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Spain's 10-year bond yield has fallen 108 bp this year. Just above 4%, the yield is the lowest Q4 2010. The 2-year yield has fallen 93 bp this year. The yield is slipping through 1.70%, for the first time Q2 2010. Recent data suggested that…

The reality of course, is that euro zone governments do have to worry about losing market favour. They cannot rely on the central bank as a debt buyer of last resort the way the Japanese, the British or the Americans can. If, for whatever…

Reinhart-Rogoff’s paper has more serious flaws than an excel error. And austerity hysteria will not go away after Herndon-Ash-Pollin’s review. This is my message to you.

I was on the Daily Ticker with Lauren Lyster talking about Japan yesterday. My view is that there is no material negative change in Japan's sovereign debt outlook nor will there be in the medium term because of Abenomics. The video is at…

I have been saying for some time now that Germany is concerned about its own public finances. So it is good to see that Angela Merkel is now confirming this. According to the Telegraph, Merkel believes that Germany simply doesn't have the…

Over the past weekend, Italy's caretaker cabinet formally approved plans to begin paying its overdue bills to domestic suppliers and service providers. Its official arrears have aggravated underlying problems, such as access to credit by…

Finally, a prominent “mainstreamer” Keynesian gets MMT. Over the past couple of years, Paul Krugman has got close, but he keeps claiming that MMT believes “deficits don’t matter”. He refuses to cite any MMTer who has ever said such a silly…

the US uses government money as the currency of account, there is no government budget constraint in the short or long run. Though even so-called Keynesians like Paul Krugman act like there is. The reality is that government can spend as…

Why does the federal government need to balance its books? Where does the money come from that the government spends? Whose income gets cut when spending gets cut? These are a few of the questions we should be asking when thinking about…

The seemingly never-ending debate on passive vs. active investment management is beginning to annoy me. The discussion is one-dimensional and, at times, completely derailed. I shall be the first to admit that the long-only industry has not…