Debunking the Hype about the European “Recovery”
Europe’s “recovery” looks more like a mirage than the real thing.
Read more...Category Archives: Economic fundamentals
Anat Admati Discusses the Still-Too-Big-to-Fail Banks on Bill Moyers
Anat Admati, deemed by Time as one of the 100 most influential people in the US, debunks the idea that the too-big-to-fail problem has been fixed. And she takes some swipes at Timothy Geithner.
Read more...Wolf Richter: Fed’s Bullard Calls Out Ignoring Bubbles Developing “Under Our Noses,” So What About Now?
Yves here. It’s been astonishing to see members of the Fed in denial about their own handiwork, so when St. Louis Fed President James Bullard berates his fellow central bankers for their abject refusal to notice pre-crisis bubbles, it’s an all too rare departure from their usual insularity and willful blindness.
Read more...Larry Summers’ Contradictory and Dishonest Defense of Administration’s Bank-Focused Crisis Response
Larry Summers, like Tim Geithner, wants the public to believe that rescuing banks and leaving citizens to rot was the right crisis response. But neither experts, nor people who followed the crisis, nor voters at large are buying what Team Obama is trying to sell.
Read more...How the Troika, the WSJ and the NYT Keep the Public Befuddled About Austerity and Deflation
Deflation proves that austerity policies are failing, but the media is doing a remarkable job of keeping readers confused and ignorant.
Read more...Robert Pollin and Dean Baker Discuss the Anemic Recovery and Why Economists Don’t Recommend Real Remedies
A good discussion of why the weak economic recovery has only helped those at the very top, and why economists who know better continue to enable that.
Read more...The Federal Reserve Versus Hyman Minsky (and Deflation)
How the Fed has gotten itself caught in its own underwear by ignoring Hyman Minsky and in persisting in the clearly failed strategy of super lax monetary policy rather than calling for more government spending.
Read more...Why Don’t the Unemployed Get Off Their Couches?
Why it is ludicrous to expect the unemployed to pull themselves up by their bootstraps.
Read more...Mathew D. Rose: When European Politicians Cannot Read the Handwriting on the Wall
Despite the alarming results of the European elections last week, Angela Merkel remained unflinching. That is a cause for concern. European politicians believe the solution to voter ire is better messaging, as opposed to a change in policy.
Read more...Is That a Good State/Local Economic Development Deal? A Checklist
Yves here. This post addresses an important but oft-neglected topic: that of the stealth subsidies to the rich and connected that take place via economic development projects.
Read more...Bill Black: Spain’s “Stimulus” Plan – Austerity, Rebranded
Spain’s conservative government, eager to change the media’s emphasis on its repudiation in recent EU elections, has launched a media campaign stressing its adoption of an aggressive “stimulus” program. But once you get past the hype, this new program is the same old failed austerity snake oil.
Read more...Michael Hudson: The EU Parliament Elections as a Vote Against the Oligarchs
The US press and newscasts make it appear that Europeans have voted against poor immigrants and foreigners. What they voted against was the super-rich, the oligarchy.
Read more...Joe Costello: Why the Oil Industry is Running Into Major Trouble
Over the last year, some deep truths about oil and the oil industry have begun to bubble to the surface. Not necessarily that they were ever hard to see, but they were easy to obscure and maybe more importantly, without too much effort, ignore. No longer.
Read more...Wolf Richter: The Big Hoax Of The Wall Street Hype Machine
Wall Street earnings are running on hype, momentum, and earnings expectations gamesmanship. Investors beware!
Read more...Wolf Richter: Housing Bubble 2 Already Collapsing for the 99%
One of the side effects of QE is that housing prices and sales levels for the top 1% in most markets are strong, while activity in the rest of the market is falling.
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