Fitch Drops US Creditworthiness: Spending is the Reason
Fitch Ratings downgraded the US credit rating from AAA to AA+ because they expect fiscal deterioration over the next few years. While the diagnosis seems delayed, they’re right. Irresponsible bipartisan spending for decades is the culprit. With the national debt approaching $33 trillion, the American economy appears unlikely to recover its AAA status any time […]
Democracy and the price of a vote
A typical economist does not have all that much in common with a typical protester in a failing dictatorship. Dismal scientists favour cautious lessons, carefully crafted and suitably caveated, backed by decades of data and rigorous modelling. Protesters need electrifying arguments and gargantuan promises about just how good life will be as soon as their […]
Why investors are gambling on placid stockmarkets
Sod’s law, the axiom that if something can go wrong then it will, is about as British as it gets. But traders around the world have their own version: that markets will move in whatever direction causes the most pain to the most people. This year, they have been vindicated by a soaring stockmarket that […]
China’s consumers, officials and statisticians all lack confidence
China’s economic problems are distinctive. Inflation is too low, not too high. Many cities have too much housing, not too little. The country’s unmatched saving rate suggests it is, if anything, making excessive provision for its future. Listen to this story.Enjoy more audio and podcasts on iOS or Android. Your browser does not support the […]
FirstFT: US, Japan and South Korea deepen security co-operation to deter China
Good morning. The US, Japan and South Korea are to create a leader-level hotline and hold annual joint military exercises as part of a historic trilateral agreement that will help Washington and its Asian allies boost deterrence against North Korea and China. President Joe Biden will unveil the move with Japanese prime minister Fumio Kishida […]
A Race for Millions – Econlib
Gregory Zuckerman is an author and investigative journalist with the Wall Street Journal. His main area of work is covering business and investing topics. In this episode of EconTalk, Russ Roberts hosts Zuckerman for a conversation on his book: A Shot to Save the World: The Inside Story of the Life-or-Death Race for a COVID-19 […]
2:00PM Water Cooler 8/16/2023 | naked capitalism
By Lambert Strether of Corrente. Patient readers, yesterday I devoted most of my time to a (necessary) deep dive into Section Three. Today I had to continue that work, and get a handle — any handle — on Trump’s Georgia indictment, too. I will shortly fill in some Covid blanks; there will be plenty more […]
Alan Blinder’s Inflationary Incoherence | AIER
“Predictions are hard, especially about the future,” the old saw goes. We economists have not clothed ourselves in glory with our forecasts. Many economics commentators confidently proclaimed inflation would be “transitory.” Instead, we got sustained price hikes, including the sharpest increases in 40 years. I myself was too sanguine about inflation, so I’m hesitant to […]
