2011

The U.S. labor market will not return to full employment (defined as a 5% unemployment rate) by following a "business as usual" course. In conjunction with reforms to the U.S. education system to ensure that the workforce has the needed…

Politically, the whole thing looks a lot like Japan. To my mind, the right approach then is to de-emphasize “increasing... borrowing and lending” and re-emphasize increasing jobs and employment. Whether we see work sharing as we see in the…

If E.U. leaders are smart, they will understand that the turmoil they fear from a Greek restructuring will be much worse if that default is a unilateral one forced by a population that has taken to the streets.

Executive pay has skyrocketed. Meanwhile, the real average hourly wage peaked in 1973. It declined precipitously until the mid-1990s before rising somewhat. The increase in labour participation rates due to the addition of women in the paid…

William Black writes that the non-payment of debt – including bank debt – by the nations on the periphery would lead to severe banking crises and a return to recession in the core of eurozone. This is what is behind the stance of the ECB,…

Nouriel Roubini writes that the current “muddle through” approach to the eurozone (EZ) crisis is not a stable disequilibrium; rather, it is an unstable disequilibrium. Either the member states move from this disequilibrium toward a broader…

Last week, when discussing what QE3 could look like I indicated that were the Federal Reserve to start expanding its balance sheet, QE3 will see interest rate caps after a pause and period of reflection. Let me address the differences…

Dollar broadly firmer as decision on Greece is delayed until July, Stocks and oil under pressure. Global markets this week are likely to be dominated again by developments in Greece; EUR near 1.42. Beyond Greece markets are also likely to…

Coal prices are surging ahead even as most other commodities pull back, spurred on by expectations that metallurgical and thermal coal production will again fail to meet rising global demand this year. The result? Record profits for major…

Stephanie Kelton demonstrates that as long as unemployment remains high, the deficit will remain high. Here’s the formula: Spending creates income. Income creates sales. Sales create jobs. If you think you can cut the deficit without…