June 23, 2016, was the date that U.K. voters chose to leave the EU in a national referendum. This was a choice for the so-called “Brexit.” Everyone realized that a Brexit would take time to implement. There was a formal notification of the intention to leave the EU. This started the clock running on an
Investors are well aware of the Fed’s historic pivot at the end of 2018. From December 2015 to December 2018, the Fed had been moving ahead with rate hikes. They had taken the fed funds target rate from 0% to 2.25% in small 0.25% increments over three years with occasional “pauses” along the way. Then
It’s one thing when a nonmainstream economist criticizes mainstream economics. That happens all the time and is for the most part ignored by economists. It’s another thing when a member in good standing of the economic elite unleashes a harsh criticism. That’s a sure sign that the mainstream neo-Keynesian consensus is on its last legs.
While worries about a U.S. debt default in the future are increasing, the Chinese are engaged in massive defaults today. This article reports that Chinese defaults are accelerating. These defaults are coming from the corporate sector and include both dollar-denominated and local currency bonds. As large as these defaults are, they are just the tip of the
We’ve all heard reports about how U.S. deficits are out of control and the U.S. debt-to-GDP ratio is heading toward a complete loss of confidence in the U.S. dollar. These facts are true enough, but they beg the question of when the crackup will arrive. Both Japan and Italy have higher debt-to-GDP ratios than the
