Europe

Here are some quick thoughts on what's happening in Ireland. The Irish situation is mostly about the collapse in the economy due to a huge run-up in private sector debts. This has been complicated by Iceland-style bailouts for an outsized…

According to former German finance minister Peer Steinbrück, AIG's rescue had a lot to do with European pressure. Steinbrück: The investment bank Lehman Brothers collapsed on Sept. 15, 2008, and the world's largest insurance company,…

Highlights The US dollar is trading narrowly mixed against most of the major currencies ahead of the FOMC meeting. The euro’s recovery, after disappointing price action late Friday and yesterday, has brought it back to within striking…

Unlike Mr. Market who seem to be in full risk-on mode at the moment I am a bit handicapped on account of an awfully slow internet connection which is why posting is unusually slim at the moment. Another part of the market which seems to be…

Now that I am back in the saddle, I am going to start doing my week in review narratives again with links to the most newsworthy posts from the past week or so. On second thought, let me actually cover the ground back to the beginning of…

Topic of the Day: Greece (Wait for the parable of the story: "the smart person accepts. the idiot insists." Classis tale by Michael Lewis.) Beware of Greeks Bearing Bonds | Business | Vanity Fair The Usual Fare…

by Michael Pettis I apologize for taking so long to write but for the past two weeks (and the next five days) I have been travelling for conferences and meetings.  I spent last week in Buenos Aires at the 75th Anniversary Conference…

Norway's government pension funds is the second largest sovereign wealth funds in the world with around $450 bln under management. Abu Dhabi is thought to have the largest sovereign wealth fund. The finance minister indicated that it has…

Highlights The US dollar is mostly lower today, with sterling leading the way. Corporate acquisitions, or talk of them at any rate, with the help of the second consecutive rise in the Halifax home price index, and as expected…

When people talk about the recent sovereign debt crisis they make a lot of sweeping statements about debt and currency which allow them to make false analogies. This does us all a disservice because it creates a false impression about the…