The deadweight of the money-go-round October 4, 2011 WHAT will the government do to promote economic growth? I wish everyone would stop asking this question. It encourages politicians to “do something”; it encourages them to “deliver”. Yet the best way the chancellor George Osborne could promote growth is to stop delivering. Nothing that can be supplied privately should be supplied by the government [...]
RAPID RESPONSES October 4, 2011 Negative feedback We are all used to flare-ups of the sovereign debt crisis, but this time it is threatening to engulf the banking sector. Dexia brought back fears of 2008. The problem is that the banks in the need of most state-help tend to be based in countries with troubled finances. It is easy to [...]
Bernanke fails to rule out QE3 October 4, 2011 IN A testimony to the US Congress yesterday, Federal Reserve chairman, Ben Bernanke largely rehashed language used in recent speeches, such as his address at the Jackson Hole symposium in August and his speech to the Economic Club of Minnesota on 8 September. However, forex market reactions leaned more on what the Fed chairman didn’t [...]
AUSSIE COULD FALL BEYOND EXPECTATIONS October 4, 2011 VISTING Australia on business I am astounded at the cost everything. For an American, Sydney is now as prohibitively expensive as Zurich. A simple cup of coffee and a mineral water cost more than $12 at any sidewalk café. The high cost of living is a testament to the Aussie’s strong appreciation over the past [...]
THE TIPSTER October 4, 2011 THE EU must be stoking the ire of the Bank of Japan at this stage. Euro-yen at 11-year lows is begging for intervention from the BOJ. Look to buy on dips to ¥100.60-70. Forex.com is currently quoting ¥101.19-¥101.23. Dollar-yen refuses to break out from between ¥78.00 and ¥76.00 finding the ¥76.00 level a firm support [...]
FOREX ANALYST PICKS October 4, 2011 FOREX STRATEGIST JOHN KICKLIGHTER My pick: Short euro-dollar and short Kiwi dollar-dollar Expertise: Fundamental analysis with risk management Average time frame of trades: 1 day to 1 week Though it took a little time, euro-dollar finally slipped below that substantial $1.3400 floor that represented the 2010-2011 mid-point. A forgiving stop at $1.3650 is warranted and [...]
Michael Lewis dissects Europe’s woes October 4, 2011 “THE Greeks not only have massive debts but are still running big deficits. Trapped by an artificially strong currency, they cannot turn these deficits into surpluses, even if they do everything outsiders want them to do. Their exports, priced in euros, remain expensive. The German government wants the Greeks to slash the size of their [...]
Salomon bond salesman to acclaimed author October 4, 2011 MICHAEL Lewis was born in New Orleans and educated at Princeton University and the London School of Economics. When he was twenty-four he started working at Salomon Brothers. Finding the experience preposterous he stumbled out three years later in 1988. His bestseller, Liar’s Poker is widely considered the book that defined Wall Street in the [...]
Boomerang: The Meltdown Tour October 4, 2011 IN HIS latest tour de force, Michael Lewis looks at “why Icelanders wanted to stop fishing and become investment bankers”, the reasons “Greeks wanted to turn their country into a piñata stuffed with cash and allow as many citizens as possible to take a whack,” and “why the Irish wanted to stop being Irish” and [...]
Chrysler’s Ypsilon does premium October 4, 2011 While scrolling through the radio, inside the new Chrysler Ypsilon I’m driving, I find one of the station presets tuned to Radio Italia. It’s an unusual choice and a reminder of this car’s roots. It’s possible you haven’t heard of the Ypsilon. It has never been sold in the UK, and elsewhere it wears a [...]
