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Monthly Archives: November 2011
Cavalry to the Rescue
Today some optimism may be given a solid basis. The world’s central banks, including the US Fed and ECB and China (!) have all decided they cannot wait any longer for politicians — they have begun a large scale push … Continue reading
Posted in The Global Economy
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Optimism, Encore — but doomed to be disappointed
It never fails to amaze me how traders can shift from extreme pessimism to outrageous optimism on the slightest of rumours, and the most slender reeds of hope. Stock markets soared in Asia and are roaring forward in Europe today, … Continue reading
Posted in The Global Economy
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Old PM for New Job?
The announcement that Kamal Ganzouri, a prime minister under Mubarak, will lead a new civilian cabinet seems unlikely to satisfy the protestors in Egypt. The protestors want to reclaim their revolution and move it forward; Ganzouri looks like a step back … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
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A Lesson For Germany
Germany got a lesson yesterday in the form of a stunningly weak take-up of its offer of Germany government bonds. The lesson should be clear — the Euro is in trouble, and until the uncertainly clears so that investors know … Continue reading
Posted in The Global Economy
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Democracy in Egypt?
The current turmoil is headed toward the resignation of Marshal Tantawi as head of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, and ideally with the hand-off of power from SCAF to a caretaker technocrat government that will preside over parliamentary … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
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And Why are We Suprised the Supercommitee Failed?
Just to save you time looking it up, here is my analysis of what to expect from the supercommittee, posted August 12, 2011. Dare I say “told you so”?? ———————————————————————————————- IT’S A BIRD, IT’S A PLANE, NO, IT’S A SUPERCOMMITTEE … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
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Perceptions of counter-revolution in Egypt
From CNN this afternoon: “These sentiments are reflected in the 2011 Arab Public Opinion Poll, conducted by University of Maryland professor Shibley Telhami and released Monday. Some 21% of respondents believe that Egypt’s military rulers are working to advance the … Continue reading
Posted in The Middle East Revolts
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Don’t Give up on the Arab Spring (2)
In September, I wrote “Historically, extremism and renewed authoritarianism have arisen mainly through a backlash against attempts from inside or outside to limit or rollback the revolution. If allowed to unwind without major internal or external threats, revolutions generally move … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
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Rubber Bullets and Pepper Spray
It seem to be getting harder and harder to tell the true democracies. OWS protestors have been tossed out of their peaceful encampments by police from Oakland, CA, to New York City. And in my old campus (!!) of the … Continue reading
Posted in The Middle East Revolts
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Easter Island on the Potomac
We all know the story of Easter Island (for the latest popular recitation of the story, see Jared Diamond’s COLLAPSE). The leaders sought to outdo each other by putting up giant stone statues of heads with stone hats. They kept doing … Continue reading
Posted in U.S. Politics
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