2009

The March 2009 Manufacturing ISM Report on Business is out.  The widely-followed figure of 36.3 for the purchasing manager's index (PMI) shows a manufacturing sector contracting quickly, albeit at a slower pace.  Last month, the PMI was…

This post was an April Fool's joke. We all know this is not going to happen anytime soon.

Lessons from Japan’s failed fiscal stimulus - Vox Eu Obama’s Ersatz Capitalism - Joseph Stiglitz, NY Times hat tip Mark Thoma The Future of Investing: Evolution or Revolution? - Bill Gross NBER: Household and NFP Differences Are…

I don't want to beat a dead horse here, but the Chinese have been making a lot of muscular moves diplomatically. While shifts in balance of power often take decades, it is increasingly apparent that China is making a strategic move in that…

Back in February I posted an article called "The bullish argument for the global economy" highlighting Goldman Sachs' Chief Economist Jim O'Neill's bullish view for the economy. O'Neill believed in February that a economic rebound was…

Marshall Auerback here. Remind me again what Larry Summers was talking about when he spoke of the US as being a "nation of laws", where "sanctity of contract" is sacrosanct? In a case of first impression that could have far-reaching…

This comes from Win Thin, a senior currency strategist at Brown Brothers Harriman: Mexico President Calderon is now saying that Mexico stands ready to take a $30-40 bln IMF credit line. This was a surprise to us, and we view this as a…

This clip is very much in line with my thinking from a previous post.

If you want to know what a modern-day depression looks like, try Ukraine. Growth in the ex-Soviet state, hit by shrinking markets for its steel and chemical exports, stood at 5.8 per cent of gross domestic product in the same period of…

You might have thought house price declines were slowing. I certainly had hoped so. The latest data from January 2009 from the S&P/Case-Shiller index suggests this is wishful thinking as year-on-year declines hit another record of…