Simple banking rules could prevent collapses like Jon Corzine’s MF Global.
Robert Kuttner
Posted inEconomic Policy
Europe Buys Some Time
The EU agreement reached this morning is by no means a sure deal—nor is it certain it will fix the debt crisis.
Posted inArticle
High Stakes
This is a fateful week for financial regulation and the financial system. European leaders are trying to reach a consensus on how to give Greece some breathing room to salvage its economy and to recapitalize the continent’s banks. Since the banks are heavily invested in Greek bonds, the more relief the Europeans give Greece, the […]
Posted inArticle
Ben Bernanke’s Mostly Right
Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke says the economy is on the verge of another recession — “close to faltering” was his euphuism of choice in his testimony to Congress Tuesday — and there only so much the Federal Reserve can do about it. For once, he is mostly right. Bernanke has already cut short term interest […]
Posted inBooks
The Theory of Power
Many economists are offering a robust challenge to laissez-faire, but to prevail they’ll have to win in the court of public opinion.
Posted inArticle
Desperately Seeking Dirt on Warren
Elizabeth Warren’s surprise lead in Massachusetts polls only days after she got into the Senate race to oust Republican Scott Brown has thrown GOP operatives off balance. Their first storyline was that Warren was either a creature of the Beltway or a pointy-headed Harvard professor. Neither seems to be sticking. On Tuesday, when the Democratic-affiliated […]
Posted inArticle
Forced Fed
The Federal Reserve’s announcement that it will sell $400 billion of short-term Treasury securities and buy $400 billion of longer-term government bonds as a way of locking low interest rates and stimulating the economy is a good idea. Unfortunately, it is far from sufficient. The government should be borrowing at least a trillion dollars at […]
Posted inArticle
Forced Fed
The Federal Reserve’s announcement that it will sell $400 billion of short term Treasury securities and buy $400 billion of longer term government bonds as a way of locking low interest rates and stimulating the economy is a good idea. Unfortunately, it is far from sufficient. The government should be borrowing at least a trillion […]
Posted inArticle
Our Classy President
Republicans and many pundits have faulted President Obama for engaging in the politics of class warfare. Addressing the realities of class in America is in fact long overdue. Republicans and conservative Democrats are outraged because if class ever becomes a question that can be openly discussed, the right loses, America becomes a more decent society, […]
