Playing with fire
byOnce again, the European press is trumpeting the triumph of the prodigals after a week in which both the Spanish and the French were…
Inflation
Fed’s policy of price stability damages US economy
byAccording to a European Central Bank Governing Council member Ewald Nowotny, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke sees no risk to inflation in the United…
Still stuck in the Middle Ages
by“We have Stone Age emotions. We have medieval institutions.. And we have god-like technology.” – Edward O. Wilson. The BBC reported last week that…
The case against deflation
byRegular readers will know I am in the inflation, possibly hyperinflation camp; but there are those that think the future is more likely to…
Physical gold vs paper gold: waiting for the dam to break
byIntroduction In this article I will argue that the recent slide in the gold price has generated substantial demand for bullion that will likely…
Would the real Peter and Paul please stand up?
byIn a previous life as a London-based ‘global strategist’ (I was never sure what that was) I was known as someone who was worried…
Auflockerung avoided
byCyprus may or may not prove to be a ‘watershed’ for the European crisis but what we can say for now (tempting fate outrageously…
Monetary activism must end in a slump
byOn Friday, I spoke against monetary activism once again, complaining about the use of expectation management and new monetary instruments in an attempt to…
Debt addiction, USA: how much debt reduction has the crisis caused?
byThe purpose of this essay is to put the latest crisis in the context of longer-term debt trends in the US and to attempt…
Assume the brace position
byOn rare occasions I make specific, near-term market predictions, most recently in Q3 last year, when I called for a modest equity market correction….