The Bank of England’s incredible stress tests
The Bank of England’s 2016 stress tests are literally incredible. Of the seven big financial institutions covered in the exercise, only one (RBS) failed…
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Why reduction in unemployment not the key for economic growth
The US unemployment rate stood at 4.3% in July against 4.4% in the month before. The number of unemployed stood at 6.981 million –…
Read MoreFollow the money
Since 2009, equities and other financial assets have climbed a wall of worry. Initially, it was recovery from the threat of a complete financial…
Read MoreSaving and money – what is the relationship?
Conventional wisdom says that savings is the amount of money left after monetary income was used for consumer outlays, implying that saving is synonymous…
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Another Reason Not to Believe the Bank of England’s Stress Tests
The Bank of England repeatedly reassures us that its stress tests demonstrate the resilience of the UK banking system. Well, let’s put the…
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Boom
“Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored.” Aldous Huxley. There’s a telling quotation in Howard Marks’ latest memo to…
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The Fed Remains on Course – to Trouble
The Federal Reserve (Fed) is widely expected to continue to tighten its monetary policy this year. According to a latest Reuters Poll, the Fed…
Read MoreWhy economists cannot forecast recessions
The purpose of this article is to draw the widest attention to the chronic inability of the economic establishment to forecast recessions. Next time…
Read MoreHow Onerous Are Basel III’s Constraints On Bank Leverage?
It is generally acknowledged that high bank leverage was a key factor contributing to the severity of the Global Financial Crisis. For the UK,…
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Are Bank Capital Requirements Really Ten Times Higher Than Before The Crisis?
A major theme in Bank of England speeches over the last three years has been the ‘Ten Times’ story: bank capital requirements are now…
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