Political Economy

To paraphrase Shakespeare, things are indeed rotten in the State of Denmark (and Germany, France, Italy, Greece, Spain, Portugal, and almost everywhere else in the euro zone). An entire continent appears determined to commit collective…

Just when you thought the EU had things under control with their $1 trillion shock and awe rescue package, the first signs of doubt appear.  The doubting Thomas is none other than Swiss-born Deutsche Bank head Josef Ackermann who…

Frederick Sheehan is the author of Panderer to Power: The Untold Story of How Alan Greenspan Enriched Wall Street and Left a Legacy of Recession (McGraw-Hill, 2009). The Federal Reserve releases transcripts of the Federal Open Market…

As we are about move into the fourth day of the week where EU policy makers together with the IMF and the ECB launched an unprecedented series of aid tools to combat the mounting risk of a collapse in Greece and elsewhere in the European…

Imagine a situation in which 49 other states are forced to unite together to help forestall the imminent insolvency of California, and you'll get a good idea of the limitations inherent in the EU "rescue proposal" for Greece and…

A bit of gallows humour for my German-speaking readers. (Hat tip Yves Q. Smith) Source Die Eurohühner - Föhrenbergkreis Finanzwirtschaft

I was reading an interview in Handelsblatt with the EU's Olli Rehn and I found this exchange telling: Handelsblatt: Mr. Commissioner, with yesterday's decision is an EU-debt agency created which issues Euro Bonds? Olli Rehn: I will…

Sources Lena Horne Dies at Age 92 - Art Beat Lena Horne - Wikipedia Lena Horne Obituary - The State, SC Remembering Groundbreaking Jazz Icon, Actress Lena Horne - PBS

Equity markets have responded well to the EU's new liquidity schemes.  But the single currency is tanking, after EUR shorts caused it to pop just after the announcement. What does this mean? Maybe the markets sense a large…

Below is the transcript of Brown's remarks. "We have a parliamentary and not presidential system in this country and as I said on Friday, with no party able to command a parliamentary majority arising from the general election,…