In the 20 years since the Berlin Wall fell, there are far more sources of insecurity than there were during the Cold War. The uncertainty this generates means that crises are more recurrent and the nature of the potential crises we face is constantly evolving. Are we prepared? Join Discussion
Remembering the dead - or “poppy fascism”?
The Daily Mail wants all Premier League teams to wear a poppy on their shirts this weekend - are they right or just poppy fascists? Join Discussion
Google: Don’t Fear the Cloud
Google announced a new feature on Thursday that lets people view all the personal information they've entered into the search leader' sundry Web-based products over the years. Join Discussion
When firms “Too Big to Fail” fall
In 2008, Wall Street fell from the dizzying heights of good fortune to calamity in a matter of months. To a large degree it's still to early to tell whether financiers and politicians involved made the right choices, writes New York Times reporter Andrew Ross Sorkin in a new book. Join Discussion
Bank hedges bets with QE expansion
When the Bank of England decided to expand its quantitative
easing policy by 25 billion pounds to 200 billion earlier on
Thursday, it was essentially hedging its bets. Join Discussion
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Black holes can't be filled up no matter how much money you throw at them. And gold is too hard to throw. So hold your gold, dump you fiat paper and hang on. The ride is going to get more than bumpy I think.
Is a bubble burbling in financial markets?
Tags: Uncategorized, bubble, central banks, crisis, financial markets, forex, jane foley, quantitative easing
If bubbles are a natural outcome of financial market activity it is relevant to ask whether the very loose fiscal and monetary policies of many central banks and governments are presently sowing the seeds of the next bubble. Join Discussion
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Jane, since you assert that the demand for crude was flat while the price was rising, a plausible explanation would be that the whole production curve has been elevated to compensate the loss in US$ value. I think that conditions for spotting a bubble formation stages should be investigated in correlation with the level of affordability for the end consumer. The housing bubble was predicted 2 years in advance, based on this kind of approach.
However, in repeated statements, Middle East suppliers were not shy spelling out that their comfort zone prices were between US$75 and US$80 when the barrel was hovering around US$60. In very short time, prices on the market have been elevated to a plateau of US$80, with no apparent changes in observable factors concurring in price formation. Therefore, what is the mechanism of translating a statement of desire into effective pricing in a market deemed free?
Obama’s good war goes bad
Tags: General, rolfe winkler, Admiral Mike Mullen, Afghanistan, Bernd Debusmann, Hamid Karzai, President Barack Obama
In the protracted Washington debate over the war in Afghanistan, the most concise analysis comes from America's top soldier: "If we don't get a level of legitimacy and governance (there), then all the troops in the world aren't going to make any difference." Join Discussion
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I recall that the planning and training for the 9/11 attacks took place in Hamburg, Germany, and in the USA, respectively. Afghanistan was where Osama made video/audio tapes, and from there initiated wire transfers via a satellite phone.
To assert that the US and its allies are in Afghanistan to "prevent another 9/11" is to call all of us idiots, and apathetic idiots at that. Now we are also told that we must fight in order to "send a message" about our resolve. I'm not sure why we are really still there, but given the available facts our leaders must either be idiots themselves, or liars, or both. And it speaks volumes about the American people.
Parliament 2010
Live coverage of the Edelman debate on social media and UK politics Join Discussion
Drawing the line against the Taliban
A government watchdog has called for troops to come home and the line against al Qaeda to be drawn around Britain. Do you agree? Join Discussion
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I believe this is a worthwhile option.
The Patriot Act pretty much blew all our privacy out of the water anyway. How much more intrusive could it get?
Definately worth looking into for the safety of our own troops as well.
Mickey’s Magic needed for Disneyland Shanghai
China has finally given a green light for Disneyland to build a theme park in Shanghai. The approval looks like a coup for Walt Disney Co, but it will take all of Mickey's magic to prevent the park from becoming another government-financed loss maker. Join Discussion














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