Keynes, however, once semi-seriously proposed, as an anti-deflationary measure, that the government fill bottles with currency and bury them in mine shafts to be dug up by the public.
Ben Bernanke, Deflation: Making Sure “It” Doesn’t Happen Here
Many of the macro-economic fundamentals of Spain today are very different from those of ten or fifteen [...]

Après Moi Le Deluge
The condition of Spain’s economy is now deteriorating markedly and rapidly by the month. The recent bout of extreme financial turmoil is only likely to make things even worse in this regard. Output is down, domestic demand is down, exports are struggling, and unemployment is up. The tumultuous events of late August [...]

Edward has been keeping you all up to date on the resurgence of calls to the IMF fire extinguisher due to the global banking crisis, and the Fund has no doubt welcomed the renewed interest in its present and future functions.  But in an unfortunate weekend news dump, it’s been revealed that IMF Managing Director [...]

Well taking my cue from the worthy and well thumbed play-book of the Brothers Coen, I thought I’d follow up on my long and indigestibly serious analysis of the plight of the Hungarian economy, with something in rather lighter vein. The Miss Iceland Look-alike show is not the only talent contest we are going [...]

Hungary’s agony has continued during the week with both currency and stock markets falling sharply while bankers continue to report acute credit shortages. At the same time contagion has started to extend its ugly reach right across eastern Europe, with Ukraine, the Baltics and Serbia (at a minimum) all in ongoing negotiations with the IMF, [...]

Iceland Chamber of Commerce working paper May 2006, “FINANCIAL STABILITY IN ICELAND” by FREDERIC S. MISHKIN & TRYGGVI T. HERBERTSSON –
There are concerns that the banks could experience refinancing problems. Although the banks’ reliance on external financing poses the biggest risk to the financial system right now, the probability of a credit event occurring is [...]

“Many central and eastern European countries simply don’t have either the financial strength or the technical expertise to bail out banks,” said Lars Christensen, a senior emerging-markets analyst at Danske Bank A/S in Copenhagen. “It’s like an Iceland look-a-like contest and there are a number of candidates looking very fragile at the moment.”

As rumours abound [...]

And somewhere between 52 and 53 in the popular vote. Florida and West Virginia because I’m feeling optimistic.
What do you all think?
What I think.

Serbia has also decided to ask the International Monetary Fund for additional support, according to a stament from senior government officials last Monday cited in Reuters.
“We are certainly not in a group of emergency cases, such as Hungary,” a senior official who asked not to be named told Reuters. “But we need the agreement for [...]

There are essentially two basic critiques of the EU’s institutions; one is the classic, Monnet/Schuman house ideology view that its problems are simply because there isn’t enough of it. If it was more like the US federal government, it would work better; and, as we designed it to get more like that, it must be [...]