2006 04
A Colombia GSB student, with a striking resemblance to Glenn Hubbard, sending-up Hubbard’s supposed tilt at the Fed Chairmanship, to the tune of ‘Every Breath You Take.’
(via John Mauldin)
And coming soon to a cinema near you, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie as John Galt and Dagny Taggart.
posted on 29 April 2006 by skirchner in Culture & Society
(0) Comments | Permalink | Main
Never mind bloggers in pyjamas, here Brad DeLong discusses the ‘mystery’ of US capital account dynamics - in his dressing gown!
When you have recovered from seeing Brad in his bath robe, see Pamela Anderson as you have never seen her before…on the Wall Street Journal op-ed page.
posted on 28 April 2006 by skirchner in Economics
(0) Comments | Permalink | Main
The WSJ editorialises on the IMF’s on-going fight against its own redundancy in a world of floating exchange rates and international capital mobility:
These are grim times at the International Monetary Fund; the world economy is too good. Global GDP has expanded by nearly 5% over the past three years, capital and trade are reaching far corners of the earth, and millions of the world’s poor are being lifted out of poverty. So naturally the IMF is worried.
That’s the backdrop of the weekend agreement in which the world’s developed nations agreed to give the Fund the task of lobbying to correct “global imbalances.” The idea is that the world’s trade and capital flows are out of whack, and are thus a grave threat to all of this prosperity. What the world needs now, said IMF Managing Director Rodrigo Rato, is “coordinated action” to unwind these “imbalances.” And who better to lead it but the Fund, through “multilateral surveillance” of problem countries.
There are few things more dangerous than a global bureaucracy looking to fix something that isn’t broken. Trade and capital flows are a function of millions of private decisions, so it’s far from clear that “imbalances” need addressing. Yes, the U.S. is importing huge amounts of capital and traded goods. But this is in part because the U.S. economy is growing so well, while Europe’s big three—Germany, France and Italy—are dead in the water. If Mr. Rato wants to roll a boulder up a hill, how about lobbying those countries to shape up?
posted on 27 April 2006 by skirchner in Economics
(0) Comments | Permalink | Main
I have only recently returned from a few weeks in Europe. Thanks to all those who made it such an enjoyable trip. It was good to meet with some IE readers for the first time and to get some great first-hand insights into the UK and European economies. There was considerable interest in Australia’s experience with the housing cycle and other developments in the dollar bloc periphery.
While I was away, Treasurer Costello used the Hendy-Warburton report to remind us how wonderful the Australian taxation system is in comparison with the rest of the OECD. Having just visited some of the other OECD countries in question, I’m even more unmoved than usual by such lame comparisons.
The Treasurer’s accompanying press release noted that “The Report will stand as a significant reference point to assist in framing policy to improve taxation policy.” Yet the press release does not explicitly identify a single area in which Australian tax policy might actually be lacking.
posted on 27 April 2006 by skirchner in Economics
(0) Comments | Permalink | Main
There will be no posts over the next three weeks while I take a break. Comments will be closed and new member/comment registrations queued for approval at a later date. I will not be responding to email.
posted on 03 April 2006 by skirchner in Misc
(0) Comments | Permalink | Main
|
