Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Spain Is Going To Need The Kind Of Bailout Italy Got

And in this case neither the banks nor anyone else are winning. On the contrary, there are myriad losers.

For first time, nations mull Greek exit from euro

Ever since the idea of the euro currency really took off in the late 1980s, it has been accepted wisdom that entry was forever. But now, with no less than the leaders of France and Germany conceding that Greece could leave the euro, everyone is scrambling to figure out exactly what would happen.   More »

ECB Punching Into The Wind

Pressure mounted on the European Central Bank to take drastic action to stabilize euro-zone bond markets, as investors shrugged off the bank's limited bond buying and European politicians sparred over the ECB's role in fighting the debt crisis.

Steve Jobs's Gamechanging Plan That Was Never Realized

Steve Jobs's Plan To Go Where Others Had Failed Was Gamechanging

Hungary's Debt Hits Radar Screens

BUDAPEST—Hungary's weakening currency and rising borrowing needs have swollen its debt load to 82% of gross domestic product, overshooting government fiscal targets.

A Glimpse Into the Future Job Market

US Faces 50% Chance of Recession in 2012

The odds of the United States slipping into a double-dip recession are placed at 50 percent, with economists from the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco saying the world’s biggest economy might not be able to withstand the rippling effects of Europe’s debt crisis.

Goldman CEO Thinks Economic Recovery “May Have Already Started” | Economy Watch

Lloyd Blankfein, the chief executive officer of Goldman Sachs, said that global economic markets are rebounding faster than expected, and recovery may have surprisingly already started.

“Mysterious” Strength of Euro Currency Puzzles Analysts

Financial analysts and economists from around the world are baffled by how the euro currency has “mysteriously” remained relatively stable all year round, despite the mounting problems that have threatened to break up the eurozone region and its currency.

Euro-Zone Inflation Stable

LONDON—The euro zone's annual inflation rate was stable at 3% in October, unchanged from the previous month's three-year high due to increases in energy costs, official data showed Wednesday.

Where now for Greece, Italy and the euro?

Euro Zone - All Eyes on Italy & Greece [NBC 11-11-2011]

Bruce Bartlett: The Balanced Budget Amendment Delusion

This week the House of Representatives will take up a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution. An idea that has been kicking around for ages, it has never overcome the hurdle of needing a two-thirds approval vote in both houses of Congress. (After which it would not require the president’s signature but would need to be ratified by three-quarters of the states to take effect.)

Middle-Class Areas Shrink as Income Gap Grows, New Report Finds

WASHINGTON — The portion of American families living in middle-income neighborhoods has declined significantly since 1970, according to a new study, as rising income inequality left a growing share of families in neighborhoods that are mostly low-income or mostly affluent.

A State-by-State Look at Long Road to Jobs Recovery

When it comes to jobs, it’s going to take a long time to get over the Great Recession. How long depends on where you live.

Fed’s Evans Seeks To ‘Take New Chances’ on Monetary Policy

The slow-to-recover U.S. economy requires the Federal Reserve to “stretch the boundaries and take new chances” on monetary policy, a key Fed official said Tuesday.

Regulators encouraging banks to game risk models

Two interesting articles were published yesterday discussing how banks in Europe are resorting to clever tricks that artificially raise their loss-absorbing capital to levels specified by regulators.

Voter's Will be Key to Europe's Economic Prospects

To Put Europe Back on Track Try Listening to Voters: Clive Crook

Understanding The Russian Default

The Russian financial crisis and eventual default is often cited as a counterargument to one of the principle MMT ideas that a sovereign currency issuer should not be able to go bankrupt. It’s a complex subject that is worth spending some time on.

The Endgame For The Eurozone Has Begun: Nouriel Roubini

Germany and the ECB have less power over the eurozone's peripheral countries than they seem to believe. If they continue to insist on concentrating all the pain of economic adjustment in the periphery, the monetary union’s slow-developing train wreck will accelerate as peripheral countries default and revert to national currencies.

Krugman Underestimates Economic Effects Of Increased Inequality

We've been studying the work of Paul Krugman a bit lately, as he provides a nice focal point for debate on the current economic situation, he's controversial, and his blog provides a near real-time view of the man at work.

Turmoil Spreads in Europe

Europe's debt troubles on Tuesday spilled over to top-rated nations that had been largely untouched by the crisis—including Austria, the Netherlands, Finland and France—in an ominous sign for European policy makers.