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Why We’re Ungovernable, Part 5: Japan “Would Be Manageable, If Only…”

by John Rubino on December 17, 2012 · 6 comments

Japan’s government has fallen — again: Two-Party Japan Democracy Undone in 39 Months as DPJ Crumbles It took 54 years for Japan’s politics to produce a viable opposition party, and 39 months for it to self-destruct after winning power, splintering prospects for an enduring policy-driven two-party system. The Democratic Party of Japan lost as many [...]

Nullification Goes Mainstream; States Defy Washington on Drugs and Health Care

by John Rubino on November 9, 2012 · 25 comments

As the federal government gradually assimilates the rest of the country, a few states have begun to fight back. From the Kansas City Star: No state-run health insurance exchanges in Missouri or Kansas Missouri will be unable to implement a key provision of federal health care law, Gov.Jay Nixon announced Thursday. Meantime, Kansas Gov. Sam [...]

Welcome to the Currency War, Part 4: Corporate Revenues Plunge

by John Rubino on October 25, 2012 · 13 comments

The Eurozone meltdown has sent capital pouring into (temporarily) safe haven currencies like the US dollar, which rose by nearly 12% between October 2011 and August 2012. This sounds like a good thing for the US but it’s not, because US multinationals lose big when the dollar pops. Assume, for example, that you’re making computers [...]

Is a Debt Jubilee the Next Big Meme?

by John Rubino on October 21, 2012 · 24 comments

The idea of a “debt jubilee” — that is, a wide-spread forgiveness of debt as a way to reset the US financial system — has been bouncing around for a while. But it hasn’t gained mainstream traction because it seems, at first glance, to be too simplistic to be worth serious thought. It must have [...]

Is This It? Or Can They Fool Us Again?

by John Rubino on August 9, 2011 · 47 comments

A stressful weekend for the world’s bankers and politicians, followed by a sleepless Monday, and all with a single question rattling around in their heads: How can we fool them again? For decades now the financial/public sector complex has been able to clean up its recurring messes — from Long Term Capital Management to the [...]

Housing’s Next Leg Down And QE3

by John Rubino on July 26, 2011 · 23 comments

That US home prices are once again trending down is no secret. But just how bad things are likely to get is not yet well understood. Consider this from the Atlantic’s Daniel Indiviglio: Chart of the Day: The Housing Market Is Worse Than You Think Has the state of the housing market gotten better or [...]

More Bad Ideas and Broken Promises

by John Rubino on June 2, 2011 · 15 comments

While we’re on the subject, consider the fact that pension funds are once again loading up on “alternative investments”, this time in the form of hedge funds: Pensions Leap Back to Hedge Funds Public pension plans are lifting hedge-fund investment, seeking to boost long-term returns despite losses suffered in some funds in the financial crisis. [...]

Junk Bond ETFs: Another Big Short

by John Rubino on August 22, 2010 · 20 comments

Sometimes the market makes it too easy. Check this out: Desire for income drives high-yield bond ETFs’ popularity BOSTON (MarketWatch) — Investors fed up with U.S. stocks’ negative returns over the past decade and paltry rates in today’s fixed-income markets are piling into exchange-traded funds that invest in high-yield corporate bonds. “Where else can you [...]

The Low-Interest-Rate Trap

by John Rubino on August 15, 2010 · 15 comments

Pretend for a second that you recently retired with a decent amount of money in the bank, and all you have to do is generate a paltry 5% to live in comfort for the rest of your days. But lately that’s been easier said than done. Your money market fund yields less than 1%. Your [...]

Euro Crisis, Part II

by John Rubino on August 12, 2010 · 17 comments

Remember the euro-zone crisis? Front page news for weeks, and then…nothing. Could they have found the secret formula for eliminating an overwhelming debt load without hyperinflation or depression? Nah. They were just taking a break, and now they’re back. Greece’s economy is contracting and Spain’s regional governments are being shut out of the debt markets. [...]