Not even the IMF can make up its mind over China and the yuan
28 Jul 2010 [0 Comments | 135 views]
As you know, China’s policy of keeping the yuan down relative to the dollar is the cause of all economic ills. At least that’s what some of the more paranoid US politicians would have you believe. This is a tad ironic, because it seems that the IMF can’t even make up its own mind over [...]
Fears over US double dip make place for new European panic , but at least news from China could perk up economists
19 Jul 2010 [0 Comments | 172 views]
Are the Chuckle Brothers still going strong, does anyone know? Alas, the author recalls the duo because his kids were young when they were popular, not because he was a child himself then. You may recall their famous line went like this: “From me, to you”. The other would respond in like fashion, and whatever [...]
Chermany and Chreece
25 Jun 2010 [0 Comments | 185 views]
You may know, but the FT’s Martin Wolf has come up with a phrase to describe the world’s big export block, he calls it Chermany. China and Germany are similar in the sense that both have high savings, and both export more than they import. It could be argued of course, that just as China’s [...]
China prepares to appreciate currency
20 Jun 2010 [0 Comments | 329 views]
This is the move economists and politicians have been waiting for. China doesn’t like it when the West blames it for all its ills. You can see its point. We spend money we don’t have, and then complain when China doesn’t spend like there’s no tomorrow. For decades the nice men and women in power [...]
Is Japan set to go way of Greece, and why China should be celebrating outbreak of British disease
14 Jun 2010 [1 Comment | 255 views]
There is one argument that those who say we are all doomed and set to be strangled by massive fiscal deficit struggle to rebuff. Sure, the UK’s fiscal debt is huge, but compare the UK government’s total debt with Japan’s, and all of a sudden it looks quite modest. In Japan, the problem has been [...]
At last, Chinese wages rise: is this the end of bubbles?
10 Jun 2010 [1 Comment | 781 views]
China’s exports surged 48.5 per cent in May on the year before. It was the biggest rise in six years. It was only a couple of months ago that China posted a trade deficit, although that particular deficit had a feel of freakishness about it and was largely down to the surging price of oil. [...]
Markets celebrate as China makes soothing noises
28 May 2010 [0 Comments | 298 views]
It was another busy day yesterday. Will the dragon come out to play, or go back in its cave? That’s the big question. By ‘dragon’ of course is meant China, and by coming out to play we mean lend lots of money to indebted foreigners. The question is, can the Eurozone continue to expect money [...]
Austerity begins
25 May 2010 [0 Comments | 449 views]
The great austerity drive begins, and not only in the UK. The Italian government is due to reveal its austerity package today, and the IMF has slated Spain for not doing enough. As for Blighty, it may be… well, if nothing else it tells us how politicians seemed to be awful at seeing the bl***ing [...]
Meltdown II, and can synthetic life save the day
21 May 2010 [0 Comments | 463 views]
Oh dear, it’s been another day of crisis. If you have a nasty cold, and you take some miracle drug that masks the symptoms so you can go out and play in the sun, what happens when the effects of the drug wear off? Answer: you feel even worse. If you are in debt, and [...]
EU rescue: a fix or a fiddle?
11 May 2010 [0 Comments | 342 views]
Was it a sticky plaster rushed over a gaping wound, which will do no more than stem the flow of blood for a few moments, or did we see something more profound yesterday? As ever with these things opinions seemed to run the full gamut from horror to undiluted joy. On one side of the [...]
