One of the biggest economic and political stories of this decade has been China’s emergence as the world’s biggest creditor country. At least in a ‘flow” sense. China’s current account surplus is now the world’s largest – and its government easily tops a “reserve and sovereign wealth fund” growth…
This post is by Brad Setser and Paul Swartz of the Council on Foreign Relations. No doubt today’s GDP release will attract the lion’s share of the econoblogosphere’s attention. But sometimes it is a good idea to counter-program. Paul Swartz, I and others at the Council’s Center for Geoeconomic…
Coinciding with this week’s release of RGE Monitor’s updated 2009/10 Global Economic Outlook, here we present an overview of our European Economic Outlook, including the Nordics, the Baltics and Central and Eastern Europe. Previous newsletters addressed RGE’s U.S. outlook , the outlook for China , and Japan . The…
This is the eighth of twelve parts of a “book club” reading and discussion of Dave Ramsey’s The Total Money Makeover , where this book on debt reduction is teased apart and looked at in detail. This entry covers the ninth chapter, finishing on page 167. The next entry,…
Recent data suggest that job market conditions are not improving in the United States and other advanced economies. In the U.S., the unemployment rate, currently at 9.5%, is poised to rise above 10% by the fall. It should peak at 11% some time in 2010 and remain well above…
This is Rachel Ziemba of RGE Monitor where this post also appears. In a recent post, Jeffrey Frankel asks will the U.S. Keep Saving? noting that despite the recent increase in the U.S. savings rate, the demographics of the U.S. (as well as those of Japan and Europe) will…
The sixth episode focuses on gaming, a surprisingly fun way to save money. Along the way, I highlight tons of my favorite games to play with others that maximize bang for the buck. Total time: 10:50. Listen In! Other options for enjoying The Simple Dollar Podcast include: Listen to…
The June employment report suggests that the alleged ‘green shoots’ are mostly yellow weeds that may eventually turn into brown manure. The employment report shows that conditions in the labor market continue to be extremely weak, with job losses in June of over 460,000. With the current rate of…
Mike Dooley and Peter Garber argue (at VoxEU ) that the recent crisis has nothing to do with “Bretton Woods 2” — an international monetary system where reserve growth in the “periphery” financed deficits in the center. They write: “the crisis was caused by ineffective supervision and regulation of…
From the Taipei Times : The risks of a double-dip, W-shaped recession may be growing By Nouriel Roubini In the past three months, global asset prices have rebounded sharply: Stock prices have increased by more than 30 percent in advanced economies and by much more in most emerging markets.…