Why Tax Havens Will Be at the Heart of the Next Financial Crisis
Examining an excellent in-depth investigation by Reuters into global financial stability issues, and the role of tax havens in this giant game of pain and plunder.
Read more...Category Archives: Credit markets
Leveraged Bubbles
The risk that asset price bubbles pose for financial stability is still not clear. Drawing on 140 years of data, this column argues that leverage is the critical determinant of crisis damage. When fuelled by credit booms, asset price bubbles are associated with high financial crisis risk; upon collapse, they coincide with weaker growth and slower recoveries. Highly leveraged housing bubbles are the worst case of all.
Read more...Michael Hudson: Smoke and Mirrors of Corporate Buybacks Behind the Market Crash
Hudson clearly differentiates what is happening in the Chinese versus the US markets, with emphasis on the role of corporate buybacks here.
Read more...Perry Mehrling: No One Has a Good Idea of How to Keep the Fed From Having to Rescue Mr. Market Again
Perry Mehrling’s post on the Fed’s progress in dealing with future market crises is damning, despite its “give everyone credit for what they have done” recap.
Read more...A Pragmatic Approach to External Debt: The Write-Down of Germany’s Debts in 1953
Greece’s crisis has invited comparisons to the 1953 London Debt Agreement, which ended a long period of German default on external debt. Unfortunately for Greece, the motivations driving the 1953 agreement are nearly entirely absent today.
Read more...Perry Mehrling: The Fuss about Market Liquidity
I am SO glad to see this post appear. It’s annoying to see investors and banksters whine that they want more liquidity, as if that were a right.
Read more...“@ Hillary Clinton: How does your student loan debt make you feel? Tell us in 3 emojis or less.”
The above tweet is real and is from Hillary Clinton’s official twitter account. It is very difficult to express how appalling this sentiment is. It represents much of what’s wrong with American politics in our current moment.
Read more...Greek Debt Sustainability: The Devil is in the Tails
The debate over Greek debt sustainability is muddied by the fact that different analysts use different definitions. But once you use realistic assumptions, as in “tails risks” are actually pretty likely, Greek debt is obviously not “sustainable”.
Read more...Turbulence and Stability in Financial Markets: China in Recent Times
China is a case study of how liberalization of financial markets has never contributed to stability.
Read more...The Decline in Market Liquidity
While the Fed isn’t worried about the fall in market liquidity, experts argue that if investors make abrupt changes in their portfolios, the lack of liquidity could produce a crisis.
Read more...Greece Says It Has Reached a Deal with Creditors; New Research Says Germany Comes Out Ahead from Lending to Greece Even with 100% Default
Greece and its creditors have reached agreement on key terms for a so-called “third bailout”
Read more...No, Inflation Doesn’t Erode the Burden of Debts
Inflation doesn’t reduce the burden of debt, rather it may (or may not) accompany a rise in nominal worker income.
Read more...Wolf Richter: China’s Hard Landing Suddenly Gets a Lot Rougher
Despite the 7% GDP growth published and hotly defended by the Chinese government, it is increasingly clear that the country is beset with a host of immense problems, after a debt-fueled binge of overbuilding and over-stimulating.
Read more...China’s Stock Market Collapse
Those who are looking only at Greece and the crazy behaviour of the European Union may well be looking in the wrong direction to identify the next big crisis as it comes.
Read more...Libor Trader Sentenced to 14 Years for Market Manipulation. So What About His Bosses?
While it’s gratifying to see former UBS trader Tom Hayes go to jail for large-scale Libor bid rigging, his bosses had to have known what he was up to. So when will we see their indictments?
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