I continue to wonder who Bank of Russia President Elvira Nabuillina works for. Seriously. On Friday, in response to solid growth in Russian economic statistics over the past few months, Nabuillina again raised interest rates 0.25%. She still adheres to idiotic IMF-style 'inflation targeting' dogma. Price inflation in Russia finally got off the roughly 2.5% … Continue reading Inflation Targeting Madness: Russia Raises Rates Again
Politics
Deplatforming Paves the Way for Cryptocurrency
The recent deplatforming of Sargon of Akkad by Patreon has a lot of people very nervous. I became worried we'd get to this state the first time they went after Gab for not allowing their app in the Google or Apple stores. It became obvious then that we would wind up here today. It starts … Continue reading Deplatforming Paves the Way for Cryptocurrency
Revisiting Turkey’s Debt Problem
It is increasingly clear the global economy is slowing down. And a few months ago the epicenter for that slowdown was Turkey. The Turkish Lira melted down as fears over its massive pile of corporate debt, most of it denominated in dollars, began selling off. And that had contagion effects into Europe since yield-starved banks … Continue reading Revisiting Turkey’s Debt Problem
The End of France as We Know It?
When an event grabs headlines like the protests in France have I temper my reactions to it. I didn't give the Yellow Vest protests much thought at first wanting to see where they would lead. Protests like this and even bigger ones like Catalonian independence are invariably betrayed by the European political establishment. They become … Continue reading The End of France as We Know It?
Meet the New Merkel, Same as the Old Merkel
So Angela Merkel is out as leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU). In comes Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, Merkel's close ally who won the party's support with a very narrow victory over more conservative Friedrich Merz. The goal , as always in Europe, was to maintain the status quo politically. Change needed to change nothing. Brexit negotiations … Continue reading Meet the New Merkel, Same as the Old Merkel
OPEC Cuts Deep to Save Cartel
With oil prices in free fall and the dawning realization that Great Reflation trade of 2017 is over, OPEC needed to do something drastic to remind everyone how important they are. Moreover, with Qatar quitting the cartel last week it was then doubly necessary for OPEC to make the markets stand up and remember them. … Continue reading OPEC Cuts Deep to Save Cartel
Mr. Tariff Ups the Ante on China
Donald Trump just jumped the shark calling himself, "Mr. Tariff." He believes a trade deficit is akin to stealing the wealth of a nation. It isn't. Under normal conditions a trade deficit is simply a reflection of the difference in comparative advantage of one country's workers over anothers. And the value of the currency is … Continue reading Mr. Tariff Ups the Ante on China
Trump Folds at G-20 on Everything
I knew there was something wrong with Donald Trump's presidency the day he bombed the airbase at Al-Shairat in Syria. It was a turning point. I knew it was a mistake the moment he did it and argued as such at the time. No act by him was more contentious. It cost me hundreds of … Continue reading Trump Folds at G-20 on Everything