In early 2007, a group of Morgan Stanley bankers bundled a group of subprime mortgage instruments into a package they hoped to sell to investors. The only problem was, they couldn’t come up with a name for the package of mortgage-backed derivatives, which they all knew were doomed. The bankers decided to play around with […]
The Trump Reflation Fantasy Ends on Day 100 by David Stockman…
In honor of the Donald’s “Mother of All Bomb” (MOAB) attack on the Hindu Kush mountains Thursday, let me introduce MOAD. I’m referring to the “Mother of All Debt” crises, of course. The opening round is coming when Washington goes into shutdown mode on April 28, which happens to be Day 100 of the Donald’s […]
EU Blocks Stock Exchange Mega-Merger Between Germany and Britain…
EU antitrust regulators have rejected the proposed €29 billion ($31.3 billion) merger of Deutsche Boerse and the London Stock Exchange (LSE). The combined exchange would have become the largest in Europe. “The Commission cannot allow the creation of monopolies, and that is what would have happened in this case,” Margrethe Vestager, the EU’s antitrust commissioner, […]
London Is Crowned Global Finance King…
London has kept its crown as the world’s top financial centre in a big boost for Britain following the Brexit vote. The capital once again pipped New York to the number one spot in the twice-yearly Global Financial Centres Index, despite concerns about the impact of leaving the European Union on the City. The report […]
Populism Is the Result of Global Economic Failure…
The rise of populism has rattled the global political establishment. Brexit came as a shock, as did the victory of Donald Trump. Much head-scratching has resulted as leaders seek to work out why large chunks of their electorates are so cross. The answer seems pretty simple. Populism is the result of economic failure. The 10 […]
McCain: ‘New World Order Under Enormous Strain…
What Went Wrong in Wall Street Reform: Obama Versus FDR…
Following the Wall Street crash of 1929, thousands of banks failed in the United States. More than 3,000 banks went under in 1931 followed by more than 1400 the following year. There was no Federal insurance on bank deposits in those days so both depositors and shareholders were wiped out or received pennies on the […]
STUDY: Understanding the Economic Impact of the H-1B Program on the U.S….
H-1B Visas Cost Americans Jobs and Suppress Wages, Economists Find…
The H-1B visa program costs American workers jobs and suppresses their wages, while substantially increasing profit margins for tech firms, economists conclude in a study published in February. If tech companies were unable to import temporary foreign workers, employment in the tech industry for American workers would have been up to 10.8 percent higher in […]
Trump’s 2017 Trade Agenda: Signs of a Sensible Direction…
Since the Trade Act of 1974, Congress has required the administration each year to submit an annual “trade policy agenda” outlining its goals for the coming year. It has long been a welcome exercise in transparency, forcing the administration to articulate for the Congress – which retains the constitutional authority over foreign trade – its […]