asset-based economy

Wolfgang Munchau of the Financial Times wrote a very important comment piece in today’s Financial Times. In it he said that central banks are targeting asset prices to avoid the brunt of cyclical downturns. This policy is inducing asset…

You have probably heard a lot of chatter from the media about a newfound thrift amongst American consumers. The general take is that Americans, faced with lost incomes and wealth and burdened by record levels of debt, have moved away…

This morning I again wanted to challenge my somewhat bullish medium-term outlook but bearish longer-term view on the US economy – this time by looking at the data on debt. What follows is going to be a very numbers-heavy post.  So, I…

Very funny.

In light of recent comments made by both living former Federal Reserve Chairmen, I thought it appropriate to look back 22 years to the succession from Volcker to Greenspan.  What follows is a blurb from a New York Times article circa…

This September 2009 post still describes my general view on the U.S. economy. If I wrote it today, I would be more bearish medium-term because it is obvious that in 2010 fiscal and monetary policy will become less supportive of recovery.…

This comes from David Rosenberg: Perpetuating the spending and borrowing cycle We couldn't believe this when we saw this quote from the U.S. Transportation Secretary (Ray Lahood) in yesterday's NYT (page B3) on the "Cash for…

PIMCO, the world’s largest bond fund, has a new investment outlook by Founder Bill Gross. In it he says that we are in a long-term lower growth pattern as the asset-based economy of yore has melted away.  He warns that this means risky…

This is another post I originally ran on Naked Capitalism last month. As you know, I have turned more positive about the potential for a cyclical economic recovery. However, I am unchanged regarding much of the sentiment expressed in this…

Bill Gross, the founder of PIMCO and manager of the world's largest bond fund, has just released his most recent Economic Outlook. In it, he takes a tack regarding the fix to the present turmoil in the markets with which I disagree.…