Money and Finance
- Hussman Weekly Market Comment: Brief Holiday Update
With Monday as the last opportunity for Congress to avoid some version of the “fiscal cliff,” there isn’t a great deal to say that will be relevant for long, but my impression remains that the most likely outcome is that fiscal policy will go over...
- Buffett Not Worried About Fiscal Cliff
Thanks to Will for passing this along. NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Warren Buffett is not worried about the fiscal cliff. While it's not ideal, the founder of Berkshire Hathaway (BRKA, Fortune 500) thinks that President Obama must be willing to keep...
- John Mauldin: The Cancer Of Debt And Deficits
We are coming to the point in the United States when even the US government will no longer be able to borrow at very low long-term rates. That point is a few years off, and we have time to change paths; but as I have shown in previous letters, the longer...
- Gundlach: A Debt Ceiling Impasse Could Drive Rates Lower
Failing to raise the debt ceiling would be a “huge financial calamity,” according to Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and the general consensus view. But that opinion is “exactly wrong,” at least as far as the Treasury market is concerned,...
- Four Goals Of Tax Policy
From Greg Mankiw's Blog:--I [Mankiw] thought it might be useful to put the debate over fiscal stimulus in a broader perspective.-When designing a tax system and evaluating tax proposals, policy analysts have at least four goals in mind:Efficiency:...
Money and Finance
US has been let down by its leadership – By Nouriel Roubini
Thanks to Matt for passing this along.
The deal reached in Washington on New Year’s day prevented the US economy from falling off the so-called fiscal cliff. However, given the dysfunctional nature of the American political system, it won’t be long before there is another crisis.
Two months, in fact. If no action is taken by March 1, $110bn of spending cuts will commence. At about the same time, the US will hit its statutory debt limit, known colloquially as the debt ceiling.
That is only the beginning. Later in 2013, and not before time, a bigger debate on medium-term fiscal consolidation will begin. This will lead to another dispute between Republicans, who want to shrink the size of the federal government, and Democrats, who want to maintain it but are unsure how to pay for it.
So expect a big fight about entitlements, and a series of little fights over tax reform: should the US introduce a value added tax? A flat tax? Higher (or lower) income taxes? A carbon tax? Should we close corporate tax loopholes to raise more revenue? It’ll soon get messy.
- Hussman Weekly Market Comment: Brief Holiday Update
With Monday as the last opportunity for Congress to avoid some version of the “fiscal cliff,” there isn’t a great deal to say that will be relevant for long, but my impression remains that the most likely outcome is that fiscal policy will go over...
- Buffett Not Worried About Fiscal Cliff
Thanks to Will for passing this along. NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Warren Buffett is not worried about the fiscal cliff. While it's not ideal, the founder of Berkshire Hathaway (BRKA, Fortune 500) thinks that President Obama must be willing to keep...
- John Mauldin: The Cancer Of Debt And Deficits
We are coming to the point in the United States when even the US government will no longer be able to borrow at very low long-term rates. That point is a few years off, and we have time to change paths; but as I have shown in previous letters, the longer...
- Gundlach: A Debt Ceiling Impasse Could Drive Rates Lower
Failing to raise the debt ceiling would be a “huge financial calamity,” according to Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and the general consensus view. But that opinion is “exactly wrong,” at least as far as the Treasury market is concerned,...
- Four Goals Of Tax Policy
From Greg Mankiw's Blog:--I [Mankiw] thought it might be useful to put the debate over fiscal stimulus in a broader perspective.-When designing a tax system and evaluating tax proposals, policy analysts have at least four goals in mind:Efficiency:...