Economy

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…

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…

Below are extracts of a paper formulated by Thomas Hoenig, the President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, to better regulate the US Financial sector. His overarching aim is to isolate core banking activities that are protected by…

A video debate between Brad DeLong and Jim Grant on the necessity and efficacy of another round of quanttative easing

This is in line with the weak data we have seen out of the US in recent weeks. I expect Q2 growth estimates to continue to decline as the data come in.

The last time the curve was this flat was during the panic in 2008. So I am still concerned that the potential for a more abrupt slowing exists. So far growth remains robust.

I don’t have any comments on this yet, but it is definitely newsworthy.

Unfortunately, the US economy has weakened somewhat and so the speculation about QE3 has gathered apace. Let me say a few words on this topic here.

In this column, Marc Chandler argues that US monetary policy can be a powerful tool, but it has limitations. Some commodity prices have risen and some have fallen since the Federal Reserve signaled QEII. The anticipation of QEII did weigh…

If the US wants job growth, it will need to reduce private sector debt levels - and that takes time. The government can act a a counterweight to the demand drag but I am very sceptical of claims like Summers’ that doing so would solve a…