Mike Norman Economics

Energy bites. Energy is the lifeblood of an economy.PoliticoEurope faces sanctions nightmare of paying for Putin’s warSarah Anne Aarup, America Hernandez

At present, the unemployment rate in Australia is 4.2 per cent and falling. If the rate of new immigrants remains low for a while as our external borders open, then it is likely the unemployment rate will fall into the 3 per cent range soon. What people are learning is that the claims made by mainstream economists that full employment was anything between 5 and 8 per cent (at various times to suit their arguments) was a lie. It just suited their ideological agenda and flawed theoretical...

Nearly one-fourth of Germany’s medium-sized enterprises fear they might not survive the soaring energy prices, a survey by the Federation of German Industries, BDI, showed on Monday. Industries across Europe have been suffering from the surging energy prices since the autumn of 2021, when the natural gas crunch sent benchmark European gas prices soaring and electricity prices across major economies surging, too. Many energy-intensive industries, such as fertilizer producers and steelmakers,...

SouthFront (this is not the end of the matter but rather a new beginning post-Minsk.)Putin Issues Ultimatum To Kiev Regime, Signs Order To Recognize DPR And LPRhttps://southfront.org/putin-issues-ultimatum-to-kiev-regime-signs-order-to-recognize-dpr-and-lpr/One World (succinct summary)What Prompted President Putin To Finally Recognize The Donbass Republics?Andrew Korybkohttp://oneworld.press/?module=articles&action=view&id=2505Consortium News (someone is lying. Both sides accuse the...

Putin recognizes breakaway republics as independent and sends the military to act as peacekeepers. Would peace be bad?

Why is the US-led West trying to instigate a crisis in Ukraine? Those who understand how Washington derives its real power know why – it’s all about moneyAs for any nation that wants to break free of the US dollar, we know all too well what the US has in store for them…This is where the Russian Federation comes in. If one really wants to understand why the US establishment hates Russia under Vladimir Putin, all one must do is understand the dollar's role in the world. Russia is a direct...

 The enormous costs and elusive benefits of the war on terrorSome American on Twitter tweeted saying that Putin has turned Russia into a rogue and pariah state. It's funny how people don't see their own faults. What Washington has done since 9/11 are some of the worst crimes against humanity. And the US is not even a real democracy, because like in the UK, the elite choose who we can vote for: They destroyed both the Bernie Sanders and the Jeremy Corbyn's campaigns with fake news. The...

Washington is out of control! Since 9/11 it's been on the rampage starting one war after another. The US has many superb companies and great technology, which could easily compete in a multi-polar world, but instead it prefers medieval warfare, piracy, and gunboat diplomacy. The US is starting one war after another, which its rich investors in the Military-Industrial Complex are making billions from. It's totally evil! The Atlantic Council has released a report claimed across the Western...

At the time of writing, there are considerable fears about the diplomatic situation between Russia and Ukraine. One complaint I have seen multiple times that people were annoyed that macro analysts were opining on the topic, despite a lack of qualifications in international relations. Although that might feel satisfying, the reality is that macro analysis is quite literally the analysis of everything going on in the world, and so you have little choice but to have opinions on a wide range of...

India Punchline (longish, but important)India, China in Europe’s crisisM. K. Bhadrakumar | retired diplomat with the Indian Foreign Servicehttps://www.indianpunchline.com/india-china-in-europes-crisis/Strategic Culture Foundation (longish but important)Dominating the Information Space: The Narrative Floats Into FantasyAlastair Crooke | founder and director of the Conflicts Forum, and former British diplomat and senior figure in British intelligence and in European Union...