Category Archives: News/ Lessons

The economic phenomenon known as the “Tragedy of the Commons” instructs us that commonly held resources that are insufficiently protected will be plundered to extinction. The phenomenon was recognized in the early nineteenth century to explain why the commons in … Continue reading →

In this thirty minute interview on Power Trading Radio I discuss fractional reserve banking, the euro, and the beneficial effect of a reinstated German deutsche mark. Interview with Patrick Barron on Power Trading Radio

Re: Germany’s Insistence on Austerity Meets With Revolt in the Eurozone Re: I.M.F. Asks Rich Countries for Support These two article in the New York Times from Wednesday of this week illustrate the confusion and increasing stridency of Keynesian school … Continue reading →

From today’s Open Europe news summary: Hans-Werner Sinn: Some countries should be allowed to temporarily leave the euro Open Europe yesterday hosted the launch of Professor Hans-Werner Sinn’s new book, ‘The euro trap: on bursting bubbles, budgets and beliefs’. At … Continue reading →

Here’s an interesting little calculation of how many dollars the Fed would have to charge for an ounce of its gold reserve in order to cover all of M1. (M1 is the narrowest definition of money, which includes cash and … Continue reading →

From today’s Open Europe news summary: Germany hits out at ECB plans to buy asset backed securities ECB plans to purchase Asset Backed Securities (ABS) have taken a lot of criticism in Germany, with Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann warning that … Continue reading →

I have started reading a new book about the collapse of the Zimbabwean dollar–When Money Destroys Nations, by Philip Haslam and Russell Lamberti. One of the main causes of the hyperinflation was the decision of the Zimbabwean government to give … Continue reading →

From today’s Open Europe news summary: ECB disappoints markets by holding policy The ECB yesterday held interest rates and revealed the details of its purchases of covered bonds and asset backed securities – the former will begin in the second … Continue reading →

From today’s Open Europe news summary: German economist Hans-Werner Sinn writes in the FT, “Deflation is not a danger for southern Europe, but an essential precondition for restoring competitiveness.” He describes the ECB’s latest asset purchase plan as “nothing less than … Continue reading →

Re: US urges EU to do more to stimulate its economy At the recent meeting of the G20 US Treasury Secretary Jack Lew led the majority of the industrial world’s finance ministers and central bankers to urge Europe to increase … Continue reading →