Economics
« Previous EntriesWhy the World Shouldn’t Count on the U.S. to Pull us Out of the Economic Slump
Monday, October 12th, 2009I did some reading this weekend. Read something interesting in The Economist about the U.S. economy:
Consumption accounts for over 70% of American spending. Thus even if households do not go back to 1950s saving rates, their balance-sheet repairs will still weigh heavily on demand in the economy as a whole. An increase of five [...]
Why The Economist is Cautious on the Economic Outlook
Tuesday, October 6th, 2009In the most recent issue of The Economist, comes this interesting paragraph on why we should approach the current state of the world economy with caution:
…Despite a welcome return to growth, the world economy is far from returning to “normal” activity. Unemployment is still rising and much manufacturing capacity remains idle. Many of the sources [...]
Introduction to Banking
Thursday, October 1st, 2009Here’s something interesting I found on YouTube a couple of weeks ago. It’s a classroom series on the basics of finance and banking. I found them to be interesting. I think every person would do well to at least learn the basics of how business should work. Here’s the first video [...]
How Do We Exit The Bailout?
Tuesday, September 22nd, 2009I read this in The Economist:
ECONOMIC policymakers across the rich world face two delicate balancing acts over the new few years. The first, involving monetary policy, is being widely discussed and carefully planned by teams of technocrats. Central bankers must keep their balance-sheets big and interest rates low for long enough to prevent deflation setting [...]
Revisiting the Kiplinger Recovery Index
Thursday, September 17th, 2009I was on the Kiplinger Recovery Index page today and notice that they checked off another economic indicator, existing home sales:
So, two out of the six indicators they follow are now on the positive side. Also, notice how the boxes are shaded from green to red. The more green you see, the closer [...]
Jim Cramer Thinks Things Are Looking Up
Tuesday, September 15th, 2009Not a big Cramer fan but he makes some sense in the first part of this video:
Are Student Loans Fanning the Flames of Increasing College Costs?
Thursday, September 3rd, 2009I found this quote in an article in today’s WSJ about the surge in student loan borrowing to be interesting and troubling:
…the rising levels of borrowing may ironically be contributing to the accelerating cost of college, say some college-finance experts. Loans can give colleges an artificial sense of a family’s ability to pay tuition. To [...]
Is This Graphic Troubling to You?
Friday, July 31st, 2009Take a look at this graphic I found in an article in today’s Wall Street Journal:
Of course things could change (and they probably will) but if this graphic is true, the U.S. is on track to have government debt equal to about 110% of GDP (it looks like it was around 63% in 2007 according [...]
10 Economics Blogs The Wall Street Journal Recommends
Thursday, July 16th, 2009There was a very interesting story in today’s WSJ about how economics blogs are becoming popular due to the state of the economy. Attached to the article is a reader’s guide to econoblogs, with a list of 10 of their favorites. Here’s the list:
• Calculated Risk
• The Conscience of a Liberal [...]
My Favorite Thoughts From Thomas Sowell’s “Basic Economics” (Part 1)
Tuesday, July 14th, 2009I have been trying to read Thomas Sowell’s Basic Economics 3rd Ed: A Common Sense Guide to the Economy* for a couple of years now. I have started the book several times but never got past the first chapter until the other night when I picked up the book, started reading, and didn’t put [...]
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