Analysis Topic: Economic Trends Analysis
The analysis published under this topic are as follows.Monday, April 12, 2010
Why UK Treasury Economic Models are Out of Date, and Wrong / Economics / Economic Theory
I had a superb session on Budget Day last month with Joe Nellis, Professor of Economics at Cranfield, and he gave us some of his forecasts for economy in the next few years. The forecast could be summarized as that we would recover, but slowly.
It was interesting to see later, during the budget, the Treasury forecasts and compare, and as the papers have said today, 'Expert' forecasters think Darling is a bit optimistic.
Monday, April 12, 2010
Why UK Inflation Will Increase in 2010 / Economics / Inflation
The 'expert' economists tell us that Inflation is not a risk to the UK. They say it has risen but will decline again fairly quickly and everything is under control. But it's not. Ask real people running real businesses and they will tell you there a host of reasons why inflation will increase:Read full article... Read full article...
Monday, April 12, 2010
Common Sense Beats Keynesian Sense / Economics / Economic Theory
L. Albert Hahn writes: My book, The Economics of Illusion, published in 1949, was essentially a critique of the late Lord Keynes's General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money. My conclusion was, briefly, that what is new in Keynes's work is not good, and what is good is not new.
Read full article... Read full article...
Monday, April 12, 2010
Bernanke the Great Inflator Says Welcome to Zimbabwe / Economics / Inflation
If you follow economic affairs at all, you know who Ben Bernanke is. He's the chairman of the Federal Reserve. He was Time's 2009 "Man of the Year." CBS News said he may be the most important Fed chairman in history when Scott Pelley interviewed him for the highly watched 60 Minutes program.
Read full article... Read full article...
Monday, April 12, 2010
U.S. Economy Catch-22 of a China Yuan Currency Revaluation / Economics / US Economy
The stage has been set for a play of the utmost irony, coupled to an acceleration in the decline of the fundamental U.S. economy. Members of the U.S. Congress have recently urged the Treasury Department to declare China a "currency manipulator," thus implicitly threatening China with punitive measures if it does not allow the value of its currency to rise against the dollar.
Read full article... Read full article...
Monday, April 12, 2010
Is the U.S. Economy Really Recovering from Recession? / Economics / Economic Recovery
Some Obama supporters are already bragging about how the 'recovery' will ensure him a second term and therefore save his statist counter-revolution. Not so fast. These people are making the same mistake that many conservative commentators have made in that they are assuming recessions to be indeed cyclical. This means any downturn is eventually reversed and that this is now the case. It also means that these people have learnt nothing from economic history, particularly the policy disasters that the Hoover/Roosevelt administrations inflicted on the country.
Read full article... Read full article...
Sunday, April 11, 2010
NHS Bankrupts Britain / Economics / Government Spending
The government is set to spend an estimated £677 billion this financial year on the public sector (2009-10), that is currently running an ANNUAL £167 billion deficit, i.e. the government spends £167 billion a YEAR more than it earns in revenue which is contributing to towards igniting Britains inflationary debt spiral, that risks accelerating trend towards an hyper inflationary bust leaving savers with worthless paper and the economy in ruins, i.e. bankrupt.
Read full article... Read full article...
Friday, April 09, 2010
Market Myths Exposed: Inflation Is Not A Threat, Deflation Is / Economics / Deflation
Our free eBook reveals the 10 most common financial misconceptions
Nico Isaac writes: Most people are confident they can recognize a myth when they hear one: Wearing a hat causes baldness; eating a bunch of carrots gives you perfect vision; 'light' cigarettes are better for your health than the regular kind.
Read full article... Read full article...
Friday, April 09, 2010
Greece Debt Crisis, Krugman Strikes Again / Economics / Global Debt Crisis
In a commentary two weeks ago, I rebutted dangerously silly arguments put forward by New York Times columnist Paul Krugman about how the United States should pressure China to drop its support for the U.S. dollar (click here to view). Although there is far more happening in the world outside of Mr. Krugman's brain than within it, fresh drivel from the acclaimed Nobel Prize winner compels me to turn my focus there once again.
Read full article... Read full article...
Friday, April 09, 2010
Deflation, Inflation, Hyperinflation, Bubbles and Gold / Economics / Liquidity Bubble
Sometimes a picture really is worth a thousand words, even if it is only to prove a point that common sense dictates should have been won a long time ago. But common sense seems to be in short supply and not only has the point not been won, it isn’t even being discussed right now. Yes, it is the age-old debate on where price inflation comes from. It is also a foregone conclusion that the US is heading towards a Weimar style hyperinflationary depression. Left to normal circumstances, that is logical conclusion. However, there are several developments that point to the possibility of another deflationary depression, similar to the 1930’s. We’ll get to that later. For starters, let’s put to bed (hopefully) once and for all where price inflation comes from.
