How Russia is dealing with the legal issue.AwaraIs the Coronavirus Pandemic Force Majeure?
Read More »Zero Hedge — “There Are Basically No Sales”: U.S. Auto Industry Enters Total Collapse As A Result Of Nationwide Lockdown
There were no sales in China either.Zero Hedge"There Are Basically No Sales": U.S. Auto Industry Enters Total Collapse As A Result Of Nationwide LockdownTyler Durden
Read More »Sputnik — China’s GDP Growth to Decline to 2.3% in Baseline Scenario in 2020 – World Bank
Forget about that crash the media was forecasting.SputnikChina's GDP Growth to Decline to 2.3% in Baseline Scenario in 2020 - World Bank also Bounceback? China on Tuesday said the official Purchasing Manager’s Index for March was 52.0, beating expectations for an economy hit by the coronavirus outbreak. Analysts polled by Reuters had expected the official PMI to come in at 45 for the month of March, from a record low of 35.7 a month earlier. CNBCChina says manufacturing activity...
Read More »Bill Mitchell — The government should pay the workers 100 per cent, not rely on wage subsidies
The buzz-word at the moment in Australian government and policy circles is ‘hibernation’ – the government is hoping, that the economy can behave like a crocodile and find some ‘river bank’ and have a ‘good sleep’ until the pandemic is over, at which time, it will burst forth into a new growth phase and unless the virus mutates into something worse in the meantime then all will be well. Their policy interventions to date – while they have been like dragging a chain as their conservative...
Read More »Bitcoin Exchange — Modern Monetary Theory (MMT) vs BTC to be the Main Event of 2020
Bitcoin struggling to remain relevant?Bitcoin ExchangeModern Monetary Theory (MMT) vs BTC to be the Main Event of 2020 AnTy
Read More »Capitalism’s Triple Crisis — Mariana Mazzucato
After the 2008 financial crisis, we learned the hard way what happens when governments flood the economy with unconditional liquidity, rather than laying the foundation for a sustainable and inclusive recovery. Now that an even more severe crisis is underway, we must not repeat the same mistake.... Project Syndicate Capitalism’s Triple CrisisMariana Mazzucato | RM Phillips chair in the Economics of Innovation at SPRU in the University of Sussex
Read More »Unlocking Society — Brian Romanchuk
There is a pointless internet debate about the trade-off between "the economy" and "health." This is being fueled by a handful of articles from highly privileged people telling poor people to go back to work because it was impacting their stock or real estate portfolios. The reality is that there is no such thing as an "economy" at this point, just "society." Although a shutdown is tenable to flush out infections, the essentials must flow. From a North American standpoint, I believe that...
Read More »The Coronavirus Does Not Discriminate; Unfortunately Our Economic System Does — Thomas Masterson
Without stronger and more direct action, the fallout for the most vulnerable will be even worse and the gaps between rich and poor, whites and non-whites in the US will grow even larger. Rather than subsidies for corporations with no oversight why not help state governments fill their budget shortfalls? During the Great Recession, too little was done to help states and they responded by cutting the things that could make a difference: education and healthcare. Cutting back on these things...
Read More »A Recovery With Crippled Small Businesses Looks Awkward — Brian Romanchuk
We have just seen the beginning of post-COVID economic data, and the numbers are literally off the charts. My feeling is that aggregate numbers will be meaningless, and we will need to look at industry-level data. I just wanted to look a bit ahead, to the post-lockdown future. My main concerns revolve around the small business sector, which I fear will be taking a bigger hit than larger businesses. The issue is that small businesses are a major driver of employment -- and we are likely to...
Read More »When is the right time for UBI and helicopter money?
“Give me chastity and continence, but not yet,” sighed St. Augustine in his Confessions. Today, as the world reels under the impact of coronavirus, policymakers are at last reaching for tools I have long advocated: helicopter money and Universal Basic Income. And yet, like St. Augustine, I find myself sighing, “Lord, grant us helicopter money and Universal Basic Income, but not yet.”I have spent much of the last decade advocating giving people money. Helicopter money in recessions, to...
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