With the second monumental bailout of wealthy corporations in a little over a decade, the public is beginning to discover both the shabby reality and the hyperreal absurdity of a financial practice termed “stock buybacks.” It sounds innocent, as if it described a process by which conscientious...
It is welcome news that the G20, representing the world’s biggest economies and 90% of global GDP, met via teleconference on March 26 to discuss the health and economic crisis caused by the novel coronavirus, which leads to the COVID-19 disease. It has been obvious for several weeks that...
*Author’s note: This article was written on March 13, 2020. Some issues and data may have changed since then. I am writing this column in a state of a latent denial. Having worked from home for much of the past week, I’ve been trying to juggle work duties with kid’s entertainment as...
In this edition of The Interview, Fair Observer talks to John Milios, a Greek economist and social scientist. Over the past decade, Greece has had a difficult time with a staggering debt crisis and financial stagnation. It began in 2010 just a few years after the global financial crisis and was...
India needs urgent reforms to its financial system because banks have created a major crisis by lending unwisely to big borrowers who lack the ability or intention to repay their debts. The financial system in the economy is like the circulatory system in the human body. And banks form its...
Most analysts say occasional financial crises are inevitable. So where are the biggest risks now? A panel of experts, including some who were in the historic meetings at the Fed 10 years ago, offer their views. September holds the dubious honor of being the month that marked two cataclysmic...
Policies grounded in ideology can't help but ignore information that may upset that ideological foundation. According to World Values Survey data, 49% of Americans (60% of these under the age of 29) rather have decisions be made by experts than the government. Considering that lack of experience...
The rates of homelessness in Valencia are much higher than official counts. The Spanish city of Valencia is famous for its wonderful lace and, of course, its oranges. It is a beautiful city and has so many talented young people living there, but it also hides some sad secrets. Figures show...
After the global financial crisis of 2008, a change in the economic paradigm is needed to avoid future downturns. In economic theory, “one person’s spending is another person’s income,” which drives aggregate demand in the economy. Often, this cycle breaks due to flawed economic...
China might continue growing faster than 6% per annum, but it's not a bad thing either if the country fails to keep that pace. Across all recorded history, 99% of humanity has never invented a single thing. Yet, it is a truth universally acknowledged that long-run sustained progress in economic...
