international

Paul Krugman has noticed that trade has absolutely collapsed with this economic downturn. It is worse than the Great Depression. Question: is this aiding global re-balancing? Here are two data points from Europe today which lead to that…

Earlier today we learned that the Singapore PMI was much weaker than expected for September 2009, coming in at 50.6 versus 54.4 for August. While this demonstrates that the manufacturing sector there is still rising, it is doing so just…

Marshall Auerback here. This is a cross-post from an article I wrote at the finance site New Deal 2.0, a one-stop-shop for current news, sharp analysis and potential solutions of the country’s fiscal crisis. We’ve said it before and…

This is how the famed investor and Chairman of Tiger Management began an interview with CNBC yesterday. Yes, the recession is probably over, he says.  But, in his view there is likely to be problems going forward because the U.S. has…

In what is shaping up to be a common occurrence at these global meetings, protesters are shaking things up.  My understanding, however, is that there are more police on hand than protesters.  Rubber bullets, pepper spray and tear…

I just finished reading a Financial Times article about the likely coordinated global policy solutions to emerge from the upcoming G-20 meeting in Pittsburgh.  It does not sound like there is a huge amount of consensus. Indeed, it…

It has been my thesis for some time that we are seeing a secular change in consumption patterns in the United States.  This will have grave implications for a world economy used to seeing the American consumer as an economic growth engine…

I have been taking a bit of a break as my trip to the Ontario’s Lake Country winds down.  It’s a beautiful place.  But, as Marshall Auerback and I were lamenting, it has become the Hamptons of Canada as everyone from Toronto is up…

I have highlighted comments by famed Columbia University economist Jagdish Bhagwati before (see “Jagdish Bhagwati: Obama is a protectionist”).  Bhagwati has since gotten with the program and sees Obama in a much more favourable…

A few days ago I wrote a post “Japanese defend dollar’s status while China tears it down” in which I defended the Japanese support of the dollar, saying it was in no one’s interest to see a change in the currency markets right now.  I have…