Greetings to all. This may be one of my last posts before Christmas. So forgive me by raining on your festivities with some dismal notes on the dismal science.
And by the way, who ever called Economics a science? Economics seems more akin to medicine in the days of leeches and bloodletting given the inability of economists to predict anything.
In any event, I have the usual smattering of posts from around the internet. However, I also have three subject which I would like to stress here. The first issue is the one I apologize for bringing up. It is recession. There were a number of indicators today that show the global recession is worsening everywhere.
That brings me to the second subject: China. I have mentioned China in particular as a place I expect to see worsening. However, Marshall has informed me that he will post a very brief response to my pessimistic view. Below are a few articles highlighting the outlook there.
The third subject is Mark Thoma. I would like to highlight a number of posts he wrote yesterday and today. He is an Economics professor at the University of Oregon who writes the blog “Economist’s View.” I now consider it a daily read and have therefore added his site to the blogroll.
Let’s start the links with Mark.
Mark Thoma
Greenspan roundtable: The value of reliable information | Free exchange | Economist.com
Economist’s View: Soros: The Theory of Market Equilibrium is Wrong
Economist’s View: Lucas: Monetary Policy Can Still be Effective
Economist’s View: What Decoupling?
Economist’s View: The Pursuit of Wealth
Economist’s View: “Effective Nationalization of the Mortgage Finance Sector”
Global Recession
Existing home sales, prices drop at record pace – Reuters
New home sales fall 2.9 percent in November – Reuters
U.S. GDP shrank -0.5% in third quarter – National Post
UK heads for deeper recession as GDP shrinks 0.6pc – Telegraph
IMF head warns of UK’s ‘disturbing’ debt – Telegraph
Japan Economy Watch: Did (or Didn’t) Japan Just Re-introduce Quantitative Easing?
Crude price fall forces oil industry into rethink – Times Online
China
This first post is not about the economy but I think it sums up the situation in China, so I included it.
Wolf seen near China’s Great Wall
China protests latest U.S. trade case at WTO | Politics | Reuters
What China Can Learn from the Great Depression | Newsweek Global Investor | Newsweek.com
Thomas Friedman – China to the Rescue? Not! – NYTimes.com
China cuts rates for fifth time as Japan suffers record exports drop – Independent Ireland
Elsewhere
We Have a Winner? « The Baseline Scenario
Bloomberg.com: Junior Asks Daddy, Where Do Bailouts Come From: Caroline Baum
The 10 Nastiest Ponzi Schemes Ever | Business Pundit
FT.com – Money market funds reel as yields near zero
What Greenspan thinks | Banks need more capital | The Economist
The Yield Curve, December 2008 :: Joseph G. Haubrich and Kent Cherny :: Economic Trends :: 12.17.08 :: Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland
EconomPic Data: Bank Valuations –> Then and Now
Off the beaten path
The 10 Best Business Books of 2008 | Business Pundit
Denver Plane Crash: Twitter as Usual
» PJB: Obama’s War ::: Patrick J. Buchanan – Just putting it out there, but I tend to agree.