Mike Norman Economics

[embedded content] Anya Parampil reports on new US sanctions targeting Iran as well as efforts from the international community, including Russia, China, and Europe, to sidestep the new rules. Anya talks to Mohammad Marandi, Professor at the University of Tehran, about how Trump’s policies could lead to the isolation of the United States, as countries work to de-dollarize.

Latest via Alexander Gabuev, who is one of the best Russian China watchers. The Unz ReviewChina/Russia UpdateAnatoly Karlin

Jeff Fairburn’s £75m bonus has sharpened focus on the vast windfalls generated by help to buy In Austerity Britain, this may be the single biggest giveaway to one small group of businesspeople – and it gets barely any attention. The scheme may have helped some first-time buyers on to the ladder, but by inflating prices, it has kept many others off. Add to it quantitative easing and the erosion of stamp duty, and the British state has looked after housebuilders like no other. What it...

My conclusions: 1. The West is conducting economic warfare against Russia and Russians in general realize that his is the not-so-hidden agenda. 2. So far Russia has adapted successfully to the challenges and as a result become stronger and more integrated with the non-West. The West hadn't anticipated this. The consequence is that the West is in a worse position than prior to launching the economic war. 3. Specific understanding of MMT would greatly improve Russia...

Some more good quotes. I especially like the one from David Freedman. Lars P. Syll’s BlogTake a hard look at the skeletons in the mainstream closet!Lars P. Syll | Professor, Malmo University

How little the two Eastern European countries that we have focused on can be compared with Western countries can be seen very clearly in the development of unemployment (Graph 1). Following the major crisis of 2008/2009, the unemployment rate in Romania hardly rose at all. In Bulgaria it increased significantly, but despite weak economic development after 2013 it is falling at an astonishing rate, almost to the relatively low Romanian level.For Romania, this can only mean that unemployment...

Patience and the ability to handle adversity is the key to success.

Another ham issue this is kind of funny: #nationalist #POTUS45 imposes tariffs against China. China retaliates against US farmers. President provides bailout for farmers, cash and fed purchase of commodities. Smithfield ham to sell 144,000 lbs of ham to govt. Smithfield is owned by China. Trump fleeces taxpayers again. — Dan Thompson (@mrcdtee2) November 9, 2018 Oh no!!!!

The Science Degree competent people can produce surplus amounts of real livestocks, meanwhile the Art Degree incompetent people who run the payment system can't see a way to establish enough of a unit of abstraction that they continue to objectify... then thru this objectification, it can appear to the unqualified mind, that shortages are possible and then its straight to "we're out of money!".China has themselves going quite a nice credit shortage this year due to this widespread cognitive...

The following is mostly intended as background for a possible post (or posts) on quantity effects of a job guarantee in which the standard income-expenditure model is taken as a base. It is desirable to work from as simple a starting point as possible as the exercise can complicate pretty quickly. To minimize unnecessary complications, the base model will be presented in highly abbreviated form. This will not cause anything important to be lost because it is always possible to switch back...