Can The Ghost Of Robert Maxwell End The Euro’s Problems?
It seems as though the true costs of the financial crisis are to be much worse than originally expected.
Please don’t misunderstand me, I am a red-blooded capitalist. I always have been and always will be. I believe completely in free markets (business and financial). But even by my standards, things are going too far and [...]
Financial Education For The Masses, A Movie, Or Both?
Last night I was fortunate enough to put my waiting to an end and go to the movies to see the new Wall Street film - Money Never Sleeps.
Clearly, I am a financial buff, so loved the original and frankly, I enjoyed this follow up as well. It may not turn out to have quite [...]
Do Markets Negate Democracy?
At the end of last week and for part of the weekend, I had the pleasure of attending the Biennale Firenze in Florence, Italy. The event was being hosted by EESC, the European Economic and Social Committee. With a title of “Education To Combat Social Exclusion”, it is not a natural event for a blog [...]
When Will The Next UK Recession Arrive?
That is a leading question, I know. But with the announcement of a general election being called by Gordon Brown for 6th May, the prospect of real financial change is looming.
Both major parties seem to have been pre-campaigning on spending cuts, fiscal restraint and responsibility. But only one of the parties is in power [...]
The WWF Says Make Space For Nature - Understanding The Economic Value Of Nature
Your author was fortunate enough to attend an excellent event last night. The Bavarian Permanant Representation In Brussels played host to WWF and ‘Make Space For Nature’ in this the International Year of Biodiversity.
The event had an excellent array of speakers. Hosted by HRH Princess Laurentien of the Netherlands were European Commissioner for the Environment [...]
The Tragedy Of Greek Government Borrowing
This is a pretty tricky time to work for a Central Bank, don’t you think? You spend years in the background, the national and international economy chugs along, and people forget you exist.
Perhaps once a month, when it is time to set interest rates, people remember faintly who you are and what you do. But [...]
Public Sector Employment: What Goes Up…
The UK, under the stewardship of New Labour has seen a massive increase in public sector employment. I can recall watching BBC documentaries in recent years where the scale of this expansion has been explained. It isn’t small.
It seems that the biggest beneficiary has been Scotland. I’m not going to go along with the conspiracy [...]
Lies, Damned Lies And Economic Statistics
This morning I spotted a story on the BBC website about jobless statistics in the United States. You might recall that unemployment in the US hit 10% a few months ago.
Well the story explains a little of the real numbers. As we must all have - at a minimum - suspected by now, governments have [...]
Obama Starts Budget Cuts With The Obvious
I have been writing about public sector debt recently in this blog and the opinions of those in the know about it’s likely impact.
The first major shot in what will probably become a global political war to reduce deficits has been fired. President Obama has announced a new budget which contains cuts to many areas. [...]
Thoughts ‘Borrowed’ From Davos
No, sorry. I didn’t make it to Davos 2010 - I wish. After Copenhagen, this would have been an event too far…
In a blog post from Davos, the Beeb’s Robert Peston discusses the thoughts of some of the world’s top bankers about the state of things now.
It seems that these guys agree with the opinions [...]