November 23rd, 2011 Updated November 24th: This handy interactive infographic shows how sovereign debt has exploded in European countries in recent years. According to the figures, the country with the highest debt-to-GDP ratio for each and every year from 1980 to 2010 was Belgium – and it was only overtaken by Greece in 2011. The [...]
November 19th, 2011 Ian Fraser’s introduction: This blog was written by Golem XIV, a pseudonym for filmmaker and author David Malone. David’s core argument is that banks, not governments, are to blame for the current eurozone sovereign debt crisis. While there are some serious omissions — the article does not mention the flawed nature of [...]
By Ian Fraser Published: QFINANCE Date: November 10th, 2011 The wild swings in global liquidity that continue to distort economies around the world might, if left unchecked, trigger the end of open capital markets and free trade, Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney warned in a recent speech. Carney, named head of the G20’s Financial Stability [...]
February 18th, 2011 “Greed, greed, and more fecking greed.” This video was available on YouTube last year. Then it disappeared. But it is now back up. It is well worth a watch, although some might find the language a little strong. Thanks to Chris Skinner of the Financial Services Club blog for alerting me to [...]
December 3rd, 2010 (update 3) The Financial Services Authority’s obsession with “light touch”, laissez-faire regulation in 1997-2008 did more than anything to transform London into the “Wild West” of finance. US investment banks dramatically built up their presences in the UK capital in the period: they knew they could rely on the FSA to turn [...]
November 30th, 2010 Taiwanese-based Next Media Animation has produced its take on 300 years of Irish history. Okay it does simplify things a bit but it is funny. Or as @thestalwart says on Business Insider, “Not necessarily hilarious, but actually this is one of the most succinct explanations of the whole crisis we’ve seen yet.” [...]
November 27th, 2010 You know that things must be getting desperate in Ireland when significant numbers of the country’s population want to draft in Michael O’Leary, the controversial and famously outspoken Ryanair chief executive, to help run the country. According to a Reuters report the no-nonsense Cork-born airline chief, whose opinion of the country’s politicians [...]
October 2nd, 2010 Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, Spain’s prime minister, recently declared the European sovereign debt crisis was over. He told the Wall Street Journal, “I believe that the debt crisis affecting Spain, and the euro zone in general, has passed.” But Zapatero may be being hopelessly optimistic. A common fear is that the vehicle created [...]