Read full article... Read full article...
Friday, April 09, 2010
Economic Long Kondratieff Wave Master Interview / Economics / Cycles Analysis
David Knox Barker is one of the leading authorities on the economic long wave, otherwise known as the Kondratieff Wave (a.k.a. “K Wave”). Barker has had an impressive career both as a financial market writer and long wave analyst, as well as being an entrepreneur in the field of emerging nanotechnology. Back in the late 1980s and ‘90s, Barker was known for his insightful and accurate views on the U.S. economy and financial markets via his “K Wave Report” newsletter.Read full article... Read full article...
Friday, April 09, 2010
Why the Fed Won’t Rescue America’s Plunging Savings Rate / Economics / US Economy
Martin Hutchinson writes: In the 1992 election campaign, H. Ross Perot predicted a "giant sucking sound" of U.S. jobs heading for Mexico if the North American Free Trade Agreement passed. Perot seems to have been wrong on that - wherever U.S. jobs have gone, it's not Mexico.
Read full article... Read full article...
Friday, April 09, 2010
U.S. Economy Shifting into Higher Gear / Economics / Economic Recovery
- Why Oil and the Dollar Are Going Up at the Same Time
- 4 Indicators Indicating the Economy Is Revving Up
- 3 Forces That Will Kick Energy Stocks into Overdrive
- How YOU Can Profit from This Trend
Friday, April 09, 2010
The Current Financial Crisis — and After / Economics / Credit Crisis 2010
Kevin Dowd writes: My main topic this morning is the resolution of the current financial crisis, and what might be done to fix the financial system and help avert another crisis in the future.
If this sounds like good news, it is indeed. But you should beware of economists bearing good news on a beautiful Sunday morning: economics isn't known as the dismal science for nothing.
Read full article... Read full article...
Friday, April 09, 2010
European Union Sinking into Economic Depression, The Coming Debt Wars / Economics / Great Depression II
Government debt in Greece is just the first in a series of European debt bombs that are set to explode. The mortgage debts in post-Soviet economies and Iceland are more explosive. Although these countries are not in the Eurozone, most of their debts are denominated in euros. Some 87% of Latvia’s debts are in euros or other foreign currencies, and are owed mainly to Swedish banks, while Hungary and Romania owe euro-debts mainly to Austrian banks. So their government borrowing by non-euro members has been to support exchange rates to pay these private-sector debts to foreign banks, not to finance a domestic budget deficit as in Greece.
Read full article... Read full article...
Friday, April 09, 2010
U.S. Consumers Are Back", Mish Says "Show Me The Money" / Economics / US Economy
MarketWatch is reporting March sales are fresh signal that U.S. consumers are back.
Read full article... Read full article...
Thursday, April 08, 2010
The Global Bubble Has Reflated / Economics / Global Economy
Back in the Spring of 2009, the World Bank forecast that the global economy would contract by 1.7% that year; the first global contraction since the Great Depression (yet another clear indicator we are in a depression).
As it turns out, they were quite conservative (as you would expect). Latest numbers from the World Bank show a decline in global GDP by 2.2% for 2009.
Read full article... Read full article...
Thursday, April 08, 2010
Consumer Balance Sheet and Consumer Spending in Perspective Economic Recovery Implications / Economics / US Economy
Here is an interesting chart on Consumer Balance Sheet, Savings Rate, and Debt Service Ratio posted by Barry Ritholtz.
Read full article... Read full article...
Thursday, April 08, 2010
China Economic Crisis, From Export Juggernaut to a Credit Addict / Economics / China Economy
There's no doubt that China manipulates its currency to gain an unfair advantage over its competitors. There's also no doubt that Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner will do everything in his power to avoid a confrontation with China's President Hu Jintao when he arrives in Washington in two weeks. That's why Geithner has decided to shelve Treasury's mandated currency manipulation report for the time-being and diffuse a potential imbroglio with Hu.
Read full article... Read full article...
Thursday, April 08, 2010
The Bright Side of Hyperinflation / Economics / HyperInflation
Despite encouraging words from politicians and the establishment media’s talking heads, it is clear to me, and I believe most Americans who do not live in a regime ivory tower, that we are not coming out of the recession. In fact, things appear to be getting worse as unemployment continues to rise and businesses cut salaries or shut down. The fears that this recession could turn into another Great Depression are very real, as we have lost so much of our capacity to create wealth and the federal government seems determined to use up any remaining capital fighting endless wars, funding endless entitlement programs, and spending trillions of dollars on non-wealth-creating "stimulus" programs while handing out even more trillions to their bankster buddies and corporate cronies. However, another 1930s-style depression is not what keeps me up at night with worry.
Read full article... Read full article...