Chinese Real Estate Bubble on 60 Minutes
Here is the link to a Bloomberg story that contains a link to the “60 Minutes” story. We have been following the story of this bubble for a while but nothing makes something “real” as when it turns up on “60 Minutes.” Economist Stephen Roach says that the ghost cities will someday be “thriving metropolitan areas.”
He may well be right, but the key question is what will happen between now and then.
The Greek Bank Run
Euros secretly airlifted to keep Greek banks afloat
We are told that the worst is over in Greece. They have even achieved a balance in their primary budget. Not bad considering the US federal budget deficit is almost $7 trillion when you consider the value of entitlement obligations accrued in 2012 (over $1 trillion based on current spending and revenue).
Let’s Look a Little More Closely at What Bernanke Told Congress
In Congressional testimony last week, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke slipped several things in that no one much noticed. He said that the Fed might eventually choose to exit from its current monetary expansion binge, not by selling US government securities, but by letting them mature. He also said that the Fed might possibly keep interest or principal payments for itself.
Robert Blumen on Power Trading Radio
On the show Robert Blumen discusses the science of deflation and the price of gold.
Economic Fascism and the Power Elite
The state—the organization of the political means—is the institution that allows an idle, unproductive class of parasites to live at the expense of ordinary, working people, whose means are industrious activity and consensual exchange in the marketplace. We ought not assume, however, that the indigent segment of society, those who receive social welfare aid from the state, are necessarily foremost among the parasites of the political means.
Sequestration Math
The media are bombarding us with stories of how sequestration, with its “drastic cuts” in government spending, will affect our lives. Marketplace ran one yesterday about the USDA and the potential loss of federal meat inspectors. Don’t worry, we were told, the authorities won’t allow tainted meat on the shelves! But they might inspect more slowly, meaning less meat for sale, and higher prices.
Lincoln’s Inversion of the American Union
Part 5 of “The Secession Tradition in America,” a paper presented at the 1995 Mises Institute conference, “Secession, State, and Economy.” Click here for Part 4, “Peaceful Disunion in Europe.”
Central Banks Debunked
Gerald P. O’Driscoll’s hard-hitting piece in today’s Wall Street Journal, Debunking the Myths about Central Banks is well worth reading.
The Great Sequester Ho-Hum
Economist and former Texas US Senator Phil Gramm recalls the budget sequesters in today’s Wall Street Journal:
