debating progressive politics in Europe and beyond
Paul Krugman has a great post on how Mitt Romney proclaimed himself as the confidence fairy. But he’s not the first candidate to have done so. Last November we already witnessed Mariano Rajoy campaigning as the confidence fairy in Spain. What is confidence, according to Rajoy? “It is not a decree, not a law, not a [...]
Since late last year, a series of positive developments has boosted investor confidence and led to a sharp rally in risky assets, starting with global equities and commodities. Macroeconomic data from the United States improved; blue-chip companies in advanced economies remained highly profitable; China and emerging markets slowed only moderately; and the risk of a [...]
The global economy has entered a dangerous new phase. There is a path to sustained recovery, but it is narrowing. To navigate it, we need strong political will around the world – leadership over brinksmanship, cooperation over competition, and action over reaction. One of the main problems today is too much debt in the global [...]
It might not seem that Europe’s sovereign-debt crisis and growing concern about the United States’ debt position should shake basic economic confidence. But they apparently have. And loss of confidence, by discouraging consumption and investment, can be a self-fulfilling prophecy, causing the economic weakness that is feared. Significant drops in consumer-confidence indices in Europe and [...]
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