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Monthly Archives: September 2010
Putting the Frighteners on the UKs Banks and Bondholders
If the UK’s banks don’t increase lending to small business, then the government is going to give them a serious kicking. At least so says Business Secretary Vince Cable, who will go on the “war path” and impose financial penalties such as an increase in the banking levy or taxes. However, because of political imperatives to increase inflation, Cable, like the Bank of England seems to be willfully misinterpreting the economic evidence, while the risk of higher interest rates grows.
Posted in Bond markets, Economy, Politics, Uncategorized Tagged Bank of England, inflation, quantitative easing, UK Leave a comment
The IMF Is Turning Into A Monster
It’s been apparent for some time that the IMF is no longer an independent institution but an arm of the European financial elites. With Dominique Strauss-Kahn at the helm when the financial crisis hit, Germany and France have cynically been able to use the IMF for their own ends, dropping ever larger sums into the EU with ever fewer conditions, to protect German and French banks that have huge exposures to the PIIGS. Angering the very same Asian countries that were dictated to by the IMF in 1997, and who are now being asked to pay the bills, and stretching US patience to the limit, it is all likely to end in tears.
Posted in Bond markets, Economy, Politics, Uncategorized Tagged Asian Developing Bank Fund, ECB, France, Germany, Greece, IMF, Ireland, US Leave a comment
California’s Prosperity Terminating Lessons for the UK
As if the UK economy doesn’t have enough problems, the new coalition government is going out of its way to create new ones, by pursuing its self-indulgent ‘clean’ energy policy. You’d imagine that it would be self evident that cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 34% within 10 years is completely hair brained – and reducing emissions by 80% in 2050 is economic suicide. But developments in California may soon highlight the prosperity terminating effect of such clean energy policies – now that it has become a major election issue in the California midterms.
Posted in Economy, Global Warming Scare, Politics Tagged California, clean energy, debt deflation, global warming, Unemployment, US Leave a comment
Deutsche Bank Aligns Itself With Disgraced ‘Hockey Stick’ Scientist
Deutsche Bank increasingly seems to be in the misinformation business. Believe it or not, it is now crawling out on a limb that has already broken off, and is trying to defend Michael Mann’s infamous “hockey stick” graph. After its recent rose-tinted analysis of the global economy, the incompetent and one-sided report on climate change it has just published hardly inspires confidence in the veracity of anything they say – especially following its failure to come clean on its real sovereign bond exposure.
Update: Germany Heads into the Double-Dip Zone
As the Angry Analyst warned, the fiscal austerity being implemented in Greece and the other Club Med countries would soon be felt because Germany has been relying on exports to these countries – not China – for growth. Economic sentiment, as measured by the ZEW institute, collapsed in September. This is particularly significant, because as can be seen from the accompanying chart, it leads the other key indicator produced by the IFO institute. And where this indicator leads, German industrial output is sure to follow.
Posted in Bond markets, Companies, Economy Tagged banking, bond market, Deutsche Bank, Deutsche Postbank, double-dip, Germany, Greece, manufacturing, sovereign debt crisis Leave a comment
It’s Time to Force China to Play By Our Rules
You’d think, given the critical role global imbalances played in building up the systemic risk that caused the Great Recession that addressing them would be an urgent issue. China’s everyday flouting of World Trade Organisation trade rules would be bad enough in normal circumstances. But now when Beijing clearly stands in the way of economic recovery, Paul Krugman is right to be exasperated that the Chinese have been allowed to keep taxing imports while subsidizing exports.
Posted in Commodities, Currency Markets, Economy, Uncategorized Tagged anti-dumping, Asia, China, currency manipulation, dollar, global imbalances, import tariffs, undervalued Asian currencies, US, WTO, yuan Leave a comment
More Evidence of German Banking Untruths
As if further evidence was needed that the German banks have been lying about the true state of their balance sheets, and that a German banking crisis is in the offing, we learn that German mortgage lender Hypo Real Estate will receive another €40 billion of state guarantees.
Posted in Bond markets Tagged banks, Germany, Hypo Real Estate, Ireland, sovereign debt crisis, stress tests Leave a comment
The First Green Energy Trade War?
If Congress votes to penalize Chinese imports and start a trade war it may have a lot to do with the Democrats’ frustration at their inability to build a homegrown clean energy sector. After all, it would be particularly embarrassing if the companies President Obama has boasted about being “the future” were to go bankrupt. So, because the green stimulus has failed to live up to the hype, and mostly created new jobs abroad, leading Democrats may now think the answer is to restrict imports.
Posted in Currency Markets, Economy, Global Warming Scare Tagged Asia, China, clean energy, solar, stimulus, trade war, undervalued Asian currencies, wind Leave a comment
America is Serious About Balancing its Trade With China
On the question of its undervalued currency China may have finally overplayed its hand. Following a number of impolitic moves on the geo-political front, it looks like the U.S. is finally in the mood to walk the talk and force China to revalue its currency – even if it means slapping import tariffs on [...]
Posted in Currency Markets, Economy Tagged Asia, China, currency manipulation, global imbalances, protectionism, subsidies, trade sanctions, US, WTO Leave a comment
Update: Bad News for Green Technology