Economics

I was startled by some of the information in this article. The most startling thing I learned today might be that Japan is only 39 percent self-sufficient as far as calories. I knew Japan relied on significant imports of fuels given their natural resource limitations. But food? This is a developed country, one that was supposed to rival the economic might of the United States in the 1980s. Relying on imports for such a significant part of food consumption can be a serious issue. Combine this with economic stagnation and an aging population and it hardly seems like a recipe for an economic turnaround.

Continue reading Another lesson in the limits of economic management

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Even planned economies can encounter trouble with lending and defaults. Such has been the case with China over the last year or so. A regulatory crackdown on connected lending and less than above board tactics has been ongoing as well. Now there is the promise that credit availability will expand, but in accordance with regulatory wishes (Bloomberg article).

Continue reading China Bank Regulator Planning to Expand Credit

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I think the aspect of this I find the most amusing in this article is the suggestion from President Hollande that the penalty would “…[introduce] a risk, doubts, suspicions about the soundness of Europe’s financial system…” This seems to suggest that we do not already have doubts and suspicions about the risks and soundness of the European financial system. You broke the rules, and you pay the price. The move to make companies admit guilt is a new approach, and a welcome one. This forces banks to really address what their policies are and face the consequences.

Continue reading Doing the French Mistake

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Since housing seems to be a constant topic in Grand Forks I thought I would present some data. The data are consulted far too infrequently in this discussion in my opinion. We still do not address the issue in a proper manner. Price is not the problem, it is the symptom of a problem, if one actually exists. Just as your runny nose is not the problem, but a symptom of a virus, allergy or other issue. If we look to treat only the symptom, we may miss out on the opportunity to fix the source of a problem and things only get worse.

Continue reading Housing Price Changes in Grand Forks

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