Argentina 20 Years On: Has the IMF Really Changed Its Ways?
The IMF is back in Argentina. The fund pretends that it’s moved away from borrower-punitive programs, but the evidence says otherwise.
Read more...Category Archives: Currencies
Bill Black: Bitcoin Frauds Keep Growing
Another area where bitcoin hype exceeds reality.
Read more...Cryptocurrencies Are Lousy Investments
A skeptical look at the prospects for cryptocurrencies.
Read more...The Roots of Argentina’s Surprise Crisis
How reforms by Argentina’s President Macri helped kick off a currency crisis.
Read more...Italy Bars Landing of Ship With 629 Migrants as Finance Minister Takes Euro Exit, Parallel Currency Off Table
Why the self-styled reformist government in Italy is already looking like a paper tiger.
Read more...A Hard Look at the Mini-BOT, the Parallel Currency Idea of Italy’s New Ruling Coalition
The mini-BOT has only been sketched out at a high level. How might it work and more important, would it succeed as a parallel currency?
Read more...Italy’s New Prime Minister Conte Says Euro Exit Off the Table, But Mr. Market Pouts About Spending Talk
Italy’s new government makes some opening moves.
Read more...Jim Chanos on Fraud: “Cryptocurrency Is a Security Speculation Game Masquerading as a Technological Breakthrough”
The legendary short seller Jim Chanos in a wide-ranging discussion of financial frauds, starting with cryptocurrencies: Bitcoin is the last thing he’d want to own in the event of a catastrophe.
Read more...Cryptocurrencies’ Challenge to Central Banks
The risks of introducing a central bank digital currency are high while the efficiency gains do not seem large. A more efficient system can be achieved via innovation in current payment infrastructure.
Read more...A History of the European Core and Its Periphery: How an Optimal Currency Area Forms
This column documents the formation and evolution of a core and periphery in EMU, unearthing an increasingly integrated core, an entrenched periphery, and a third set of countries marked by in-and-out movements
Read more...Bitcoin as Prosecution Futures: Coinbase Agrees to Turn Customer Records Over to Department of Justice for Possible Tax Evasion
Even in the US, which so far has been more lenient toward cryptocurrencies than China, the noose is tightening. Top Bitcoin exchange Coinbase has decided that trying to defy the law, in terms of not complying with a IRS summons requiring it to turn over information about customers who had engaged in more than $20,000 […]
Read more...“Cash Must Not Be Made the Scapegoat”
The ECB isn’t keen about the war on cash.
Read more...Protests in Tunisia Over IMF-Promoted Policies….for Good Reason
Why the IMF’s standard prescription is a poor fit for Tunisia.
Read more...The International Economic Consequences of Mr. Trump
The Trump Administration sees no value in international economic institutions or cooperation, abandoning the role of steward of the system.
Read more...SEC Stymies Plans to Offer Bitcoin Funds Anytime Soon
SEC staff letter raises detailed concerns about offering products based on bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies to retail investors.
Read more...