Mike Norman Economics

I often wonder is this the way the world is, full of war and psychopaths? Has it always been like this? Human history is full of the most extreme cruelty, and the Old Testament is full of war and destruction too, often under God's instruction. What a place?We are born the most sensitive creatures, able to feel much pain and sorrow, but also much joy and love too, but the armchair warriors ride all over that and can cause the most unbelievable suffering, while not caring much at all. It's...

I have been a "China is unlikely to keep its model going for more than another five years—a decade tops" perma-bear since 1988. All I understand is that I do not understand the Chinese economy. I wish I did understand it: Arvind Subramanian and Josh Felman: R.I.P. Chinese Exceptionalism?: "Over the past few decades, China’s growth has appeared to violate certain fundamental laws of economics.... China’s debt keeps on rising.... For any normal country, the build-up of extensive surplus...

China accumulates US dollars as a result of China's trade surplus with the US. It would like to invest in the US but can't.Meanwhile, the rest of the world is having second thoughts. Mish TalkForeign Direct Investment in US Goes Negative: Blame Trump's Trade Policy Michael (Mish) Shedlock

Reading all this, one feels like one is living in wacko-land. And it’s just the tip of the tip of the iceberg. I read some of this stuff for laughs. Unfortunately, it passes for truth in corporate media and is apparently taken seriously in policy circles. Irrussianality Living in wacko-land Paul Robinson | Professor, Graduate School of Public and International Affairs at the University of Ottawa

European Union Foreign Affairs Chief Federica Mogherini Says the EU Signatories Remain Committed to the Nuclear Deal With Iran That the US Has Quit. The Group Is Working to Create Special Payment Channels to Do Business With Iran. Mogherini Read From a Statement Following a Ministerial Meeting of the Remaining Signatories of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) Deal at the Sidelines of the UN General Assembly. The Statement by the Five Nations –Russia, the UK, Germany, China and...

Last week President Vladimir Putin triggered the most serious crisis of his presidency, as the Defence Ministry and the Russian General Staff (Stavka) declared that Putin’s explanation for the downing of the Ilyushin-20 electronic reconnaissance aircraft by Israeli fighters was false, and worse –capitulation to Israel.Sources in Moscow report the military’s loss of confidence in the Commander-in-Chief has not been seen in public since President Boris Yeltsin countermanded orders for...

After reading The New York Times piece “The Plot to Subvert an Election” I put the paper down with a single question.Why, after two years of allegations, indictments, and claims to proof of this, that, and the other did the newspaper of record—well, once the newspaper of record—see any need to publish such a piece? My answer is simple: The orthodox account of Russia-gate has not taken hold: It has failed in its effort to establish a consensus of certainty among Americans. My conclusion...

Energy economics — by physicists. Hurry up with the cold fusion. Independent (UK)This is how UN scientists are preparing for the end of capitalism Nafeez Ahmed

Andhra Pradesh is playing catch-up.World Economic Forum The Indian miracle state pointing the way to global sustainability Suchi Kedia and Ian Cronin

Before getting down to brass tacks, let me say that I loathe penning articles like this; loathe writing about myself or in the first person, because a reporter should report the news, not be the news. Yet I grudgingly make this exception because, ironically, it happens to be newsworthy. To cut to the chase, it concerns Anglo-American financier Bill Browder and the Sergei Magnitsky affair. I, like others in the news business I’d venture to guess, feel led astray by Browder. This is no...