Perhaps investment strategists are a more optimistic bunch than your average columnist or economist. Or maybe they are just so steeped in the present and the future that they have forgotten about history. [...]
It is not as if any new books were required to remind us of the fragile state of the world economy. Recent economic news on a number of fronts have been disturbing. [...]
Shrinking government spending and government debt is vital if we want future generations to enjoy prosperous lives. Unfortunately, given the mechanisms of representative democracy in an ageing society, this looks like an impossible task. [...]
At the moment, monetary policy presents itself as part of the solution to the West’s sovereign debt crisis. If current policies continue much longer, it will become clear that it is part of the problem. [...]
Vertrauen mag der Anfang von allem sein. Aber die Finanzkrise hat gezeigt, dass es auch unter ordnungspolitischen Gesichtspunkten am Ende nicht ohne eine intelligente Kontrolle des Bankwesens geht. Bankenzerschlagungen braucht es dazu gleichwohl nicht, wohl aber eine konsequentere Durchsetzung des Prinzips der Haftung sowohl für Bankaktionäre als auch für Topbanker. [...]