Events are over-taking me as well. This morning, the explosion of CDS costs moved from Greece, whose costs are already orbiting the planet anyway, to Spain, Italy and Hungary. Does that trio sound familiar? Why have debt insurance costs shot up? Because the 750 Billion Euro ‘shock and awe’ action hasn’t worked and won’t. Spain …
We are on the approaches to another serious bank lending crisis. Once again it will be talked about as a liquidity crisis and once again the underlying illness, insolvency caused by debt, will be studiously ignored. The financial doctors will treat the pustules but not the infection causing them. Our situation now, is we have …
The Bank of International Settlement (BIS) just had a press conference at the end of a two day meeting of the world’s Central Bankers. Here’s some of what they said. I had to check I hadn’t got confused and picked up last year’s press release by accident. I don’t know, you tell me if these …
If we carry on as we are, what is going to happen? It’s one of the simpler ‘what ifs’ we can ask. So lets. Can we get by with what we have spent and the debts we have incurred so far? If we do nothing in Europe more than has already been done, what will …
There is now a profound political gulf separating the US and Europe over how to deal with the Bank crisis. I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say that a certain post-war concensus, the one that said ‘The US is in charge’, has now broken down. But that doesn’t mean either side is quite ready …
Sometimes mere coincidence can be telling. Yesterday and today two different actions were taken by the US Congress. Yesterday the Senate killed a bill which would have extended unemployment benefits past the current limit of 99 weeks. Then today, the Congress passed the Financial Regulation bill whose eventual shape even the financial press admits will …
Let’s assume that the plans our leaders now have in mind are implemented. Let’s tally up what that will mean for us in the near term, and ask what will we have at the end, to show for all the suffering, and will it have been worth it? I’m not talking about possible future developements. …
Stand by for another burst of Bank black mail. Both in Europe and the US. Here in Europe the second failure of Hungary’s debt auctions has prompted Willem Buiter of Citi, to tell the EU that it will have to double it’s bail out fund. 680 Billion is not enough he said. The ECB will …
We are getting very close to another blow out. Hungary had its second straight Bond auction failure. Hungary could not sell the amount it had tried to, even though it was paying a higher rate than the last time the market said no. This is NOT good. Hungary is not part of the EU so …
Politics for President Obama is going badly and is going to get worse. His ratings are low and the US media love to talk about ratings. For Americans, ratings are stats, stats means sports and sports means fun. It will be anything but, for Mr Obama. In my opinion a major part of Mr Obama’s …
