Mike Norman Economics

Bangkok has given the green light to Thailand’s first high-speed railway, spearheaded by China, an on-again-off-again project that was once hailed as the crowning project of Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative. Thai media say the country’s National Environment Commission has approved the environmental impact assessment report for the 253- kilometer portion from Bangkok to the northeastern province of Nakhon Ratchasima, with construction expected to commence by the end of this month and...

The skyrocketing value of Bitcoin is leading to soaring energy consumption. According to one widely cited website that tracks the subject, the Bitcoin network is consuming power at an annual rate of 32TWh—about as much as Denmark. By the site's calculations, each Bitcoin transaction consumes 250kWh, enough to power homes for nine days. Naturally, this is leading to concerns about sustainability. Eric Holthaus, a writer for Grist, projectsthat, at current growth rates, the Bitcoin network...

Two hundred years ago, with a simple yet profound example about England trading cloth for Portuguese wine, David Ricardo introduced the Principle of Comparative Advantage. In this eBook, leading trade policy analysts examine whether Ricardo’s insights remain valid in a world where services as well as good cross borders as does data and technology, where there is a rising China whose growth is heavily dependent on exports, and in the face of a backlash against globalisation.PDF Download...

Link to PDF.BISAndrew G Haldane: Everyday economicsSpeech by Mr Andrew G Haldane, Executive Director and Chief Economist of the Bank of England, at the Nishkam High School, Birmingham, 27 November 2017

Ka-ching.Home Depot announces $15 billion buyback program https://t.co/QDLkspNJw9— CNBC (@CNBC) December 6, 2017

Article is nominally about a Democrat drafting error but that is not important. Senate this week discussing regulatory adjustment for bank capital requirements against non-risk assets: Wall Street bankers have complained about the supplemental leverage ratio for years, and changes to the rule are high on big lenders’ wish list as the financial reform bill works its way through Congress.  The rule requires big banks that are subject to the U.S. Federal Reserve’s annual stress test to...

This is an absolutely fascinating interview of Peter Lavelle by Lionel Nation. Lionel is a liberal, like me, and it's interesting how Lionel keeps saying, 'but why don't like you like that, I don't get it?' [about liberal values]. Peter Lavelle is a moderate conservative and it's interesting to see things from his perspective.Peter says how people in Russia are not much into small talk and are often just to the point, but he likes that. That's interesting because we in Britain are known to...

The Bank of Russia continues to sabotage Russia's economic recovery by over-estimating the effects of a hostile U.S. Congress. Who's afraid of the big bad wolf? Elvira Nabiullina.  Russia InsiderBank of Russia’s Worries Stifling GrowthTom Luongo

I'm going to place my bets that Steve Keen is right, what about you? But Max Keiser might seem a bit crazy but he is really a very clever guy.  Anyway, I'm not a risk taker and if I had some Bitcoins I would hang onto them for a short while and then get out well before it crashes.Is this more tulips? [embedded content] How much energy does bitcoin mining really use? It's complicated Bitcoin hype has reached an all-time high. But if running the bitcoin network uses up as much yearly...

Oliver Stone says Putin is a man of peace. [embedded content]