Sayonara to Hard Money: Here Comes Global QE
The Bank of Japan’s decision to adopt an inflation target and double its bond purchases completes the global flight to soft money.
Austerity Fatigue: LePen & Hash-ism
The road to fiscal hell is sometimes paved with the best intentions. As Europe’s politicians seek to win electorates round to brutal budget cuts, they would do well to look to the experience of Japan.
I am a Digital Cat: A Japanese Future
Here is a manga about Japan’s future written by me and illustrated by the eminent manga artist Toshio Ban, a disciple and former assistant of “the god of manga” Osamu Tezuka. The piece was originally intended for McKinsey’s Reimagining Japan book, but relegated to the webiste at the last minute in the wake of the 3/11 disasters.
Debt Dynamics – The Lesson From Japan
Sovereign downgrade? Been there, done that, got the T-shirt. Such is likely to be the response of any investor in Japan to the news that Standard and Poors has removed its triple A rating on US
After The Quake – Too Much Love
Disaster reveals national character in the starkest possible way. Japan’s response to the unprecedented triple blow of earthquake, tsunami and nuclear meltdown has demonstrated both its strengths and weaknesses – to the world and perhaps to the Japanese themselves.
After The Quake – Market Response
The earthquake which struck Japan on Friday with such devastating human cost was powerful enough to shift the earth’s on its axis and move the Japanese land mass six feet. It is human nature to assume that an event of such destructive force must have powerful lasting effects on stock markets too, but that is not necessarily the case.
Wrong About Japan
“What most likely happened was pedal misapplication.” So concluded an official of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the US body which has just published its report on the spate of accidents involving Toyota cars.
The Japanese Debt Disaster Movie
S&P’s downgrade of Japan’s credit-rating raises a disturbing prospect. Is this stage two of the global credit crisis, featuring chain of sovereign defaults amongst the largest economies?
When China Hits a Bric Wall
Who has survived the global credit crisis in the best shape? As Chou En Lai said about the impact of the French Revolution, it’s still too early to judge. The snap verdict that China is the big winner and the US and rest of the old G7 are big losers is already looking questionable.
What The World Cup Tells Us About The World Economy
Serious sport, according to George Orwell, is war minus the shooting. In the words of Bill Shankly, legendary manager of Liverpool F.C., football is not a matter of life and death; it’s much more important than that.