These days the interest rates on 30 day-time deposits have reached 12.2%, the highest level in the past 21 months, while the interbank rate rose from 9.8% to 12.6% in a matter of days (reaching 14% at its peak), only to return to previous levels. The big question is whether this rise was simply due … Read more
For over a year, RGE has argued that a solution to the Greek debt insolvency crisis should include an orderly and market-oriented but coercive debt exchange, with a par bond for hold-to-maturity investors (banks, insurance companies, pension funds) and a discount bond for mark-to-market investors (hedge funds, etc.). And indeed, the EZ has now proposed, … Read more
With $562-billion in net foreign asset, the second largest oil reserves in the world after Venezuela (according to the latest Opec bulletin), and the second largest oil output in the world after Russia – Saudi Arabia’s future looks rosy and solid. Indeed, Saudi Arabia has been able to soothe internal tensions and even manage external … Read more
Fox Business — July 26, 2011 [4:59] MoKa Investments’ Gil Morales and Strategic Financial Group CIO Lincoln Ellis debate whether gold will continue its rise. Watch the latest video at video.foxbusiness.com
Last night President Obama asked for Americans to help end the debt limit debate by contacting their representatives to plead for compromise. The final half of his speech was refreshingly eloquent, and showcased the President’s apparent preference for bi-partisanship. At least for the purposes of this blog, I am willing to take him at his … Read more
As Europe’s leaders struggle to convince markets that their Greek debt problem-resolution-proposals are actually viable, and will really do the trick, last weeks flash PMI readings seem to have attracted rather less attention than they might. Nonetheless, the fact of the matter is that it is steadily becoming clearer that the current slowdown in Eurozone … Read more
Here’ s what was left out of today’s Hurriyet column, which was also posted at the blog. The Usual Suspects First, let’s start with who the usual suspects are, i.e. who rattled Turkish markets last week: The IMF: All the IMF-related events were detailed in the column. Global Developments: It is natural that Turkish assets … Read more
As everyone knows who has followed the current budget debate, U.S. fiscal policy needs more than a quick fix. It needs budget rules to put the debt and deficit on trajectories that are sustainable in the long run. Where better to look for workable rules than to countries that have done things right? Chile, which … Read more
In October 2008, the Western world was close to a financial meltdown. Today, as the Eurozone stands at a cliff, Capitol Hill is pushing the U.S. economy to the edge. Reportedly, leaders of a bipartisan “Gang of Six” senators have reached agreement on a major plan to cut the deficit by more than $4 … Read more
According to news reports, the Obama administration is talking to automakers about raising the Corporate Average Fuel Economy standard for passenger cars to 56.2 miles per gallon by 2025, more than double the 27.5 MPG in force for the 20 years up to 2010. Economists, even those like myself who favor policies to reduce fuel … Read more