government

The real challenges for China, if you believe in the social capital constraint, are not about maintaining high rates of growth in the short term but rather of raising the levels of social capital in China. This is much more difficult and…

In the wake of the NSA spying scandal, I have been moving my data away from large US vendors and increasing my computer security. Both of these issues needed to be addressed but the NSA spying scandal has made them relevant for me - and I…

I am a big believer in cloud computing. As storage and mobile bandwidth costs plummet, the ease of use that mobile devices give us makes the cloud compelling. The ability to access your data, your company's data or someone else's data…

Daily comments on finance, economic and market news for 6 Jun 2013

This is an article that originally ran early this month at VoxEU by the Chief Economist of the International Monetary Fund and one of his researchers that make the case now being used in Europe for the current policy mix.

I have been arguing for several years that once China begins the adjustment process, which I expect to characterize the ten-year period of the current administration, growth rates must slow significantly. My expectation for long-term growth…

Japan is stuck in a shrinking population trap, and neither monetary nor fiscal policy will adequately solve the problem. Continuing to run fiscal deficits in a deflationary environment will only means that government debt is pushed onward…

The current crisis – which is arguably no longer a crisis but rather a way of life – has all now gotten so complex that the issues involved are almost certainly, and in principle, “beyond their ken.” Spain’s economy will continue to march…

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 first left-right coalition in Italy since 1946 has survived its first confidence motion in both chambers. As difficult as it may have been to break the political logjam, the hard work lies ahead for Prime Minister Letta.