The echoes of the 1930s in the current situation are not confined to foreign policy. Economically also, the parallels between the 1929-32 downturn and the current difficulties are becoming alarmingly apparent. It must be remembered: the Great Depression became such, as distinct from a garden-variety downturn, though egregious policy errors by decision-makers in a number […]

The often repeated refrain “we don’t want to be in another Cold War” is nonsense – we are in one. And Vladimir Putin is a much more dangerous opponent than dozy old Leonid Brezhnev. However the latest demonstration of this truth in Georgia is only a week old, so it’s worth reviewing its implications on […]

A committee led by Gerald Corrigan, former vice chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, produced a report this week that promises to revolutionize finance. It proposes to place severe limits on derivatives, bringing them under the ambit of regulators and protecting retail investors from their more egregious products. His report met with […]

The Gross Domestic Product and employment figures released Thursday and Friday appeared at first sight to show a US economy that had returned to a measure of stability. However when examined more closely they painted a much darker picture, of an economy in which a sharp decline in retail spending is likely to cause substantial […]