Author Archives: Yves Smith

Bill Black: “Liberal” Economists Cheered the New Democrats’ Deregulation of Finance

A case study illustrating how soi-disant liberal economists pushed the US to the right during the Clinton Administration.

Martin Wolf Defends Central Banks’ Negative Interest Rate Policies

The Financial Times’ lead economics writer, Martin Wolf, makes an intellectually bogus case for negative interest policies.

Krugman Kinda, Sorta Retracts a Key Part of Last Friday’s ‘Sanders Over the Edge’ Op-ed

Being Paul Krugman means never having to say you’re sorry.

Housing’s “Deadly Embrace” in Financial Cycles

The IMF argues that regulating mortgages is not sufficient to prevent housing booms and busts.

John Helmer: Brookings Launches Unguided Missile – The Panama Papers as Putin Plot

Brookings issued an astonishing report, and not in a good way, about the Panama Papers.

Intra-EMU Divergence Is A Feature Not A Bug

Yves here. I’m leery of reinforcing the “competitiveness” meme, since it’s based on the false premise that all countries can be exporters. But this article nevertheless makes important observations about Eurozone structural flaws.

Fed Suddenly Having Emergency Meetings as European Banks Also Wobble

The Fed is suddenly looking very nervous, and by contrast, the Europeans don’t seem anywhere nervous enough on the banking front.

Links 4/12/16

Caesars Bankruptcy Fight Over Alleged Fraudulent Transfers Opens Window on Private Equity Looting

Creditor suits against private equity kingpins Apollo and TPG for the failed Caesars’ deal have already revealed a lot of dirt, with more sure to follow.

Can We Cut Carbon Emissions and Still Have Economic Growth?

This Real News Network segment marshals data to make a provocative argument: there are more ways to decouple carbon emissions and GDP growth than most observers believe.

#panamapapers Offshore Funds: On the Run With (Almost) Nowhere to Go?

The owners of offshore funds really might be seeing their comeuppance.

Links 4/10/16