Lagarde promises to ‘stay the course’ on high interest rates
Christine Lagarde warned financial markets on Thursday that the European Central Bank was determined to “stay the course” and signalled further big interest rate rises lay ahead to get inflation down. In comments that bolstered the euro, the ECB president told the World Economic Forum in Davos that markets should ditch their view that the […]
Sunk Costs and a Trip to CVS Pharmacy
More evidence that thinking through basic economic concepts can help you make better decisions. Last week, my wife asked me to pick up some prescriptions from the CVS Pharmacy that’s on my way home from work. I forgot. When I got home, she reminded me. I turned around and drove to CVS, a drive that […]
Links 1/18/2023 | naked capitalism
Pooch portraits: Dog Photography awards – in pictures Guardian Knife-wielding North Carolina man leads police on chase on John Deere tractor, reaching 20 mph AL.com The Age of Free Money Is Over. But There Are Still Opportunities, Investing Pros Say. Barron’s Slicing Cash Flows for Better Ratings Bloomberg Inside the High-Yield Spread Verdad. The deck: […]
Could Europe end up with a worse inflation problem than America?
Inflation is coming down. On both sides of the Atlantic, falling energy costs are provoking sighs of relief. Price-watchers are now focused on core inflation, a measure that strips out volatile food and energy prices, and is usually much slower to rise—and more difficult to bring down. Since October, core inflation in the euro zone […]
The rise of the uber-luxurious office
It is lunchtime at One Vanderbilt, a new office tower which juts out of midtown Manhattan. The building’s vast basement kitchen hums, as harried staff in chef’s whites leap in and out of swing doors. Upstairs, gourmet salads and soup are served in a lounge overlooking Grand Central Station; a sit-down restaurant offers foie gras, […]
China’s re-globalisation paradox | The Economist
At the annual World Economic Forum meeting this week in Davos, Switzerland, China’s economic tsar, Liu He, met a number of “old friends” he had not seen during his country’s long battle with covid-19. In a solicitous speech, he acknowledged the importance of in-person meetings, lamented the fragmentation of the world and called for economic […]
On reconsideration, Arthur Burns was still a bad Fed chair
The Economist has an article suggesting that Fed chair Arthur Burns has an undeservedly bad reputation, and “deserves a second look”: Richard Nixon picked Burns to run the Fed, viewing him as a friend who would do his bidding. Despite stubborn inflation, Nixon pressed Burns to cut interest rates in 1971, thinking it would […]
Venture capital’s $300bn question | The Economist
Consider the following puzzle. In 2021 venture capitalists raised $150bn in fresh cash, a record amount. Despite a market slowdown, they broke the record once again in 2022, raising more than $160bn. Chunks of this have already been spent, but close to $300bn of “dry powder” sits waiting to be put to use. Indeed, spending […]
