Exceptable Jobs Report [sic]
Today's jobs report -- really good...except for the fact that: 1. Full-time jobs (that is, the kind that offer benefits and which represent a genuine commitment by employers) only accounted for a fraction of the increase in employment "Final Nail...
Yet-Another-Non-Sequitur Alert
According to U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, the worst is well and truly behind us (via Business Insider): "The U.S. financial system is stronger and getting stronger...we have shut down or restructured the weakest parts of our system... finally we've...
Déjà Vu All Over Again?
The last time we saw the sort of divergence we have now, where equity markets remain resilient as credit markets falter, was back in the period from mid-2007 until early-2008 -- which, as you'll recall, was not a particularly good...
Our So-Called Recovery
Three recent articles (further) undermine the notion that we're seeing a light at the end of the tunnel. The first examines the so-called rebound in growth: "Dial 911 If This Story Makes Your Eyes Bleed" (New York Post) In order...
Different…Again?
According to USA Today's most recent economic outlook survey, "Economists See Growth Slowing, Recession Risk Falling," the majority of experts are cautiously optimistic: The risk of another U.S. recession is falling. The median estimate of USA TODAY's panel call it...
Funny Stuff
Amid all the acronyms and jargon, propagandizing and lying, and delusional groupthink, it can difficult for most people (including me) to get a handle on events across the pond . However, one blogger has managed to clarify matters in hilarious...
Wrong Again?
According to one global manufacturing powerhouse, the outlook for 2012 is pretty rosey. "There Won't Be a Global Recession, Caterpillar Says" (TheStreet) Don't worry about a global recession. Caterpillar says it won't happen in 2012. In an eventful week in...
Another Day of Surreality on Wall Street
OK, let's try and put this into terms that a fifth-grader (or even a Wall Street MBA) might understand. If the economy is recovering -- or even close to doing so -- why is the Federal Reserve maintaining that short-term...
Difference of Opinion
Looks like some of the powers-that-be have not had their regular rations of economic Kool-Aid: "Global Bosses Are Gloomy About the Economic Future" (BBC News) Companies around the world are getting gloomier about the economic future again, according to an...
A Tad Unsettled
Suddenly, global credit markets are looking, shall we say, a tad unsettled... I wonder if we're (finally) beginning to see bond markets pricing in the post-financial-crisis orgy of fiscal recklessness (not to mention the tsunami of refinancing-related supply)? If so,...
My Latest Book
With three serious books under my belt, I thought it was time for something a little different... Modern Central Banking: Simplified is the perfect gag gift for that special gold bug (or non-economic-Kool-Aid-drinking realist) in your life. Two hundred pages...
