Economics / Money Supply
All economists, whether they are of an Austrian, a Keynesian or a Monetarist bent, as well as nearly every investor, would agree that money plays a vitally important role in the economy. And a correct measure of its supply is an indispensable input into every economic and financial forecast. How could it not, for money is one half of every economic transaction.
Yet, despite its importance, the money supply metrics used by the majority of today’s economists and investors are seriously flawed, for they are founded on a faulty definition of money.
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Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Economics Is Crucial for Ethics / Economics / Economic Theory
I assume that we all want to use the lives we've been given to make the world a better place. This isn't as straightforward as it seems at first. It is insufficient merely to think globally; and depressingly many kinds of acting locally are positively destructive. I have been asked to consider a handful of questions: I'm supposed to discuss the most pressing issue in the world, whether it is getting better or worse, and what we can do about it. I have also been asked what we can do to reduce infant mortality in Memphis. Finally, I've been asked what "thinking globally and acting locally" means to me. I will discuss each in turn.
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Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Global Economic Recovery Fuelled by World’s Factories Manufacturing at Record Rates / Economics / Economic Recovery
Don Miller writes: The world's factories are churning out products at record rates, fueling the global economic recovery at a faster pace than thought possible just a few months ago.
The latest figures show factory output is growing at a record rate from the United States to China to Europe and beyond. And as manufacturing expands, economists expect the world's economies to continue to expand, creating jobs and putting money in consumer pocketbooks.
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Wednesday, April 21, 2010
How to Profit From China’s Economic Role Model: Singapore / Economics / Asian Economies
Martin Hutchinson writes: China's economic model has been extraordinarily successful. But the Asian giant didn't create it out of thin air.
It had a role model.
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Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Deeper Double Dip Recession as Keynesian Fails / Economics / Double Dip Recession
The case for a secondary recession rests on several factors: a double-dip decline in the residential real estate market, the accelerating decline in the commercial real estate market, the unresolved losses in bank balance sheets, the narrow focus of the profitability (earnings), which has been limited to bailed-out banks, and the threat of rising long-term interest rates, i.e., a decline in the bond market.
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Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Russia’s Economic Recovery Priorities Focus on Modernization and Innovation / Economics / Russia
Russia’s Finance Minister Aleksei Kudrin delivered his traditional annual speech at the Higher School of Economics in Moscow last week, in which he highlighted his vision of the pressing needs for Russia’s economy. We make a synthesis of these and add the opinion of another economic expert.
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Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Decline in Bank Lending: Business Investment in America is almost at a Standstill / Economics / Economic Recovery
One of the reasons for less bank lending is the almost non-existent market for securitized bonds. Investors have so many bad loans on their books that they refuse to commit to further risky investments. This means banks are forced to hold this toxic paper on their books and that inhibits them from lending at higher levels. If the Fed had not purchased $1.7 trillion of this toxic junk many banks would currently be in bankruptcy. Thus, there still are trillions in these bad loans on the books of many financial institutions and they cannot be sold and they are clogging up the system, and there is no end in sight for the problem.
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Tuesday, April 20, 2010
UK Inflation Soars CPI 3.4%, RPI 4.4%, Bank of England Forecast Wrong as Usual / Economics / Inflation
UK Inflation CPI surged higher for March from 3% to 3.4% taking the academic economists that populate the mainstream press by surprise against consensus views of inflation rising to 3.1%.
The Bank of England's forecasts for inflation to fall have yet again been shown to be an abysmal failure when it comes to inflation forecasting and targeting where the mantra of UK inflation being at 2% in 2 years time only having been achieved approx 4% of the time, i.e. there is a 96% probability that inflation in 2 years time will NOT be at 2%.
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Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Rebalanced UK Economy and Economic Growth To Fix Britain's Finances / Economics / UK Economy
Long time readers know that I am a huge fan of Martin Wolf, economist and columnist for the Financial Times. His writing is the reason to get the Pink Lady (as the Financial Times is known) as far as I am concerned.
This week's Outside the Box has two columns back to back from last week from Wolf, talking about the problems in Britain which look like the same problem all over the developed world. Wolf argues (rather cogently) that the answer is to increase exports and for a further weakening of the pound. Quoting:
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
America’s Economic Recovery Is a Rotten Sham / Economics / Economic Recovery
More evidence has arisen that the "strategic default" consumer spending thesis is correct - and that the economic recovery on the whole is based on a rotten sham.
The economic "recovery" we are now witnessing is based on theft, greed and deceit. It's a giant rip-off, a rotten sham. In this sleazy imitation of a free market economy, liars, cheats and deadbeats are the ones getting rewarded.
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Monday, April 19, 2010
California Unemployment Soars, Underemployment at 24% / Economics / Recession 2008 - 2010
Dr Housing Bubble writes: California has reached another unfortunate record. The headline unemployment rate pushed up to a record breaking 12.6 percent. This translates to 2.3 million Californians completely out of work. We also have a large number that are working part-time but would like full-time employment. When we look at the California budget and economy we cannot separate out jobs from the condition of the housing market.
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Monday, April 19, 2010
Europe Sovereign Debt Crisis, British Pound Sterling Collapse? / Economics / Global Debt Crisis
Just as LEAP/E2020 anticipated many months ago, and in contrast to the reports coming out of the media and the « experts » during these past few weeks, Greece really has the Eurozone behind it to give support and credibility (especially concerning good management in the future, the only guarantee of an escape from a damnable cycle of growing public deficits (1)). There will not be, then, any Greek default of payment even if the commotion over the Greek situation really is an indication of a growing awareness that money to finance the huge Western public debt is becoming increasingly difficult to find: a situation now « untenable » as a recent report of the Bank of International Settlements underlined.
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