Category Archives: State and Local Government

Charlie Rose: Erskine Bowles and Alan Simpson

Posted on March 31, 2012 by

Excellent discussion on the U.S. fiscal crisis with Erskine Bowles and Alan Simpson.  They were co-chairs of the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform, commissioned by President Obama in 2010 to identify “…policies to improve the fiscal situation in the … Continue reading →

Posted in Black Swan Watch, Bonds, Budget Deficit, Economics, Interviews, Politics, Sovereign Risk, State and Local Government | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Capitano Crunch: Europe’s Collapsing Monetary Aggregates

Posted on January 30, 2012 by

Here are some great pictures from Credit Suisse illustrating what’s happening in the European monetary sector.  The monetary aggregates have been collapsing at a greater pace than 2008/09  as banks have been cutting credit and shrinking their balance sheets to … Continue reading →

Posted in Black Swan Watch, Credit, Euro, Monetary Policy, Policy, Sovereign Risk, State and Local Government | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

BBC: Top economists reveal their graphs of 2011

Posted on December 13, 2011 by

The BBC contacted us earlier in the week about our September post, La Grande Divergence, which included the following chart.   Vicky Pryce, the influential U.K. economist, liked enough to choose it as her favorite of the year.  BBC journalists will … Continue reading →

Posted in Black Swan Watch, Euro, Sovereign Risk, State and Local Government | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Is this Gold’s Moment?

Posted on November 30, 2011 by

China’s move on reserve requirement and the global central bank liquidity facility should give a power boost to gold, in our opinion.  This really smells like the global Cen Banks are going all, and we mean ALL IN.  In fact, … Continue reading →

Posted in Black Swan Watch, Gold, Sovereign Risk, State and Local Government | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Economist: Is this really the end?

Posted on November 25, 2011 by

The Economist warns in their latest cover piece  “Unless German and the ECB move quickly, the single currency’s collapse is looming.”    We are beginning to think, based on last week’s failed German bond auction,  that if “Germany and ECB moves … Continue reading →

Posted in Black Swan Watch, Euro, Sovereign Debt, Sovereign Risk, State and Local Government | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Rajoy’s rise as Spain slumps

Posted on November 20, 2011 by

(click here if video is not observable)

Posted in Black Swan Watch, Bonds, Euro, PIIGS, Sovereign Risk, State and Local Government | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

The Biggest Bubble in History?

Posted on November 14, 2011 by

We are baffled by the analysis of the analyst community, some, of which, are not so analytical.  They say that  Europe’s fundamental problem is that it  has a central bank which is unwilling to monetize sizeable debt maturities which bondholders … Continue reading →

Posted in Black Swan Watch, Bonds, BRICs, Budget Deficit, Commodities, Credit, Currency, Euro, Monetary Policy, PIIGS, Sovereign Risk, State and Local Government | Tagged , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Sarkozy Looks Devastated By Greek Surprise

Posted on November 1, 2011 by

(click here if video is not observable)

Posted in Black Swan Watch, Euro, PIIGS, Sovereign Risk, State and Local Government | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

Local Government Financing in China

Posted on October 6, 2011 by

Yikes!  Look what California’s dependence on tax revenues from the dot.com and housing bubbles did to that state’s fiscal health.   We’re going to see some fugly naked bodies when the tide recedes in China.   Keep this one on your … Continue reading →

Posted in Black Swan Watch, China, Muni Market, State and Local Government | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

Sovereign Debt and Geriatric Deadbeats

Posted on July 18, 2011 by

In the spirit of our earlier post, The Clash of Generations, we point you to an interesting piece, Geiatric Deadbeats, written by Ali Alichi of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).   He argues the age of a country’s population is inversely … Continue reading →

Posted in Black Swan Watch, Demographics, PIIGS, Sovereign Debt, Sovereign Risk, State and Local Government | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments