Economics
- Krugman chimes in on US national debtwww.nytimes.com Opinion | Why You Shouldn’t Obsess About the National Debt
It’s a political problem, not an economic crisis.
Alternative link: https://archive.ph/ce08r
"Specifically, let me make three points. First, while $34 trillion is a very large figure, it’s a lot less scary than many imagine if you put it in historical and international context. Second, to the extent debt is a concern, making debt sustainable wouldn’t be at all hard in terms of the straight economics; it’s almost entirely a political problem. Finally, people who claim to be deeply concerned about debt are, all too often, hypocrites — the level of their hypocrisy often reaches the surreal.
How scary is the debt? It’s a big number, even if you exclude debt that is basically money that one arm of the government owes to another — debt held by the public is still around $27 trillion. But our economy is huge, too. Today, debt as a percentage of G.D.P. isn’t unprecedented, even in America: It’s roughly the same as it was at the end of World War II. It’s considerably lower than the corresponding number for Japan right now and far below Britain’s debt ratio at the end of World War II. In none of these cases was there anything resembling a debt crisis. ..."
- Why Do Forecasters Disagree about Their Monetary Policy Expectations?libertystreeteconomics.newyorkfed.org Why Do Forecasters Disagree about Their Monetary Policy Expectations? - Liberty Street Economics
While forecasters generally disagree about the expected path of monetary policy, the level of disagreement as measured in the New York Fed’s Survey of Primary Dealers (SPD) has increased substantially since 2022. For instance, the dispersion of expectations about the future path of the target f...
- Is a U.S. Debt Crisis Looming? Is it Even Possible?www.nytimes.com Opinion | Wonking Out: Is a U.S. Debt Crisis Looming? Is it Even Possible?
A disaster story that sounds plausible until you think hard about it
- Analysis: China's importance to German exporters on the wanewww.reuters.com Analysis: China's importance to German exporters on the wane
China is losing importance as a market for German exporters, with data showing a steady decline in its share of total exports, a trend set to continue as Berlin and Beijing rethink their economic ties.
- Zimbabwe’s central bank reforms seen as unsustainable as president readies for election | Semaforwww.semafor.com Zimbabwe’s central bank reforms seen as unsustainable as president readies for election | Semafor
Zimbabwe’s president is reducing the central bank governor’s powers and handing over notable monetary controls to the finance minister.
- Personal Income and Outlays, June 2023
Highlights include PCE 1 year price index dropping to 3.0 (mostly due to base effects as 2022 data rolls off).
Income increase slowed, but spending picked up. Not a good direction for metrics like savings rate, but good for GDP.
- China’s data ‘black box’ puzzles economistswww.ft.com Subscribe to read | Financial Times
News, analysis and comment from the Financial Times, the worldʼs leading global business publication
- Millionaires Are Begging Governments to Tax Them Morewww.wired.co.uk Millionaires Are Begging Governments to Tax Them More
A group of multimillionaires say it's time to get serious about taxing wealth. They argue that this would promote economic stability and benefit everyone.
- FedNow - how do you all feel about it?
FedNow appears to be launching July 23, 2023. To me, it doesn't seem very good in the sense that the Fed now gets to be a middle man to payment transactions (sure it's "instant" but we're all aware that security != convenience).
It's also a "centralized" solution.
It could be a stepping stone to a centralized digital bank currency is my fear. And also the fed will now be able to see/monitor all transactions through it.
- Jesus Fernandez-Villaverde on Demographic Trends, Recent Macroeconomic Developments, and AI’s Implications for Economic Growthwww.mercatus.org Jesus Fernandez-Villaverde on Demographic Trends, Recent Macroeconomic Developments, and AI’s Implications for Economic Growth
Jesus Fernandez-Villaverde is a professor of economics at the University of Pennsylvania and is the c
- Beyond the Dollar Creditocracy: a geopolitical economy analysis by Radhika Desai and Michael Hudsonvaldaiclub.com Beyond the Dollar Creditocracy: A Geopolitical Economy
Understanding of the dollar’s world role is dominated by the ideas of ‘dollar hegemony’ and ‘US hegemony’. In this paper, based on their extensive past work, Radhika Desai and Michael Hudson reveal how these ideas are ideologies, not theories.
- What if soaring rates don't kill inflation? Central banks may be about to blow up the economywww.abc.net.au What if soaring rates don't kill inflation? Central banks may be about to blow up the economy
We could be wreaking havoc trying to reach the 2 to 3 per cent inflation target, writes business editor Ian Verrender. What if it's a goal that is unattainable?
- Banks are leaving savers shortchanged as interest rates soar | CNN Businesswww.cnn.com Banks are leaving savers shortchanged as interest rates soar | CNN Business
When central banks raise interest rates, mortgage borrowers can expect higher monthly repayments, while savers are supposed to be rewarded with bigger returns on their deposits. Or so the theory goes.
- Employment Situation Summary - 2023 M06 Results
Another solid US jobs report, 209K jobs added.
- Key Vote Expected on Brazil’s Historic Tax Reformwww.globalpolicywatch.com Key Vote Expected on Brazil’s Historic Tax Reform
Next week, the House of Deputies of the Brazilian National Congress may vote a potentially historic tax reform, revamping a tax system that has been in
- China Imposes Export Curbs on High-Tech Metals Amidst Trade Tensions with the USreadwrite.com China Imposes Export Curbs on High-Tech Metals Amidst Trade Tensions with the US
China will be imposing regulations on the export of gallium and germanium, which are metals that are used in the production of computer chips.
According to a recent announcement, China will be imposing new regulations on the export of gallium and germanium, both of which are metals that are utilized in the production of computer chips and solar cells and are therefore vitally important. This action is seen as an escalation of the trade dispute that the United States and China are currently engaged in, and the trade dispute has been going on for a long time. The restrictions will begin to take effect on August 1, and the Chinese Ministry of Commerce has stated that their purpose is to “safeguard national security.” Despite this, the specifics of these limitations have not yet been made available to the public at this time.
- New Technologies and Jobs in Europewww.nber.org New Technologies and Jobs in Europe
Founded in 1920, the NBER is a private, non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to conducting economic research and to disseminating research findings among academics, public policy makers, and business professionals.
- Economic inequality cannot be explained by individual bad choices, study findsphys.org Economic inequality cannot be explained by individual bad choices, study finds
A global study led by a researcher at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health and published in the journal Scientific Reports finds that economic inequality on a social level cannot be explained by bad choices among the poor nor by good decisions among the rich. Poor decisions were the s...
- The choice between a poorer today and a hotter tomorrowwww.economist.com The choice between a poorer today and a hotter tomorrow
Without trillions of extra dollars, policymakers face a terrible decision
- 186. How US lead regulations hurt Mexican babiestradetalkspodcast.com 186. How US lead regulations hurt Mexican babies
Higher US lead standards in 2009 resulted in more production and pollution from Mexican plants. Nearby infants and kids suffered.
- GPI 2023: Reserve managers under pressure - OMFIFwww.omfif.org GPI 2023: Reserve managers under pressure - OMFIF
Central banks battle losses, stagflation and geopolitics
- IMF warns central banks of ‘uncomfortable truth’ in inflation fightwww.ft.com Subscribe to read | Financial Times
News, analysis and comment from the Financial Times, the worldʼs leading global business publication
- Building a flourishing economy, BRIC by BRICwww.businessleader.co.uk Building a flourishing economy, BRIC by BRIC - Business Leader News
Over the past twenty years, there has been a rapid restructuring of global economic power. The BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) have played a big part in […]
- Economists weigh in on Mike Pence suggestion to eliminate the Fed’s employment mandatewww.cnn.com Economists weigh in on Mike Pence suggestion to eliminate the Fed's employment mandate | CNN Business
The Federal Reserve has two goals: to keep inflation under control and to strive for maximum employment. Mike Pence, who served as Donald Trump’s vice president and is vying to helm the White House, is campaigning on eliminating the Fed’s employment mandate.
- Why the World Is on the Brink of Great Disordertime.com Why the World Is on the Brink of Great Disorder
The world order is changing in profound ways that will reshape the globe in the coming years, writes Ray Dalio
- PARIS Greta Thunberg speaks about repression of protest (Summit for a new global financial pact)
The words of Greta Thunberg this week
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Pyi0L7_vwo
Activists are being systemically targeted with repression and are paying the price for defending life and the right to protest.
We are seeing now extremely worrying developments where activists all over the world are experiencing increased repressions just for fighting for our present and our future.
There is extreme hypocrisy when it comes to this. All over the world we're experiencing this. Not the least, for example, here in France. Just the other day - that activists are being systemically targeted with repression and are paying the price for defending life and the right to protest.
We're still speeding in the wrong direction
We are now at an extremely critical point. The emissions of greenhouse gasses are at an all-time-high, and the concentration of Co2 in the atmosphere hasn't been this high in the entire history of humanity.
And we're still speeding in the wrong direction. The emissions are on the rise, and science has been very clear on this. And the people living on the front-lines of the climate emergency have been sounding the alarm for a long time
- The Recession That Didn’t Happennymag.com The Recession That Didn’t Happen
A variety of indicators suggest that the economy is more resilient than experts thought.
- Fraudulent Covid Aid Drove Up U.S. House Prices, Report Sayswww.wsj.com Fraudulent Covid Aid Drove Up U.S. House Prices, Report Says
Researchers found that people who defrauded the government for pandemic relief poured money into housing markets, driving inflation in some areas
- Insurers Signal Fallout From Sanctions On Russiawww.nakedcapitalism.com Insurers Signal Fallout From Sanctions On Russia | naked capitalism
UK maritime insurers are daring to speak up about the way they have become Russian sanctions collateral damage.
