Those of us around in the 1970s will remember the term stagflation – a combination of economic stagnation and inflation that created a conundrum for bourgeois economists: do you move to rein in inflation by tightening credit and imposing wage and price…
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World Headlines Review: Bangladesh: Dabbling in Dhaka Stock Markets
A classic stock market boom-bust cycle is underway in Bangladesh, inciting riots after the closure of the country’s main markets in Dhaka and Chittagong this week. The picture painted by the charts and reports from Bangladesh make for an abject lesson in how markets fluctuate and are driven by salesmanship
Continue readingWorld Headlines Review: Switzerland: Swiss Franc -ly Under Attack
Separate reports this week in the Swiss newspaper Neue Zuericher Zeitung (NZZ) are highlighting the difficult choices Switzerland, and by extension other nations, are facing in the continued onslaught of effective currency devaluation by US and Eurozone officials. The Greenback and the Euro have fallen significantly against the Franc and
Continue readingWorld Headlines Review: Tunisia and Algeria: North African States of Unrest
Reports of civil unrest and suicidal protests in Algeria and Tunisia these past two weeks are highlighting the precarious conditions under which many people across the world live: on the verge of starvation, hopelessly unemployed and frequently homeless. For decades these two neighboring nations have been considered relatively stable, if
Continue readingWorld Headlines Review: Seoul G20: Perplexing Conclusion, Clear Result
The conclusion of the most recent G20 summit in Seoul last Friday, hailed as a success for political reasons by attending politicians, was punctuated with the following agreed upon statement: “Uneven growth and widening imbalances are fueling the temptation to diverge from global solutions into uncoordinated action… uncoordinated policy actions
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