The madness of contemporary economists
The Bank of England is considering negative interest rates to “stimulate” the economy, together with more QE. It’s one thing to pay a bank…
Read MoreFebruary, 2013
Going all in
For several long months now, the market has been treated to an unadulterated diet of such gross monetary irresponsibility, both concrete and conceptual, from…
Read MoreThe Central Bank Revolution I (well ‘nominally’ so)
“The Checklist Manifesto – How to get things right”, is a masterful book for its narrative and practical application. Written by Atul Gawande, an…
Read MoreOsborne cornered
On 20 March George Osborne, the UK’s Chancellor, will present his budget. So far he has made a valiant attempt to cap public sector…
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Street Smarts, by Jim Rogers
In China, eight is the lucky number. The Mandarin symbol for eight is a pictogram representing a side of meat being sliced in two,…
Read MoreBubble trouble: Is there an end to endless quantitative easing?
The publication, earlier this week, of the Federal Reserve’s Federal Open Market Committee minutes of January 29-30 seemed to have a similar effect on equity markets…
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Retail therapy for India
How will Big Box retailers like Walmart affect India? Some have expressed concern that “retail therapy” will put a small army of independent retailers…
Read MoreBanking and the state
“It had come to be accepted that the pigs, who were manifestly cleverer than the other animals, should decide all questions of farm policy,…
Read MoreThe final countdown
Governments have refused to accept the necessity of a period of economic re-adjustment following the credit-bubble. The bubble burst about five years ago and…
Read MoreIncredible confusions, Part 2: Of interest and the dangerous habit of suppressing it
The idea that the charging of interest is unethical and should be banned has a long tradition in the history of human civilisation. It…
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