Congratulations PM Papademos! Good luck, you are going to need it...
The Wall Street Journal:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204358004577029693901976370.html
As the Greek scare slowly dies down, the Italian scare begins...
The Wall Street Journal:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204358004577028463184282238.html
Well, no worries! The ECB will bail Italy out, right? WRONG!
The Wall Street Journal:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204554204577025721503238352.html
So how does the future of the EU look? Not so good...
The Wall Street Journal:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204224604577029442286713940.html?mod=WSJ_hp_LEFTTopStories
Blogging with Mr. Smith
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Thursday, November 3, 2011
UPDATE: Referendum Plan
First, I would like to say how hilarious Greece's PM actions were! They sounded so childish and power hungry to me that I believe he deserved this reaction...
The Wall Street Journal:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203804204577015130025553196.html?mod=WSJ_hp_LEFTTopStories
This evening...Finally, PM Papandreou came to his senses! (With a little help.)
The Wall Street Journal:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203804204577015130025553196.html?mod=WSJ_hp_LEFTTopStories
The Wall Street Journal:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203804204577015130025553196.html?mod=WSJ_hp_LEFTTopStories
This evening...Finally, PM Papandreou came to his senses! (With a little help.)
The Wall Street Journal:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203804204577015130025553196.html?mod=WSJ_hp_LEFTTopStories
Thursday, October 27, 2011
EU's Deal with Greece
Today, the European Union came to an agreement on how to handle Greece's debt. They stuck a deal with private banks/investors; a "voluntary" 50% reduction in Greece's debt. This had a very positive effect on markets around the world, causing the value of the Euro to increase from $1.32 to $1.40 in a matter of hours. This is a good sign for the future of the European economy as well as the possibility that Russia and China might take on an active role in Europe's financial rescue.
Some good articles to look at are:
The New York Times...
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/28/world/europe/europe-in-accord-on-basics-of-plan-to-save-the-euro.html?_r=1&ref=world
and if you subscribe to The Wall Street Journal...
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203687504576654901570712070.html?mod=world_newsreel
Some good articles to look at are:
The New York Times...
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/28/world/europe/europe-in-accord-on-basics-of-plan-to-save-the-euro.html?_r=1&ref=world
and if you subscribe to The Wall Street Journal...
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203687504576654901570712070.html?mod=world_newsreel
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
Response to "The Breakdown" Podcast
This podcast is about the recent history of America's financial institutions, as well as the present institution. Chris Hayes starts with the financial institution in place from about 1936 to 1980. Towards the middle of the podcast Hayes lists 3 aspects of that institution:
1) More localism (Affected by the locals, not Wall Street)
2) Finance as a means versus an end (More focused on customers than Wall Street
3) Short term versus long term (Able to make long-term decisions without the quarterly reports of Wall Street)
Hayes then moves on from the "golden era" of finance to the 1980s to the present. It is mentioned that there is a "wave of deregulation." Basically, this means that there is decreased concentration of businesses in the banking sector; leading to the rise of a few major banks. Banks become more closely connected to Wall Street. Debt becomes a "corporate weapon." (Becomes more popular among banks) More focus on stocks versus unemployment, and short term versus long term. Describe this as the "shareholder revolution." According to Hayes, this is where we are today.
In my opinion, if we can find a middle ground between our current financial institution and the "golden era," then the economy might return to it previous glory (and beyond).
1) More localism (Affected by the locals, not Wall Street)
2) Finance as a means versus an end (More focused on customers than Wall Street
3) Short term versus long term (Able to make long-term decisions without the quarterly reports of Wall Street)
Hayes then moves on from the "golden era" of finance to the 1980s to the present. It is mentioned that there is a "wave of deregulation." Basically, this means that there is decreased concentration of businesses in the banking sector; leading to the rise of a few major banks. Banks become more closely connected to Wall Street. Debt becomes a "corporate weapon." (Becomes more popular among banks) More focus on stocks versus unemployment, and short term versus long term. Describe this as the "shareholder revolution." According to Hayes, this is where we are today.
In my opinion, if we can find a middle ground between our current financial institution and the "golden era," then the economy might return to it previous glory (and beyond).
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
The Current Economic Crisis
Having read the two articles discussing our current economic crisis and why we have not had any progress, I must agree (mostly) with Paul Krugman in his statement that "the slump in the United States and other advanced economies is the result of a failure of demand." My main concern with the "Larry Summers and Barack Obama" article is that the evidence it provides sounds and feels like gossip to me. I have a very hard time believing that the reason that we have not had any progess with the economy is because of (allegedly) mistreating women. I have to agree with concrete evidence, whether it is the only reason or not. Not only is there evidence in Krugman's article, but it also makes a good amount of sense. I would be very interested to find out others opinions or negations of Krugman's argument.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)