Global economic developments this year, along with the impact of safe-haven investment flows have led to the appreciation of the dollar in global markets, contributed to the high level of unemployment in the U.S. and increased the chances for a double-dip recession in America. All these developments have further highlighted the international tensions over exchange […]
An interesting find and a valuable place to look at images–BagNews features some provocative and informative photographers and their work. For example, an image they posted of the Japanese “sumimasen” (apology without end) in action: (photo: AFP/Getty. caption: Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) president Masataka Shimizu (C) and company executives bow to evacuees to apologise […]
The TARP covered banks across the nation The US government’s Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) was such a success that it not only saved America’s financial system, with the help of the Federal Reserve, it also saved the global economy AND turned a profit for the US taxpayer. It was almost three years ago, during […]
The Federal Reserve Board With right-wing Republican presidential candidates these days either calling for the Fed to be abolished (Ron Paul) or simply calling the nation’s central bank “treasonous” (Rick Perry), thinking citizens should at least be concerned about the Fed’s activities. I defended the Fed on this blog and still do. People who should […]
The Union of South American Nations Will the Union of South American Nations (Unasur) and its monetary fund, Banco del Sur, be successful? It has been difficult for emerging markets to diversify their sources of balance of payments (BOP) support. During the 1997-98 Asian crisis, the shame such Asian nations as Korea, Thailand, and Indonesia […]
The following post is an edited version of an article that appeared in the Jerusalem Post earlier this month by Pinchas Landau, author of The Landau Report, a newsletter and consultancy service addressing the needs of foreign firms and financial institutions active in Israel and the Middle East. “Domestic fury, and fierce civil strife Shall […]
With America’s latest market crash, the debt debate seems so ‘last week’ (hey, it was last week!), there is still much to learn from the tumultuous process. Niall Ferguson attempts to provide an outside perspective on the whole debt limit battle. It’s a pretty important outside perspective too; China: Viewed from Beijing, it looked very […]
The debt and deficit crises driving a 2000 point decline in US Markets over the last two weeks and a credit downgrade lies at the heart of the Western financial and political system goes way beyond the debt & deficit woes currently gripping the Western world; it strikes at the very heart of the way […]
For those who have been following the News Corp. scandal over the last few weeks, they have seen it get increasingly complicated. For those who haven’t been following it, they should. News Corp. controls a wide range of media-related ventures, from television to publishing to newspapers. These are entities that generally have a major influence […]
In the Republican-controlled House of Representatives, an idea once confined to the conservative ‘wingnut’ fringe of the Republican party has morphed into the party’s mainstream – the belief that intentionally allowing a Federal default on paying the National debt might be an acceptable price to pay to make a political point by forcing the Obama administration to assume ownership of a fiscal mess created by the previous Republican president.
THE ROAD TO DEAUVILLE, FRANCE 2011 G-8 SUMMIT: President Barack Obama arrives in Europe today beginning a six-day trip that seeks more resources to promote and support the pro-democracy movements in the Middle East’s Arab Spring, a trip to Ireland, an address before the British Parliament to “re-set’ US-European relations, and a G-* Summit in Deaville, Fr to discuss integrating Suub-Saharran Africa into the Global economic framework.
This week the members of the G8 will hold their annual meeting in Deauville France, to discuss issues ranging from non-proliferation and counter-terrorism to the internet and transatlantic cocaine trafficking. Although these are all very important issues, the only agenda topic that matters is the ‘Arab Spring’ and how some of the eight wealthier nations […]
A power shift at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in favor of Emerging Market nations has now set the stage for a fierce international battle over who should succeed Dominique Strauss-Kahn (DSK) as he battles well-publicized allegations of sexual assault in New York. The outcome of this struggle and may threaten the ‘gentlemen’s agreement’ […]
US Court rules the three major credit rating agencies may continue to lie, mislead & cheat investors by assigning false ratings, and helping investment firms to structure transactions that gain ‘AAA’ status. The rating agencies ‘opinions’ are protected under First Amendment protections as free speech. This ruling is a set-back to individual investors & ordinary working Americans everywhere.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and US Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner play host this week to the third round of a newly formed bi-lateral talks between the US and China. This is the first time the so-called US-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue (SE&D) is being held in the US. The purpose of the talks, Geithner said in his opening comments on Monday, is to look for opportunities to build closer economic ties between the World’s two leading economic powers.