Bruce Bartlett brought my attention to this article, which Mark Thoma mused was “The Stupidest Article Ever Published”. From The Inflation Debt Scam, by Paul Craig Roberts, Dave Kranzler and John Williams:
Monthly Archives: September 2014
Pessimism about U.S. growth rates
A growing number of observers are starting to conclude that we’re never going to see the rebound in growth rates that many people had anticipated as the U.S. recovers from the Great Recession. Here I comment on a new paper in which Northwestern Professor Robert Gordon explains the basis for his pessimism.
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Forecasted North Sea Oil Production
How much can an independent Scotland rely upon? updated 9/16
“Facts are Stupid Things”
As Ronald Reagan once said (although he did mean to say “stubborn”)
The Evaporation of the Wisconsin Budget Surplus
A rapid collapse in the Wisconsin fiscal prospects (but pretty predictable, as long as one doesn’t believe in supply side miracles).
Optimal Currency Area Theory and Scottish Independence
Ronald MacDonald (Glasgow) concludes that a currency union will not work for Scotland. From The Guardian:
Reading Macro Data: Growth Rates, Annual Rates, Data Breaks
Newcomers to macro often encounter problems in interpreting and using data. The first is how to report growth rates, particularly when trying to assess the current state of the economy. The second is how to read data reported at annual vs. quarterly vs. monthly rates. The third is accounting for the presence of breaks in data collection. (This post primarily for students in Econ 435 and Public Affairs 854.)
Other perspectives on the new bond market conundrum
The ECB Does QE/CE
From Simon Kennedy in “Draghi Sees Almost $1 Trillion Stimulus With No QE Fight” (Bloomberg):
Mario Draghi signaled at least 700 billion euros ($906 billion) of fresh aid for his moribund economy and left a fight with Germany over sovereign-bond purchases for another day.
Low Long Term Rates to Stay?
As I begin teaching finance in the new semester, I am highlighting the key puzzle of our times, discussed by Jim in his last post, with this graph: