If Russia and Saudi Arabia lead, rest will follow

… Saudi energy minister Khalid Al-Falih on historic oil deal [VIDEO] – Published on Axis of Logic, Dec 11, 2016.

… The Saturday meeting of the members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) with 12 oil exporting countries outside the group “is significant because [it] has brought so many countries together for the first time,” Al-Falih said. Continuer la lecture de « If Russia and Saudi Arabia lead, rest will follow »

It Takes a Village to Maintain a Dangerous Financial System

… the Original PDF – Published on The Banker’s New Clothes, by Anat R. Admati, Graduate School of Business, Stanford University, May 2016, 32 pages … if it takes a village to raise a child, it takes a village to abuse a child … the financial system is meant to facilitate efficient allocation of resources and help people and businesses fund, invest, save and manage risks. This system is rife with conflicts of interests. Reckless practices, if uncontrolled by market forces and effective rules, can cause great harm. Most of the time, however, the harm from excessive risk in banking is invisible and the culprits remain unaccountable. They rarely violate the law …; Continuer la lecture de « It Takes a Village to Maintain a Dangerous Financial System »

South Africa’s junk credit rating was avoided, but at the cost of junk analysis

Published on ZNet, by Patrick Bond, Dec 8, 2016.

Standard&Poors (S&P) gave South Africa a fearful few hours of anticipation last Friday, just after dust from the political windstorm of the prior week settled. The agency downgraded the government’s securities that are denominated in the local currency (the rand) although refrained from the feared junk status on international securities. It was a moment for the ruling business and political party elites’ introspection, but in heaving a sigh of relief they are not looking far enough … // Continuer la lecture de « South Africa’s junk credit rating was avoided, but at the cost of junk analysis »

A Crisis-Prone and Fragile Financial System

Published on WEA Pedagogy Blog, by Asad Zaman, Dec 7, 2016.

Prior to the Global Financial Crisis (GFC 2007), many senior economists and policy makers expressed confidence that they had finally solved the problem of business cycles, booms and busts, that plagues capitalism. Because of this over-confidence, early warnings of a looming crisis by Nouriel Roubini, Ann Pettifor, Peter Schiff, Steven Keen, Dean Baker, and Raghuram Rajan, were ridiculed and dismissed … // Continuer la lecture de « A Crisis-Prone and Fragile Financial System »