The world’s most populous country is running out of workers – what are the implications?
16 Dec 2010 [0 Comments | 571 views]
China is running out of workers. Around 60 per cent of China’s workforce, or 469 million people, are known as rural. But it seems that a big chunk of these people – around 145 million – spent at least six months away from home last year, presumably working in towns and cities. It is thought [...]
Interest rates set to rise as economic tectonic plates shift – is this good or bad news?
15 Dec 2010 [0 Comments | 761 views]
A new report from McKinsey Global has just about the most far reaching predictions we have seen in years. The report forecasts higher interest rates across the world. That’s real interest rates, by the way. If the predictions are right, and actually, we suspect they are, this will of course be bad, bad news for [...]
Why the super rich should pay more tax, and the rest should pay a lot less
22 Nov 2010 [6 Comments | 1,438 views]
During the last economic boom, families on median income found that their discretionary disposable income hardly went up at all. Sure, the UK boomed. The UK enjoyed its longest ever run of uninterrupted economic growth, but the wealth created did not trickle down, at least not in any significant way. Does it matter? If you [...]
Peak oil is less than a decade away
18 Nov 2010 [3 Comments | 1,721 views]
Peak oil is meant to describe that future time when the supply of oil goes into permanent decline. It’s the date some fear; others dismiss it, saying it’s a very long way off indeed. But both sides of the peak oil debate agree on one thing. The day it arrives will be a bleak day. [...]
Russian privatisation campaign set for launch next year; don’t forget to tell Boris and Sid
22 Oct 2010 [0 Comments | 723 views]
The Russians had a grudging respect for Margaret Thatcher. It was, after all, the Soviet defence minister who first called her the Iron Lady. Quite ironic, perhaps, because it seems Russia is taking a leaf out of her book, and is set to engage in an enormous privatisation programme. It may be that the future [...]
Why quantitative easing is not waiting to release the inflation genie
22 Oct 2010 [0 Comments | 651 views]
Yesterday we wrote: “Fears over hyperinflation, leading to surging gold, are built on a myth.” See: Gold glistens for now, but does its sparkle deceive?. A comment suggested that while all this new money created by quantitative easing is not boosting the money supply at the moment, it is still lurking in the system, and [...]
Gold glistens for now, but does its sparkle deceive?
21 Oct 2010 [4 Comments | 605 views]
Which way next for gold? We thought it was time to sum up some of the arguments made here over the past few months. The reason why gold has done well over the last couple of years surely relates to uncertainties over the currency markets and the beginning of the end of dollar hegemony. As [...]
Fractals, chaos and the legacy of Mandelbrot
19 Oct 2010 [1 Comment | 925 views]
Last week, Benoit B Mandelbrot died. Never heard of him? Well, let’s face it, not many people have. But his theories were important, very important indeed. Perhaps he was far more deserving of a Nobel prize than all those economists who so spectacularly failed to call the economic crisis. So what was his big idea, [...]
Fed prepares to unleash WMDs in currency war
13 Oct 2010 [0 Comments | 533 views]
If we really are on the verge of a currency war, who is the likely victor going to be? The answer, probably Uncle Sam, although he will come out the other end a chastened beast. In fact, it may be more accurate to say Uncle Sam will win the battle, but that it will be [...]
And the winner is, the new Nobel prize for economics is handed out to but does it mean anything?
12 Oct 2010 [0 Comments | 641 views]
It’s that time of the year. October is the month when the Nobel prize is handed out to economists. And today saw the announcement of the latest winner, or winners to be more precise. Meanwhile, the critics line up. Listen to what some are saying, and you could be forgiven for concluding that the certificates [...]
