Category Archives: Economic fundamentals

Social Democracy, the “Third Way,” and the Crisis of Europe, Part 1

The birth of the Third Way —a turn away from class-struggle politics and a compromise with neoliberaism—and how it shaped the Eurozone.

Wolf Richter: “Negative Growth” of Real Wages is Normal for Much of the Workforce, and Getting Worse – New York Fed

The Fed ‘s creative euphemisms for how real wages are sinking for many won’t keep threats like Trump at bay.

Why a Banking Crisis in China Seems Unavoidable

Another alarm about the danger that China’s rapid increase in private debt poses to its banks.

Oil And Gas Bankruptcies Set To Double This Year

Heavily indebted oil and gas companies have managed to hold off the day of reckoning, but analysts expect bankruptcies to spike.

Rethinking Macroeconomic Theory Before the Next Crisis

Only after the US subprime financial crisis began have the macroeconomic and monetary theories of mainstream economists been questioned.

Income Inequality in a Globalising World

Absolute inequality around the world has increased, challenging the purported benefit of globalization.

Backlash Against Trade Deals: The End of U.S.-Led Economic Globalisation?

Why the backlash against the overreach of US trade deals, as embodied by the TPP and TTIP, is well warranted.

The Private Debt Crisis

Why private debt is so dangerous, and why that risk looms large, particularly in China.

The Rise and Rise of the Bubble Managers

It’s becoming even more obvious that Fed policy is focused on keeping the bubble inflated over real economy concerns.

Wolf Richter: Why Hanjin’s Zombie Collapse Won’t Be the Last One

China Containerized Freight Index remains near record low.

Ilargi: China Relies On Property Bubbles To Prop Up GDP

More concerned tea-leaf reading in the wake of a BIS report that sounded alarms about China’s debt growth.

Michael Hudson: Celebrating the One Percent – Is Inequality Really Good for the Economy?

The backlash has begun. Prominent economists are upping their game in trying to depict the gains of the One Percent as virtuous and beneficial.

Trade Globalisation in the Last Two Centuries

Trade globalization started earlier than most economists realize, undermining conventional stories about how it came about.