Economy

By Comstock Partners The massive U.S. debt problem that we have been discussing so often for many years has now become widely known both to investors and the general public. It has been a major topic of discussion in the media as well as…

By Win Thin Brazil loan growth continues to pick up and it belies the notion that macroprudential measures are having any discernible effect on the economy. Total loans rose 1.4% m/m in February vs. 0.5% m/m in January, bringing the y/y…

The Fed could announce a federal funds target of 3% but the tsunami of excess reserves now out there swamps any conceivable demand, so the federal funds rate would be guaranteed to remain stuck at zero. The target would be meaningless.…

Yesterday, Paul Krugman wrote: Portugal’s government has just fallen in a dispute over austerity proposals. Irish bond yields have topped 10 percent for the first time. And the British government has just marked its economic forecast…

The correct way to look at the causes of trade imbalances, in my opinion, is to look at policies that force up or down the savings rate, or the consumption rate (which is more or less the same thing since total savings is simply total…

Is the global saving glut to blame for global imbalances? This column argues that the role played by loose monetary policy from the US Federal Reserve should not be overlooked. The prolonged decline in long-term interest rates in the…

Apparently, George Osborne, the current Chancellor, has such a bedroom voice that he puts the Lord Chancellor to sleep. Sweet dreams.

Well, yes. Case-Shiller data confirmed this for me in January. We've been saying that's where things were headed since the expiration of the home buyer's tax credit last year. And even last winter we saw a seasonal dip in prices that got us…

Today it was revealed that last week the Federal Reserve rejected Bank of America's plan to increase its dividend from its token penny a share in the second half of 2011. Clearly, the Fed is sending a message that it does not believe the…

Rumors of a missed coupon payment in Ireland made the rounds and many now are down playing it. However, the problems in the periphery have not lessened. The real immediate focus is on Portugal. The government's new austerity measures will…