Monthly Archives: May 2012

Germany’s GDP grew a surprisingly strong 0.5% in the first quarter of 2012.  This managed to pull the total Eurozone region growth for Q1 up to zero percent.  Yes, zero — but that is technically enough to avoid a formal … Continue reading →

Eight months ago, this blog ran a post titled “Ten Reasons why Growth is Dead.”   Every one of those reasons still looks solid (unfortunately).   Number 6, that Europe had pension and other state obligations that are unsustainable, was pretty straightforward.  Despite … Continue reading →

Jamie Dimon, head of JP Morgan, had a difficult to admission to make.  Give him credit for not sugar coating or hiding it.  The risk mitigation unit of JP Morgan — the group trying to make safe bets to counter … Continue reading →

Economics claims to be a science, providing a theory and tools to understand the behavior of individuals, firms, and economies.  Of course, it failed badly to forecast the onset of the great recession, the magnitude of the great recession, the … Continue reading →

David Brooks recently suggested in the NY Times that, among other problems of unemployment, university professors could soon be obsolete, replaced by online education.  Today I have invited a guest blog from Linda Zabriski, an educational writer, to discuss the highlights of this … Continue reading →

I was in Berlin to meet with a group discussing “Future Megatrends” at the Bertelsmann Foundation, and our group also hoped to meet Frau Merkel yesterday. But that meeting was cancelled — apparently because the PM is frantically preparing ways … Continue reading →

There are important things happening in Pakistan, Syria, and Latin America — but we will have to get to them later. This week I am in Europe;  London yesterday, Berlin today and for the rest of the week. I know we think … Continue reading →