history

In Europe, the discussion of fiscal prudence vs. fiscal profligacy seems to have taken on a normative hue. It’s doesn’t seem to be just about economics, it’s also about who’s a saint and who’s a sinner. In the US, strategic default was…

Three events took place last week that will shape the general investment climate in the weeks and months ahead.

Frederick Sheehan writes that the purpose of this dispatch is to dispel rumors that current front-page treaty talks have any economic meaning. The European and U.S. stock markets react with a 3% or 4% gain after vague announcements, but we…

Debt and Democracy: Has the Link been Broken?

The probability of a German-led fiscal union in Europe is greater than the consensus suspects given its arguments that only an ECB backstop and a European bond will prevent the end of the greater experiment. In addition, the argument is…

The Global Macro Monitor posted several pieces earlier in the year about the Presidential Stock Cycle. The third year of a first term President is the strongest year in the cycle. The table illustrates that if the S&P500 doesn’t close…

Quote by Winston Churchill

Below are the five ways now being discussed to tackle the euro zone sovereign debt crisis. I should say that overall, it is still unclear how far along European leaders are in defining a mutually agreeable outcome. Just this morning, I have…

Those that call for the ECB to substantially increase its sovereign bond purchases, or for Germany to agree to euro bonds, want the opposition to unilaterally disarm. They insist on putting the cart before the horse. In effect, under…

Ted Forstmann was a sterling example in a tarnished field.