Last week I commented on a puzzling phenomenon in bond markets this year– long-term rates have been falling at the same time that nearer-term rates have been rising. Bruegel has a review of some of the discussion of this around the web.
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:
Bond market conundrum redux
As the U.S. economy returns to healthier growth, many of us expected long-term interest rates to return to more normal historical levels. But the general trend has been down since the end of the Great Recession. The 10-year rate did jump back up in the spring of 2013. But during most of this year it has been falling again.
Quantitative Implications of Wisconsin Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages
No succor from the QCEW series that the Walker Administration previously touted [1]
Wisconsin Forecasted to Lag Further Behind Minnesota
And Kansas travels its own path
“U.K. Wants EU to Block Russia From SWIFT Banking Network”
From Bloomberg::
The U.K. will press European Union leaders to consider blocking Russian access to the SWIFT banking transaction system under an expansion of sanctions over the conflict in Ukraine, a British government official said.
Russian Forces in Ukraine
Edit/update 8/30:
T72BM (only known to be in service in the Russian army) in Ukraine, 8/26. Source: IISS
Guest Contribution: “The Cause of Secular Stagnation? Relative Prices, Trade, and the People’s Republic of China”
Today we are fortunate to have a guest contribution written by Doug Campbell, assistant professor at the New Economic School (Moscow).
I Killed Some Brain Cells Today: Episode 2
“Energy regulation efficiency” and economic growth.
Last time, we turned to the Phoenix Institute for some mind-numbing, soul-killing “research”. Today we look to the Pacific Research Institute for some dumbfounding “analysis”.