Robot judges and the watched pot
by“Gold – a six thousand year-old bubble” – Headline of an FT piece from 2009 by Willem Buiter. There are still reasons to like…
ZeroHedge interviews Sean Corrigan
by Sean CorriganPreviously published at ZeroHedge … 1. Q1 EFSF. We here at ZeroHedge have labelled the EFSF as an off balance sheet CDO, whose purpose…
The inflationist view of history
by Toby BaxendaleThis chapter from Human Action is spot on for today: Part 4, Chapter XVII. INDIRECT EXCHANGE 18. The Inflationist View of History A very…
The circular flow of income fallacy
by Toby BaxendaleAt the Tory Party Conference, the Prime Minister said: The only way out of a debt crisis is to pay off your debts. That’s…
Big Trouble in Little China
by Sean CorriganDespite the general relief which greeted the release of China’s GDP data for the third quarter, as well as the still resilient industrial production…
Unstoppable: why this crisis will keep unfolding
by Detlev SchlichterWhen the tectonic plates underneath society shift, confusion reigns, together with wishful thinking. It appears that financial markets have again managed to get themselves…
The collapse of capitalism
by Robert SadlerIt is notable that as the continuing financial crisis (credit crunch, recession, sovereign debt crisis, whatever you will) develops, there are those observers who…
The gold standard and boom-bust cycles
by Dr Frank ShostakAccording to some commentators on the gold standard, an increase in the supply of gold generates similar distortions that printing money out of “thin…
The rules of sovereign debt
by David HowdenBonds have three features that differentiate them from equity instruments. They involve fixed and contractually binding interest payments. They have a finite maturity. Finally,…
Monetary fallacies
by Alasdair MacleodOne rationale for quantitative easing is that it encourages economic growth. This must be based on the belief that monetary inflation is good for…