Is Russia Planning a Gold-Based Currency? … The "perfect-storm" of geopolitical instability, diplomatic isolation, severe currency depreciation, and economic decline now confronting Russia has profoundly damaged Moscow's international standing, and possibly for the long-term. Yet, it is precisely such conditions that may push the country's leadership into taking the radical...Read More
Regulating the Regulators … U.S. lawmakers say they want regulators — notably, financial regulators — to weigh the economic impact of their actions more carefully. That's actually not a bad idea, as long as it doesn't end up neutering rules that the economy badly needs. With the stated goal of reducing red tape and a modicum of Democratic support, Republicans in Congress...Read More
US hosts anti-extremism summit after global terror attacks … The US has opened a three-day summit on countering violent extremism. Representatives from around the world are attending the gathering, which follows shooting incidents in Denmark, France and Australia. Vice President Joe Biden said it was imperative to engage with immigrants who may be radicalised because of marginalisation. &quo...Read More
Regulating the Regulators … U.S. lawmakers say they want regulators — notably, financial regulators — to weigh the economic impact of their actions more carefully. That's actually not a bad idea, as long as it doesn't end up neutering rules that the economy badly needs. With the stated goal of reducing red tape and a modicum of Democratic support, Republicans in Congress...Read More
US hosts anti-extremism summit after global terror attacks … The US has opened a three-day summit on countering violent extremism. Representatives from around the world are attending the gathering, which follows shooting incidents in Denmark, France and Australia. Vice President Joe Biden said it was imperative to engage with immigrants who may be radicalised because of marginalisation. &quo...Read More
3% down payments lure first-time homebuyers … After years of moving around the country for his job with Marriott hotels, John Eddleman wanted to put down roots. Last month, he bought a brick bungalow on Des Moines' south side, taking advantage of a recent federal policy change that allows down payments of as low as 3%. "It came at just the right time because otherwise I would have h...Read More
In Yemen there is no longer a government or a president. On January 22, after the Houthi, (Zaydi Shiites) militiamen in the north besieged the presidential palace in Sana'a, both interim President (since 2012) Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi and Prime Minister Khaled Bahah (of a caretaker government which secured parliamentary confidence in December 2014), resigned. Washington has closed its embassy an...Read More
3% down payments lure first-time homebuyers … After years of moving around the country for his job with Marriott hotels, John Eddleman wanted to put down roots. Last month, he bought a brick bungalow on Des Moines' south side, taking advantage of a recent federal policy change that allows down payments of as low as 3%. "It came at just the right time because otherwise I would have h...Read More
In Yemen there is no longer a government or a president. On January 22, after the Houthi, (Zaydi Shiites) militiamen in the north besieged the presidential palace in Sana'a, both interim President (since 2012) Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi and Prime Minister Khaled Bahah (of a caretaker government which secured parliamentary confidence in December 2014), resigned. Washington has closed its embassy an...Read More
What a Central Bank Can, and Can't, Do About Government Debt … In the 1920s, Britain embarked on a determined drive to work off the debt accumulated during the First World War through a program of severe austerity. As the International Monetary Fund pointed out in a 2012 report, Britain failed; by the early 1930s, its debt was higher as a share of GDP than it was at the start of the 1920...Read More
Republicans: We will get blamed for DHS shutdown … Republicans are getting pummeled in the messaging wars amid an escalating standoff over Homeland Security funding. In interviews with The Hill, centrist Republicans are conceding that their party — not the Democrats — will be blamed if the critical agency shuts down at the end of the month. – The HillDominant Social Theme:...Read More
What a Central Bank Can, and Can't, Do About Government Debt … In the 1920s, Britain embarked on a determined drive to work off the debt accumulated during the First World War through a program of severe austerity. As the International Monetary Fund pointed out in a 2012 report, Britain failed; by the early 1930s, its debt was higher as a share of GDP than it was at the start of the 1920...Read More
Republicans: We will get blamed for DHS shutdown … Republicans are getting pummeled in the messaging wars amid an escalating standoff over Homeland Security funding. In interviews with The Hill, centrist Republicans are conceding that their party — not the Democrats — will be blamed if the critical agency shuts down at the end of the month. – The HillDominant Social Theme:...Read More
Dallas Fed chief urges power shift at bank … The outgoing head of the Dallas Federal Reserve called Wednesday for major changes to the central bank's power structure, arguing that current policies fuel perceptions that big banks have too much influence with regulators. During a fiery speech to the Economic Club of New York, President Richard Fisher criticized the current structure, argui...Read More
What We Know About Recessions Might Be Wrong … What are business cycles? Many people think that booms naturally lead to busts — that excesses built up during good times lead inevitably to a crash. Today's economists don't see it that way. Modern macroeconomists think that recessions and booms are random fluctuations around a trend. These fluctuations tend to die out — a d...Read More
Dallas Fed chief urges power shift at bank … The outgoing head of the Dallas Federal Reserve called Wednesday for major changes to the central bank's power structure, arguing that current policies fuel perceptions that big banks have too much influence with regulators. During a fiery speech to the Economic Club of New York, President Richard Fisher criticized the current structure, argui...Read More
What We Know About Recessions Might Be Wrong … What are business cycles? Many people think that booms naturally lead to busts — that excesses built up during good times lead inevitably to a crash. Today's economists don't see it that way. Modern macroeconomists think that recessions and booms are random fluctuations around a trend. These fluctuations tend to die out — a d...Read More
Cenovus Energy says it will make a 15% staff reduction, mostly to its contract workforce, and will suspend employee salary increases to preserve "financial resilience" in case oil falls further. Cenovus made the announcement in a production update released today. "In the current challenging oil price environment, we're reducing capital spending in order to help preserve our financial resilience,"...Read More
Greece presents bailout plans to EU finance ministers … Greece's anti-austerity government is presenting its first concrete proposals for an alternative debt plan at an emergency meeting of eurozone finance ministers in Brussels. The government wants to overhaul 30% of its bailout obligations, replacing them with a 10-point plan of reforms. But EU ministers have warned that Greece must a...Read More
For the third time in a century, America will have to ride to Europe's rescue … From the sidelines, the US is watching the unfolding Greek tragedy with growing horror. It must stand ready to assist as the euro breaks apart. It would be the third time in a century. Will America once more end up having to save the fratricidal Europeans from themselves? – UK TelegraphDominant Social T...Read More