Work till you drop, or work until you want to stop
25 Jun 2010 [0 Comments | 350 views]
There are always two ways of looking at things. Some might say: “It’s a scandal, now we have got to work until we drop.” Others might greet the news with glee, and thank their good luck that they won’t be put out to grass at 65. To an extent your reaction to the news will [...]
When it comes to the economy, gold does not glisten
20 Jun 2010 [0 Comments | 242 views]
It’s happening. Where are the surplus countries to cut their wealth? Forget the euro, and sterling. The dollar may be enjoying its last hurrah. China absolutely does not want the yuan to fill that role. That leaves a certain yellow metal. According to the FT, Saudi Arabia’s reserves of gold are twice the size we [...]
The great economic oil leak gets worse – only the small people can plug it
17 Jun 2010 [0 Comments | 422 views]
Goodness gracious, news on the economy seems to be gushing forth faster than oil into the Gulf of Mexico. There is only one thing that seems able to match the sheer volume of gas gushing forth from the world’s media on the economy, and that’s the hot air being emitted from the US media, and [...]
FSA was seduced, but they were not alone
3 Mar 2010 [0 Comments | 280 views]
The Financial Services Authority was seduced. The wicked temptress who undid the FSA’s control was the economic boom. According to its Chairman Lord Adair Turner: “Everyone was seduced by the long boom.” He was revealing the sordid secret to a Treasury Select Committee. Maybe John Terry should try a similar line of defence. Lord Turner [...]
Bubbles and Wisdom – extract
16 Feb 2010 [2 Comments | 468 views]
If you like Investment and Business News, you may be interested in the new book, Bubbles and Wisdom, co-written by the Investment and Business News editor and founder, Michael Baxter. To buy the book click here Here is an extract Prologue: In a nut shell Evolution is like a miracle worker. Innovation is the product [...]
The Great Bubble of China
11 Jan 2010 [4 Comments | 1,195 views]
The man who made a fortune after he predicted the collapse of Enron, reckons that China is in for a nasty fall. And yet data out yesterday does appear to blow one almighty hole in the Chinese bubble theory. If you sign up to the idea that the real cause of the economic crisis of [...]
Did the economic crisis begin in 1997?
7 Jan 2010 [2 Comments | 498 views]
John Kay wrote a fascinating piece for the FT yesterday. He argued that the last 12 or so years have seen three major crises, and all were related. First off, there was the Asia crisis of ’97. Then the dotcom crash and then the bursting of the debt bubble. He argued all three crises have [...]
China frets over gold bubble
3 Dec 2009 [0 Comments | 233 views]
Here’s the thing about gold. China owns rather a lot of it. So much so, in fact, there’s a danger that if she buys any more of the stuff the market will be distorted. What with Greece, wilting under debts, closer than ever to travelling the road to the economic river Styx; what with Latvia [...]
Gold boom, or is it fool’s gold boom?
1 Dec 2009 [0 Comments | 156 views]
The devil is working for various central banks across the world. At least, you could be forgiven for concluding that if you were to glance across the newspapers and blogosphere. The Fed is printing money, the Bank of England is creating new money faster than you can say Mervyn King, and that’s why gold is [...]
The way the north wind blows
16 Oct 2008 [1 Comment | 126 views]
Talk about locking the stable door after the horse has bolted; now Ben Bernanke, chairman of the Fed, has said that in future the Fed must take proactive steps to try and stop the emergence of bubbles.
Ben said that bubbles were a "dangerous phenomenon", yesterday, when talking at the Economic Club in New York.
Okay, it's pretty obvious, really. But actually, in a way, this should draw us to the heart of the matter of this crisis, because it was Alan Greenspan who deliberately followed a policy of not trying to deflate bubbles. Look even deeper, though, and another point of view emerges altogether.
