March 2011

By Michael Pettis Barry Eichengreen had a very interesting piece in last week’s Wall Street Journal. In it he argues that we are approaching the end of the period in which the US dollar is the world’s dominant reserve currency, and…

By Win Thin Malaysia central bank surprised the markets by hiking the statutory reserve requirement 100 bp bp while leaving policy rates unchanged at 2.75%. The bank noted that “While the stance of monetary policy is expected to remain…

If you want an accurate explanation of quantitative easing, here it is. I am going to describe the basic mechanics and the transmission mechanism to the rest of the economy. To the degree there is official documentation on the mechanics, I…

BBH CurrencyView Highlights The US dollar is set to end the week higher, up four of the last five trading days, stemming from a combination of fiscal woes in the periphery, heightened geopolitical tensions and waning risk appetite.…

By Claus Vistesen I recently asked my readers whether the global economy is in for inflation, deflation, or stagflation. Given that it may well be all three at different points in time, it seems as if recent market action suggests that…

This post is designed to be a quick hit but I wanted to put up a few thoughts on corporatism, stimulus and austerity. Consider it an extension of my post "Corporatism masquerading as Liberty". I intend to argue that corporatism is…

By Win Thin Local Brazil analysts are saying that new measures to curb currency appreciation are basically ready to go. Finance Minister Mantega has reportedly not decided yet if he is going to release details today or not, and that he is…

The Federal Reserve released the quarterly flow of funds report which allows one to see the debt levels outstanding in the U.S. economy. From the looks of it, deleveraging has not continued apace. UBS' Andy Lees writes: The Fed Z1 flow…

By Marc Chandler The market continues to digest the meaning and implications of Moody's decision to cut Spain's rating to Aa2 from Aa1. The two main considerations behind Moody's decision is that the cost to restructure the banks will be…

In the video below, Walt Mossberg reviews the iPad2 for the Wall Street Journal. He likes what he sees. He says, as far as tablet's go, it's "the one to beat" for 2011. Enjoy.