Economy

India is about to get a new new central bank governor, Raghuram Rajan, a University of Chicago economist with outstanding academic credentials. He is expected to start this Thursday, smack in the middle of a financial crisis the likes of…

In spite of some positive economic signals out of the Eurozone, the area continues to struggle with credit growth. The latest loan growth measures still look quite bleak. We may however be seeing the first signs of the bottoming out of…

The argument that China is forcefully urbanizing, and that this urbanization will guarantee growth rates above 7-8% for many more years, is almost sheer nonsense. Urbanization is a cost, and if China borrows to fund this cost, its debt will…

Recent developments in the Eurozone, specifically Cyprus where the first EU-dictated bail-in of bank depositors took place, brought to light an important issue which had been hiding in the shadows: the flawed nature of current deposit…

The center-left could unseat Merkel, but its sectarian tendencies make it unlikely. The SPD and Greens have refused to consider the Linke (Left) party as a coalition member. The Left's agenda, which is anti-NATO and anti-EU, is…

Brazil's financial markets remain under pressure. In spite of some recent interventions, including a rate hike, the currency touched another multi-year low today. The market is "testing" the central bank with bets that the real has more…

By Sober Look One of the key reasons for the mediocre economic growth in the US has been the ongoing weakness in household wages. As the chart below shows, US median inflation-adjusted household income (red line) remains well below…

The problem of not understanding fraud mechanisms is most intense among economists, who typically do not study fraud, do not understand fraud mechanisms, and have a tribal taboo against even writing or speaking the word “fraud.”

By Marc Chandler The Reserve Bank of Australia delivered the 25 bp rate cut that was widely expected earlier this week.  Today, the Bank of England provided a new framework for its forward guidance, linking monetary policy to unemployment…

By Sober Look The US Congress is nearing a compromise on the issue of student loan interest rates. Apparently loan rates will be changed from fixed to floating with an overall cap (see story). While rates are important, there is a much…