Skip to Content

Archive for the ‘Economy’ Category

Why Greece matters

Thumbnail : Why Greece matters

The economic turmoil in southern Europe shows that, far from going away, the global financial crisis has entered a dangerous new phase. You can read my spiked article in full here.

Deal with Fannie and Freddie now

A Financial Times’ editorial announces that “financial reform is coming to the US”.  But the Obama administration is trying to ensure that reform of the so-called “toxic twins” – the mortgage companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac – doesn’t come to the US anytime soon. Fannie and Freddie were taken under federal government “conservatorship” in […]

Essay on capitalism

Thumbnail : Essay on capitalism

In the run-up to the UK General Election, spiked has been publishing a series of essays reposing political issues. The aim of the “Question Everything” essays is to encourage people to rethink the past, the present and the future. In this ninth and final essay in the series, Sean Collins argues that contemporary so-called “anti-capitalism” […]

Congress vs. Wall Street

Which institution is more disliked, Congress or Wall Street? The Financial Times today writes about President Obama’s trip to Iowa, “in an attempt to fire up disillusioned supports and fend off a rout in November’s congressional elections”. The article concludes with a quote from Bill Schneider, an analyst at the left-leaning Third Way think tank: If there […]

Goldman: brokers and shorts are now the bad guys – how did that happen?

Last Saturday, the Senate Permanent House Committee on Investigations released email messages among Goldman Sachs executives in 2007 saying that they would make “some serious money” by betting against the housing market. According to the New York Times, these messages “appear to contradict statements by Goldman that left the impression the firm lost money on […]

SEC-Goldman: enough with the conspiracy talk

The SEC’s filing of a civil lawsuit against Goldman Sachs is clearly convenient for the Obama administration and the Democrats, considering that this is a critical period for financial reform legislation. But some critics have gone further and suggested that the timing indicates a conspiracy between the SEC and the administration. The SEC is an independent agency, and therefore […]

Goldman Sachs: villain in a dumbed-down fable

Thumbnail : Goldman Sachs: villain in a dumbed-down fable

UPDATE: This post has been re-published as an article in spiked (here). The media is in a frenzy over Goldman Sachs. On Friday the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged Goldman Sachs of securities fraud in a civil lawsuit. The SEC claims that the Wall Street giant deceived clients by selling them a subprime mortgage investment […]

The Chinese are coming! (maybe)

Thumbnail : The Chinese are coming! (maybe)

A couple of articles this week indicate that the Chinese economic presence in the US may be increasing in the near future. First, an article in Tuesday’s Wall Street Journal reported that “Chinese companies are increasingly looking to invest in the US, and state and local governments are scrambling to win a share of the […]

The return of the consumer

“American consumers are finally coming out of hiding,” reports the New York Times today. Retail sales are up, and people are now spending on items other than food and medicine, such as clothes, jewelry and cars. Greater consumer spending is another sign – along with increasing employment and higher factory production – that economic recovery […]

Google: don’t be holier-than-thou

Thumbnail : Google: don’t be holier-than-thou

Google has been applauded for its anti-censorship stand against China. But it’s not the role of companies to take moral or political stands, and we shouldn’t praise them when they do In January Google announced that it would no longer self-censor its search engine in China, referencing attacks from hackers to access Chinese political activists’ emails. This past […]

Page: 7 / 9 ‹ First 4 5 6 7 8 9 Last ›

CONTACT ME

I'd like to hear from you. Feel free to email me with comments, suggestions, whatever. I can be reached at mail@americansituation.com.