Spain's Game of Chicken
Why the country is in a losing standoff with Germany… More »
Matthew O'Brien is an associate editor at The Atlantic covering business and economics. He has previously written for The New Republic.
Maybe the government could hire a few of those jobless workmen to, you know, build something.… More »
One of these days, the bond vigilantes will show up. Today was not that day though. Tomorrow's not looking good either.The chart below from Bloomberg shows the nominal yield on 10-year Treasury bonds the past five years. Thursday's midday yield was the lowest it's been over that period. It was also the lowest it's been the past 50 years. Actually, 100 years. No, 220 years. Yes, Thursday's brief sub-1.54 percent yield was the lowest ever.We can thank Europe's…… More »
At this rate, it won't be long until you see cash-for-bonds commercials.… More »
Here's a picture Republicans love to show off and Democrats love to ignore. It shows the percentage of people between 25 and 54 who have a job -- regardless of whether they're looking for work or are in school or not, from the BLS. See if you can spot when the recovery kicked in.You know when the recession began. That's the nose dive. And it's not hard to tell when the recession ended. That's when the nose dive stops. But what about the recovery? We never really…… More »
Europe is falling apart more suddenly. But there is good news. Things could be worse. That's the good news, in case you were still waiting for it. Let's rubberneck on the wreckage that is the euro zone. Right now, Greece and Spain are competing to see which can drive a stake through the heart of the common currency first. In Greece, the main anti-austerity party Syriza is perhaps poised to take the pole position in new elections. That could force a game of chicken…… More »
This time might be different. Really. Possibly. Maybe.Housing has been this recovery's equivalent of Lucy yanking the football. Every time people are ready to call the "bottom," it's not yet the bottom. It's hard not to be cynical about it. The latest headlines seem like more of the same: Prices hit a new low in the first three months of the year, and pending home sales fell 5.5 percent in April.So, where's the good news?It's about building permits. The chart below…… More »
Europe has a lot of problems. But none is more pressing than this: The euro zone is running out of money.The chart below from Scotty Barber shows broad money and private sector loan growth in the euro zone over the past decade. The numbers for the past year are not good. Not good at all. Economies need money. Without it, businesses and households stop. Just ask Spain. It's further along in the "no money" race than most. Unemployment is 25 percent, credit is drying…… More »
Spain is up next in As The Euro Crisis Turns after it admitted that it can't afford to bail out its banks.… More »
Fixing the euro crisis isn't that difficult -- at least in theory. In the long run, Europe needs a common treasury to make the common currency work. And in the short run, Europe needs Germany to start paying its workers more.But neither of these is politically possible. So round and round we go.Let's back up for a minute. Why do German workers need a raise? The chart below, via Business Insider, shows unit labor costs across Europe since the euro was introduced. It…… More »
Beneath the headlines of 8 percent growth, China's economy is grinding to a halt. It's time to worry.… More »
There's nothing wrong with making a bad prediction prediction. Predictions, as the cliché goes, are hard, especially about the future. But there is something wrong with consistently making bad predictions that affect the lives of tens of millions of people.The chart below, inspired by Dani Rodrik, looks at how the IMF has done at projecting unemployment in Greece the past few years. The IMF puts out a semi-annual World Economic Outlook to predict a few major…… More »
It's a striking stat. But it doesn't tell us that college is losing its value. It tells us that more people are going to college -- and not enough are finishing.… More »
Here's the worst news out of the euro zone in at least a day. For the first time, Germany can now borrow for free for two years at a time.The chart below shows the yield on Germany's two-year bonds. It's admittedly hard to make out because the numbers are so small, but here's the story. After peaking at around 1.7 percent last summer, Germany's two-year borrowing costs have now dropped to around 0.06 percent. And they're set to go all the way down to zero soon.…… More »
After powering the world economy since 2008, developing markets like Brazil, Russia, India and China might be teetering.… More »
Believe it or not, other stocks besides Facebook traded on Friday. Although Zynga probably wishes it wasn't one of them.While Facebook's much-ballyhooed IPO didn't pop, Zynga's stock went cliff-diving. The Mafia Wars maker saw its stock crash 13 percent, before they suspended trading. It recovered to "only" down 5.5 percent or so, before they suspended trading again. Then things got bad again. It finished over 13 percent down on the day. The below chart puts this…… More »
A generation is a terrible thing to lose… More »
There is a cry going up across the Old Continent: "Collateral! Collateral! The euro for some collateral!"… More »
There's a long list of things that could save the euro zone, and almost all of them involve the ECB being much, much more aggressive… More »
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