The Economic Consequences of Mr. Bush by Joseph Stiglitz When we look back someday at the catastrophe that was the Bush administration, we will think of many things: the tragedy of the Iraq war, the shame of Guantánamo and Abu Ghraib, the erosion of civil liberties. The damage done to the American economy does not …
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Category:Economy
Iraq war costing twice as much as we were told
The US wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are costing nearly double the amount previously thought, according to a report, War At Any Price?, by the Joint Economic Committee of the US Congress. (Press release here – pdf) It says “hidden costs” have pushed the total to about $1.5 trillion – nearly twice the requested $804 …
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The real sub-prime losses – $ 150 – 450 billion. Now, can you say recession?
The real extent of the credit delusion in the US is now beginning to be recognised. The hidden losses among financial houses are being uncovered. While a few banks, like Goldman Sachs, might try to defer recognition of the losses till 2008 so that the news doesn’t hit their share price, analysts from Bernanke to …
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Food prices rising – eat less meat.
The natural constraints of land are beginning to be felt, as this slide show illustrates. Meat consumption is rising. Meat demands 5-10x more land per calorie. Arable land is shrinking. More people are eating more. The solution: eat less and eat less meat.
US housing depression, wealth erosion and consumption recession
This linked economic review by Van Hoisington and Lacy Hunt (shared by John Mauldin) makes for another very sobering analysis of the outlook for the US economy. Some of the choice passages include: In the last twelve months, real U.S. imports of goods rose a minuscule 0.5 %, down from the 8.5% growth rate in …
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September US new home sales down 23%
Sales of new US homes fell 23% year on year. Commerce Department data shows sales of newly-built US properties totalled 770,000 in the year to September. September sales of existing US homes fell 8% y o y – the biggest year-on-year decline for non-new build properties in 16 years. The September new home sales figure …
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As the US slows, will Asia and the world follow?
While I expect China and India to weather the slow down in US consumption reasonably well, perhaps even benefiting from a relief of inflationary pressure, others are more sanguine about the central role the US economy still plays in the global economy. This linked article, A Subprime Outlook for the Global Economy, by Stephen Roach …
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World Development Report: we must focus on agriculture and rural opportunities
“Poverty is overwhelmingly rural and will be for decades to come” according to the World Bank and their annual World Development Report. The World Bank warned that the UN goal of halving the incidence of poverty and hunger in the poorest countries would go unmet unless agriculture took centre stage in development aid. While 75% …
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IMF World Economic Outlook forecasts down
The IMF published its World Economic Outlook 2007 – Globalization and Inequality. The IMF now expects the global economy to grow 4.8% next year, down from its earlier 5.2% forecast. The downgrade follows in the wake of the much-publicised turmoil in the global credit markets which was started by record defaults in the US sub-prime …
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Knowing what you can’t see
Geoffrey Miller recently published research which clearly shows that human males can detect whether or not females are fertile. The data support the conclusion that males can detect whether or not females are ovulating, even if they don’t know that that’s what they are detecting. His unusual study took place in lap-dancing clubs and the …
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