2014

News links for 12 Mar 2014

By Marc Chandler There is a common perception that Russia move on Crimea shows its strength. A closer examination suggests it is more complicated that it may seem. Like the bully at the school yard, the aggressiveness conceals weaknesses.…

It’s not fashionable to be optimistic about Europe. But I have been a Europe bull since last April when we moved from the front-loaded austerity paradigm to a backloaded paradigm. And beginning in June 2013, I saw the data moving in that…

News links for 11 Mar 2014

Japan has just decided that Bitcoin is not a currency, which subjects it to sales and income taxes. This is consistent with the view of the Canadian Revenue Service, which has found Bitcoin to be property and not a legal currency, and the…

While the credit expansion/savings reduction needs to continue to grow to support GDP growth, the credit expansion/savings reduction doesn’t need to ‘spike up’ proactively as it does when the fiscal tightening is proactive.

By Marc Chandler - This week, investors should brace for a re-escalation of tensions in Crimea and China - There are four sources of heightened tensions with the Crimean crisis - Weekend news from China played on fears that the yuan is…

By Win Thin and Ilan Solot The Crimean crisis threatens to escalate again this week. Russian forces in Crimea have been increased and they are consolidating their control of Crimea. This involves neutralizing Ukrainian bases in Crimea and…

My contention has been that the first two arrows of Abenomics gave the Japanese economy a short window to bring the Japanese labour market back to full employment, re-ignite wage gains, and institute structural reforms. In my view, Abe has…

News links for 10 Mar 2014