Category Archives: History of Finance
Greenspan helps create the problem and then explains it?
Washington’s Blog Greenspan’s big defense is that the financial crisis was caused by a “once-in-a-century” event. Forget about the fact that the “once-in-a-century event” couldn’t have happened if Greenspan’s Fed hadn’t: Turned its cheek and allowed massive fraud Acted as … Continue reading
The Nature of Modern Finance
Is modern finance more like electricity or junk food? This is, of course, the big question of the day. If most of finance as currently organized is a form of electricity, then we obviously cannot run our globalized economy without … Continue reading
American Socialist State
President Obama’s visit to Moscow this week may turn out to be a very good thing. Forget all this jibber-jabber about nuclear disarmament. There is no better reminder than the former Soviet Union for how the fantasies of a few … Continue reading
Is inflation our next big worry?
Why inflation is around the corner The government wants inflation to some degree. Congress and the White House have spent nearly $3 trillion recapitalizing U.S. banks, revamping the domestic manufacturing industry and replacing a portion of the consumption spending Americans … Continue reading
Optimism Is Contagious
Diane Francis, Financial Post Published: Monday, June 22, 2009 American opponents to President Barack Obama’s announced reregulation of the financial sector are billing the issue as capitalism versus socialism or even communism. str_url = encodeURIComponent(location.href); str_title = encodeURIComponent(document.title); // Facebook function … Continue reading
An Error In Judgment
The blunt fact is that the economic recoveries that have been rapid and seen fast growth in employment are those that ended when a central bank, following strongly restrictionary policies to fight inflation, eased off and significantly lowered interest rates. … Continue reading
Transparency: The Largest Bankruptcies in History
Last week, General Motors began the fourth largest bankruptcy proceedings in history, joining the many other large and venerable companies that have sunk to the bottom during this economic crisis. In fact, eight of the 20 largest bankruptcies have happened … Continue reading
Obama and the Politics of Short Memories
It’s one thing for President Obama to face off against Fox News, the right-wing radio empire and Republican congressional leaders whose names are unfamiliar to much of the public. It’s quite another to confront organized business. That’s why last week’s … Continue reading
Obama’s Plan For A Debt-Ridden Future
President Obama has officially begun the era of bigger big government by proposing to go on a multitrillion dollar borrowing spree that risks doing to the “full faith and credit of the United States” what excessive borrowing during the housing … Continue reading
Ending the Fed: the rebirth of Jacksonian bankphobia
Onetime presidential hopeful and current Republican congressman Ron Paul has an interesting piece of legislation wending its way through the US capitol. HR1206 calls for “a complete audit of the Federal Reserve and removes any significant barriers towards transparency in … Continue reading
It’s Official: Worst Recession in Five Decades
This recession is now the worst since at least 1958, which is as far back as the index of coincident indicators stretches back. The Conference Board reported today that the index, which is intended to measure how the economy is … Continue reading
With U.K. AAA Rating In Jeopardy, Is U.S. Next?
The UK’s AAA-rating is at risk. (Bloomberg, MarketBeat, EconomPic Data, Zero Hedge) Bye, bye miss american pie….. Don’t wait…..buy Gold and Gold Mine Stocks!
Is The Federal Reserve Overreaching?
A good article at Forbes: http://www.forbes.com/2009/05/19/federal-reserve-ron-paul-fdic-sec-opinions-columnists-bernanke.html
A New World Order
From the Economist: Birth Pains: A New Global System Is Coming
THE FIRST TYCOON
Looking north at statue of Cornelius Vanderbilt at the head of the ramp to en:Grand Central Terminal on a sunny late morning A review at the NY Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/10/books/review/Kazin-t.html?_r=1&ref=books Cornelius Vanderbilt spent little of his long life fretting over his … Continue reading
A Recession in Dog Years
Combine Japanese cultural tendencies toward formality, politesse, and indirection with the usual central banker’s love of opacity and econo-jargon, and you’d expect that a meeting with the Deputy Governor of the Bank of Japan would be a one-way trip into … Continue reading →