The collapse of Dubai World is pretty unsurprising; when examined closely the Dubai real estate market was always likely to prove a gigantic bubble. It does however raise the question: how many other pockets of rot are around globally, left over from the cheap money boom of 2003-07 and likely to plunge the world’s markets […]

The publicity and vituperation around the book tour of a middling ex-Governor of Alaska seems to have nothing to do with Sarah Palin’s politics, which judging from her term in office are unexceptional and only center-right. The heat derives from her style, which is that of an iconoclast outsider, and from the establishment’s fear that […]

The rise in the gold price above $1,100 per ounce this week is a pretty good indicator that something has changed. For eighteen months, the gold price had been in a trading range topping out around $1,000l it has now broken out decisively from that range. The opportunity for the world’s central banks to change […]

Of the world’s six largest economies, three currently have budget and public debt positions that if allowed to fester will push those nations into bankruptcy (the seventh largest, Italy, also has a budget and debt position that is highly vulnerable, but its problems appear chronic rather than acute.) Given the proclivities of modern politicians for […]

Yes, I know we’ve just had the 80th anniversary of the 1929 Crash. So what? We can learn a lot from past Crashes and economic disasters, but that particular one is looking less and less relevant to the position we are in today.