Comments on: Counterparties http://blogs.reuters.com/felix-salmon/2011/11/29/counterparties-475/ A slice of lime in the soda Sat, 25 May 2013 16:48:33 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.4.2 By: dedalus http://blogs.reuters.com/felix-salmon/2011/11/29/counterparties-475/comment-page-1/#comment-33591 dedalus Wed, 30 Nov 2011 02:46:26 +0000 http://blogs.reuters.com/felix-salmon/?p=11282#comment-33591 wow. that NYRB story on l'affaire DSK is really cool. It reads like something outta "La Femme Nikita" and its 'Plunge Protection Team'. I look forward to the DSK espionage movie. wow. that NYRB story on l’affaire DSK is really cool. It reads like something outta “La Femme Nikita” and its ‘Plunge Protection Team’. I look forward to the DSK espionage movie.

]]> By: djiddish98 http://blogs.reuters.com/felix-salmon/2011/11/29/counterparties-475/comment-page-1/#comment-33537 djiddish98 Tue, 29 Nov 2011 12:35:15 +0000 http://blogs.reuters.com/felix-salmon/?p=11282#comment-33537 Or, there's a huge difference between current suppliers and currency users. Or, there’s a huge difference between current suppliers and currency users.

]]> By: Curmudgeon http://blogs.reuters.com/felix-salmon/2011/11/29/counterparties-475/comment-page-1/#comment-33535 Curmudgeon Tue, 29 Nov 2011 11:54:35 +0000 http://blogs.reuters.com/felix-salmon/?p=11282#comment-33535 Weisenthal and Platt make the beginners' mistake of starting with the assumption that a correlation would demonstrate causation (and the lack of correlation maeans no causation). I think there are any number of confounding variables in this so-called analysis. Weisenthal and Platt make the beginners’ mistake of starting with the assumption that a correlation would demonstrate causation (and the lack of correlation maeans no causation). I think there are any number of confounding variables in this so-called analysis.

]]> By: johnhhaskell http://blogs.reuters.com/felix-salmon/2011/11/29/counterparties-475/comment-page-1/#comment-33531 johnhhaskell Tue, 29 Nov 2011 07:11:55 +0000 http://blogs.reuters.com/felix-salmon/?p=11282#comment-33531 The scatter plot of debt/GDP speaks for itself and does not require Wiesenthal to read someone else's book. Slovakia has debt/GDP of 35% yet can't fund itself at any price. The US has debt/GDP of approximately 100% (multiple thousands of percent if you extend current Medicare trends out to infinity, as some like to do) yet borrows 7 year money at 1%. And let's not even get started on Japan. The scatter plot of debt/GDP speaks for itself and does not require Wiesenthal to read someone else’s book. Slovakia has debt/GDP of 35% yet can’t fund itself at any price. The US has debt/GDP of approximately 100% (multiple thousands of percent if you extend current Medicare trends out to infinity, as some like to do) yet borrows 7 year money at 1%. And let’s not even get started on Japan.

]]> By: KenG_CA http://blogs.reuters.com/felix-salmon/2011/11/29/counterparties-475/comment-page-1/#comment-33520 KenG_CA Tue, 29 Nov 2011 03:04:43 +0000 http://blogs.reuters.com/felix-salmon/?p=11282#comment-33520 Is it cheaper for Germany to bail out EU countries rather than leave the euro? Does anybody want to speculate on how long it will take Germany's $100B+ trade surplus to evaporate if they leave the euro? I'm guessing less than a year. The only thing that would change that would be their economy collapsing, which would happen once they stopped exporting all those Mercedes', BMWs, Porsches, Audis, and VW's (the latter of which are the new Toyota. they are everywhere). and that would happen once their sticker prices increased by 30% or so. Or they can just bail out the troubled states, like we do in the U.S. Some states pay way more in federal taxes (cough, California, cough) than they absorb in federal spending, resulting in a net transfer to the south and midwest, but that's part of being a giant economic union. Is it cheaper for Germany to bail out EU countries rather than leave the euro?

Does anybody want to speculate on how long it will take Germany’s $100B+ trade surplus to evaporate if they leave the euro? I’m guessing less than a year. The only thing that would change that would be their economy collapsing, which would happen once they stopped exporting all those Mercedes’, BMWs, Porsches, Audis, and VW’s (the latter of which are the new Toyota. they are everywhere). and that would happen once their sticker prices increased by 30% or so.

Or they can just bail out the troubled states, like we do in the U.S. Some states pay way more in federal taxes (cough, California, cough) than they absorb in federal spending, resulting in a net transfer to the south and midwest, but that’s part of being a giant economic union.

]]>