Voters in Iceland have rejected their government’s attempt to foist on them the costs of bailing out foreign creditors. Iceland’s oversized big banks had made bad loans throughout Euroland and, when they failed, uninsured depositors were on the hook. Governments in countries like the UK and the Netherlands bailed out their depositors and demand that Iceland reimburse them. However, Icelandic voters have now rejected that proposition twice. more »

The April BRIC conference in Hainan, China issued a lengthy declaration. Lack of specificity was somewhat disappointing but the importance of declaration cannot be ignored. Newer silk trade routes are being formed with multiple centers, of which Europe and US will be amongst many. However, as a reading of the news article clearly reveals, the declaration is long on enumerated points and short on definitive action. more »

The choice presented to the Icelandic voters is no choice at all. To vote yes is to impose decades of poverty on the country. more »

There are two threats in Europe: runaway inflation and killing off the recovery that is in process. In the coming months we'll see whether the ECB has fought the right evil at the right time. This is a situation which seems very strange. In one part of the currency area, you have inflation and growth rates above 2%, in other areas it is deflation and stagnation. more »

Current account imbalances will be resolved by reduced production for countries with surpluses and increased production for countries with deficits. more »