Political Economy

Economics and finance are slowly coming to grips with the fact that human beings are simply not rational. The boom-bust cycle that we are now living gives us a front row seat to that irrationality. Below is a video by Dan Ariely that is…

The European Central Bank cut its benchmark rate 50 basis points (0.50%) to 2% because of weakness in the Eurozone. While a cut was widely anticipated, it was not known whether the ECB would cut 25 or 50 basis points. However, the cut of…

There is no way to look past the way that the U.S. TARP (Troubled Asset Relief Program) has been administered and not understand we are seeing crony capitalism at work. One only need look at the way the British are doing things to see a…

I think this video is an example of the most self-reflective you will see the current U.S. President George W. Bush become. In it, he talks about his mistakes, grappling in front of the camera with how historians may look back on his stint…

General Motors, struggling under the weight of a mountain of debt, is finding it difficult to raise cash. For one, the U.S. automaker is finding no buyers for its Swedish Saab unit, according to Swedish Daily "Dagens Nyheter."…

I guess it's not just another stunt by Larry Flynt. The porn industry is hurting as the downturn bites. Sales are down 20%. And the annual Porn convention, the AVN Adult Entertainment Expo, going on now in guess which city has seen a…

In an FT opinion piece, Jagdish Bhagwati, a famous name in economic circles on the issue of free trade, issued a blistering attack on president-elect Barack Obama's commitment to free trade in the face of a deteriorating U.S. job market.…

After meetings with lawmakers, Citigroup has agreed to back legislation that would allow bankruptcy judges to alter the amount due on mortgage principal, so called cram downs. As it stands today, all other debtors including corporations…

The row between Russia and Ukraine over payments for natural gas looks to be de-escalating. Gazprom has committed to letting the gas flow freely again after the EU requested this action be taken. The question now is whether the core issue…

This news of German goverment capital infusions at Commerzbank comes from the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung in Germany. You will recall that Commerzbank was the winner in the bid to buy Dresdner Bank just a few months ago. However, this…