Stop the (printing) press
“FRED GOODWIN. Have the last laugh by donating a couple of million to the Tory party and receiving a life peerage.” – From the…
Living off immoral earnings
Contender for leading meme of our time is the idea, fast becoming conventional wisdom, that capitalism is somehow experiencing a crisis. UK Prime Minister David Cameron (or his speechwriter) suggested last week that it is now the time to use the “crisis of capitalism to improve markets, not undermine them.”
If the Prime Minister were capable of framing the problem correctly, he would have said that it was now the time to use the “crisis of statism to introduce markets”.
The final countdown
“Under the circumstances, discussions with Greece and the official sector are paused for reflection on the benefits of a voluntary approach.” Debt talks “have…
A revolutionary road
“Some investors aren’t confident with what gold is backed by, as compared to something like the US dollar. Investors are comfortable that the US…
A beef quiz, and revisited Koo
“Like a Hitchcock film. You did not need to see the blood and gore and violence – the hint of it and the menace…
Liars led by junkies
“In my several decades as a financial and economics commentator – covering banking crises dating back to the early 1970s and the Latin American…
A new golden age
“The designers of the good ship euro wanted to create the greatest liner of the age. But as everybody now knows, it was fit…
Splendid isolation ?
“Clearly, Field Marshal Haig is about to make yet another gargantuan effort to move his drinks cabinet six inches closer to Berlin.” – Captain…
A rush from sugar or a rush to gold?
“We think we have an agreement, but we are not sure what it is.” – Negotiator at the Euro zone “crisis summit” last week,…
Robot judges and the watched pot
“Gold – a six thousand year-old bubble” – Headline of an FT piece from 2009 by Willem Buiter. There are still reasons to like…