fiscal

This December 2009 post is a reminder of the issues at stake with Greece. It is not credible for the EU to lend psychological and political support given the debt loads now burdening the Greek government. More is needed, either financial…

Greece has been downgraded by Fitch Ratings to BBB+ over concerns about its budget deficit. Despite the cut, Fitch maintained a negative outlook on the country’s ratings, meaning it could fall further in the near future.  This action…

This quote from President Obama comes via Brad DeLong: We've got a long- term structural deficit that is primarily being driven by health care costs, and our long-term entitlement programs. All right? So that's the baseline. Now, if…

In the past few weeks I have been alarmed about the growing debate about deficits and taxes, so much so that I have moved to a double dip baseline from one of a multi-year recovery.  I find it in total disregard of past economic…

"This is definitely a threat on the horizon," said Blaise Ganguin, the agency's European credit chief. Some 75 companies large enough to be rated face likely default in 2010 as the slow-burn effects of the crisis hit home.…

Below is another great article from John Mauldin via his weekly newsletter, this time featuring John Hussman who is talking double dip and depression. My last post shows I am very concerned about this scenario – which I see as likely - and…

As we discuss sovereign debt levels, currencies and competitiveness, it bears remembering that interest rates are at the heart of many of these debates. To the degree debt service costs are the only measure used to determine how high a…

Below are three videos from a talk at the 2009 Economics of Peace Conference in Sonoma, CA, where James Galbraith talks about the Hyman Minsky concept of the instability of stability. This concept is fundamental to the behavioural…

This post from November 2009 is a reminder of how things looked in the sovereign debt crisis just a few months ago.

Unemployment claims dropped dramatically to 466,000 this past week. This is the best data on the unemployment front we have seen in a long time. The prior week’s claims were also downwardly revised for the first time in a while. These…