'Risk-Free' No More: S&P Downgrades US Debt
When I was studying for an MBA sometime ago, the textbook 'risk free' rate of return was represented by US Treasuries, of course implying that the risk of default was virtually nil. After to…
Showing posts with the label Cheneynomics
ABC News: US Preparing for S&P Downgrade
If not now, in the near future methinks. Among major US networks, ABC is generally adjudged more credible than the others. See what you make of it ... A government official tells ABC News that the fe…
Reinharts: US Fully Deserves a Credit Downgrade
It's good to know that those who've studied troubled economies largely echo points I raised in my recent post on the US budget deal to raise the debt ceiling. Carmen Reinhart of This Time is…
US Budget, Rearranging Debt Chairs on the Titanic
I have saved myself from wasting tremendous amounts of time and effort blogging about the US lifting its $14.3 trillion debt limit which was set to be reached on August 2. Alike any other junkie una…
21st Century USA ≈ 17th Century Polish Empire?
Tis perhaps appropriate that my fondness for historically informed performances (HIP) of classical music ties into international political economy for two obvious reasons. First, with most music com…
US "Foreign Aid," AmeriBankruptcy Victim
To be sure, the United States used to actually aid developing countries a long time ago. Sure, the country still doles out cash and kind to exemplars of freedom 'n' growth such as Afghanistan…
Potpourri: $ Losing Global Status, $100B AAA Loss
A few hours ago we received word that River Plate, the most storied of Argentinian football clubs which has helped spawn many global footballing legends, was relegated from the first division for th…
Junk Treasuries: Time for US 'Technical Default'
In three simple points, let me explain the concept of subprime globalization before moving on to the enticing prospect of American sovereign debt being junked in 2011: 1. Free money policies have don…
Guns or Butter? UK's Defence v Foreign Aid Debate
OK, so this is not strictly an application of the economic textbook guns-or-butter question of whether a nation should devote its resources to military or civilian priorities given a production poss…
Fire Sale USA or the Desperate States of America
Here's a very pertinent news article I almost forgot to post about. Imagine America as one big pawnshop and you wouldn't be far off as federal, state, municipal, household and individual enti…
Intertwined Fates: bin Laden and the €500 Note
OK, so the absurdist image to the left was Photoshopped by someone with too much free time, but I have more sartorial commentary on bin Laden that is more factual . While we all know that the dollar …
Americans Agree America's Future Stinks (Duh)
Ah, the stench of American decay. Just a few hours ago, I heard Joseph "Soft Power" Nye--a worthy inaugural recipient of this blog's Carl Spackler Award for Cheneynomic analysis-- outl…
Asia Learned From Its Financial Crisis; US Didn't
While visiting the website of those famous bond fiends PIMCO, I came across an interesting article on the resilience of Asian economies since the 1997-98 financial crisis. Chia-Liang Lian makes the …
Special FX: What is 'Strong Dollar' Policy, Exactly?
My, my, my--have we been here before. And I suspect we have far from heard the last of it lest 'weak dollar' policy becomes a rhetorical favourite in certain parts of North America. When it c…