There is something inherently callous about discussing the economic impact of a natural disaster. The human toll is always of much greater concern and importance than anything happening in the realm of finance. However, us economics types can’t help but immediately begin speculating on what the impact might be, and economists around the world are [...]
Unfortunately, earthquakes and Tsunamis have a much larger human toll than economic. And that is likely to be true in Japan as well. Still, the 8.9 magnitude earthquake and resultant Tsunami that hit Japan near the city of Sendai on Friday comes at a time when that country’s economy was already vulnerable. The Japanese economy [...]
No, the headline is not a mistake. I know we’re usually worried about the opposite – whether or not U.S. manufacturers can compete with a rising China. But today I’m turning that question around. What doesn’t get enough attention in today’s discussions about America’s economic competitiveness is that the U.S. remains a robust manufacturing power, [...]
Bill Gross says sell (Photo: Jason Reed/Reuters) US debt may no longer be a good investment, at least for now. And that might be the good news. Famed investor Bill Gross, who runs the PIMCO Total Return Fund, recently sold all of the US Treasury bonds is his fund’s portfolio. It’s a huge move for [...]
Sky high gas prices, and worry, are back (Lucy Nicholson/Reuters) The recent spike in gas prices is getting some economists nervous. Higher gas prices, it seems, could mean fewer jobs. In the past two weeks, the price of gas has risen on average across the country $0.33 a gallon to $3.50. In many places in [...]
China’s annual legislative meeting, the National People’s Congress, is underway in Beijing, and the titans of the Communist Party are making all sorts of grand pronouncements on the future direction of Chinese economic reform. We’ve gotten a look at not just China’s plans for the economy for 2011, but over the medium term as well [...]
Unemployment is down and America, it seems, is going back to work. The February employment report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which details job increases and the unemployment report was released on Friday, offered a double whammy of good news. The unemployment rate dropped again to 8.9%. More importantly, the economy added 192,000 jobs [...]
Economists are arguing the USS Dollar is sinking (Getty Images) Time to start loading up on Renminbi. At least that is the growing conclusion of a number of economists. The value of the buck is down. Electronics make it easier to convert currency so you don’t need to have one global standard. And let’s face [...]
NYU’s Roubini is worried about muni bonds (Mike Segar/REUTERS) They don’t call him Dr. Doom for nothing. A new report from the research firm headed by New York University Professor Nouriel Roubini, who is credited for predicting the housing bust and subsequent financial crisis, is saying debt defaults of local and state government could rise [...]
Prices of just about everything have been rising precipitously in recent months – from cotton and corn to copper, and, of course, oil. Generally speaking, high prices for commodities are bad for growth, for two reasons. First, they spark inflationary pressures that can force central banks to hike interest rates, thus slowing down economies. Secondly, [...]
