The Institute for New Economic Thinking (INET) hosted its inaugural conference this weekend at King’s College Cambridge, an experiment of sorts. I had the pleasure of attending the conference, my first time to Cambridge. John Maynard Keynes wrote his *General Theory* at King’s College. And as if that wasn’t enough, I dined with blogging legends, … Read more
This morning there was an abundance of links evidencing the building anxiety over U.S.-China relations. Edward Harrison at Credit Writedowns links to a Reuters article, China vows to hit back if targeted by U.S. on yuan. Calculated Risk refers to commentary at the Financial Times and the Washington Post referencing China Losing Support of American … Read more
Botox (botulinum toxin), a highly toxic neurotoxic protein produced by Clostridium Botulinum, is commonly used in cosmetic procedures. Botox is sometimes injected to improve a person’s appearance by removing facial lines and other signs of ageing. The effect is temporary and can have significant side effects. The global economy is currently taking the “botox” cure. … Read more
When Ben Bernanke was asked about the “too big to fail” problem not too long ago, the WSJ Economics blog reports: Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke voiced skepticism that breaking-up big banks is the way to solve the so-called too big to fail problem… Asked for his thoughts on Bank of England Gov. Mervyn King’s … Read more
From the FT: Since March there has been a massive rally in all sorts of risky assets – equities, oil, energy and commodity prices – a narrowing of high-yield and high-grade credit spreads, and an even bigger rally in emerging market asset classes (their stocks, bonds and currencies). At the same time, the dollar has … Read more
Our Washington Post online column today is another cry in the wilderness against the homebuyer tax credit. There are many arguments against the tax credit. One argument we make is that the tax credit is a benefit for sellers of houses more than for buyers of houses. This is simplest to see if you imagine … Read more
An important conference was held in January at Brown University: “The Present Interglacial, How and When Will it End?” (The October issue of Science had a summary of the it) As a result, the following letter was sent to the President. The media has not reported this, but you should be aware of the letter and … Read more
While much is being made of Sheila Bair’s recent comments on haircuts to secured lenders, the Chair of the FDIC seems, to me, to be trying to expand the discussion of problem bank resolution in a constructive manner. Other regulators, so far, have shied away from real policy reforms that deal with too-big-to-fail in any … Read more
On Monday, Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Julius Genachowski announced the roll-out of plans to implement network neutrality rules covering internet, mobile and other data networks. Many, if not all, data networks in the U.S. engage in some form of traffic management, either by capping bandwidth, blocking ports or protocols and traffic shaping. The FCC’s … Read more
Forbes.com – Roubini: One Year After Lehman (Click for VIDEO) Forbes.com – Economist says financial road bumps remain. [3:51] ___________________________________ Forbes.com – Roubini Market Correction Ahead (Click for VIDEO) Forbes.com – Roubini says stocks will pull back; 25% probability of double-dip recession. [3:32]