Mike Norman Economics

[embedded content] The mystery surrounding the disappearance of a Saudi journalist in Turkey has taken a twist, as reports suggest Riyadh was planning to detain him. Media in the US says Washington had come across intel of a special operation ordered by the Saudi Crown Prince.

If the establishment media were truly balanced, social media’s purge of alternative news outlets would be a front-page splash. The fact it isn’t proves that those who shout loudest about “free speech” may be its greatest enemies.Sadly, RT saw something like this coming. And for that reason, we have developed a new site to promote the free exchange of information and views. The fact it launches on the same weekend that US social media giants Facebook and Twitter clamped down on dissent is...

Our evidence suggests that banks were arbitraging the SLR (and eSLR) rule by shifting from safer assets toward riskier, higher-yielding ones. Evidence from other studies we discuss point to the same behavior by banks or dealers with portfolios heavily weighted toward safe, low-yield assets as part of their business models. Policymakers are aware of this regulatory arbitrage and are addressing it. FRBNY — Liberty Street EconomicsLeverage Rule Arbitrage Dong Beom Choi, Michael Holcomb, and...

The way to fund £20bn of extra healthcare spending is for the government to create the necessary funding for that purpose. And it can do this at any moment. The fact is that tax does not precede spend. It is always, and inevitably, true that spend precedes tax. In that case the hypothesis that extra tax must be raised before the NHS can be funded is incorrect. What actually happens is that if the government spends an extra £20 billion into the economy, and increases GDP directly as a...

MODERN MONETARY THEORY (MMT) is emerging as one of the main heterodox ways to understand macroeconomics, in contradistinction to the neoliberal orthodoxy. MMT is not a set of policy prescriptions. Rather, to use co-founder Bill Mitchell’s word, it is a “lens” that allows us to see more clearly what already exists. So, its proponents claim it is not particularly ideological. The ideology comes afterwards when we craft policies based on an understanding of MMT.... This post is a good...

A new project will promote the idea that it is the government - not the private sector - that creates money. In doing so, it could demolish the arguments for austerity... Left Foot ForwardCould this alternative theory of money radically change how we think about the economy?Will Carter

Must read for non-morons.Identifies the process by which bank reserve asset levels are increased in the surplus nation China vs.  deficit nation USA.Germane to the current China led situation where they appear to be adding $100Bs equivalent of non-risk reserve assets to depositories this year and causing the current price reduction of risk assets and probably reduction of new credit for financing risk assets.No bottom in sight right now for price of risk assets in China as $100Bs...

This is a correction and not the beginning of a bear market.

 Daniel José Camacho isa Christian and he weaves a lot of Christianity, spiritually, and metaphysics into this article. He sees MMT as an economic system that can do a lot off good and this due him opens it up to spirituality. No wonder we get a lot into spirituality and metaphysics here at times. He believes that MMT can bring about economic justice. “How can we afford it?” That’s the perennial question that confronts anyone who dares to propose progressive policy changes. A recent example...

Banking with its tax avoidance schemes, off shore tax havens, and money laundering is very close to organised crime, says Evan Jones. Corruption in banking Corruption in the Australian financial sector is not an aberration but an integral dimension of its modus operandi. Three factors lie behind banking’s criminal tendencies. First, there is the special character of banking. Credit is an indispensible facility, so an essential public service is being delivered by companies with private...