April 2011

Bernanke (and Dudley) have been testifying that inflation is not an issue. But what signs and maps are they reading? Bernanke specifically invokes inflation expectations as being most important, and he contends they are low. They both note…

Some investors are tiring of our cautioning of a “possible correction,” “waiting until you see the whites of their eyes,” and so forth. Some wish the market would stop dithering and just head north into mania territory. Or wish Casey…

Mexico central bank Governor Carstens is sounding very dovish, noting that the economic recovery is not leading to price pressures.  He believes there is enough slack in the economy still to keep inflation near the 3% target. …

From Wikipedia (section to discuss underlined and bolded): Though the Company was becoming increasingly bold and ambitious in putting down resisting states, it was getting clearer that the Company was incapable of governing the vast…

I was on the Alyona Show last night talking about the impending government shutdown. Regardless of your ideological predisposition, you have to see that this will have some negative effects for the economy over the short term. At this…

A year ago, in March 2010, Iceland’s economy was so small that it did not warrant much attention when 93% of its voters rejected the Social Democratic-Green government’s surrender to demands by Gordon Brown and the Dutch, the European Union…

By Marc Chandler A disproportionate amount of mind share has been devoted to the financial aspects of the crisis. Investors and policy makers alike may be distracted by this over-emphasis and thus leaving them vulnerable to other aspects…

S&P upgraded Indonesia’s rating by one notch to BB+, just one notch shy of investment grade. The move puts it on par with the other two agencies, and we think investment grade will be given by at least one of the big three agencies this…

Marc Faber was on CNBC talking about the intersection of asset markets with monetary policy. His view is that the Fed will be accommodative for the indefinite future, resulting in a move into riskier assets by investors starved for real…

By Michael Pettis I just got back from a very interesting but hectic week in New York and Washington, followed by two days at a conference in Hangzhou. During my meetings I noticed that much of the discussion, and many of the questions I…