Argentina Is First Nation Censured by IMF for Economic Data

Argentina became the first country to be censured by the International Monetary Fund for not providing accurate data on inflation and economic growth under a procedure that can end in expulsion.

Why There's No Real Inflation (Yet)

According to Milton Friedman, "inflation is always and everywhere a monetary phenomenon." If that is true, then you have to wonder where the heck all of the inflation is. Every central bank in the Western world is holding interest rates down, and almost all of them are printing money like it's going out of style. Five years ago, nearly every economist in the world would have told you this would cause inflation to skyrocket, and the big deficits governments were running would make matters even worse. Taken together, monetary and fiscal policies are far more extreme than they have ever been. Yet, inflation has remained rather tame at 2%. In Friedman's world that just wouldn't be possible. What does it all mean?.... It means even Nobel Prize-winning economists can get it wrong-at least in the short run. Here's why Friedman has been wrong on inflation so far. It starts with his basic theory.

Paul Krugman May Be the World's Last Flat Earth Economist

Nobel Prize-winning economist and New York Times columnist Dr. Paul Krugman is at it again. A favorite of the Keynesian crowd, he claimed earlier this week that fixing the deficit is important but added that "doing it now would be disastrous." He also observed that the 10-year U.S. debt situation isn't really all that bad. At least he's consistent. I'll give him that. For five years now Dr. Krugman has argued that increasing U.S. government spending is vital to our nation's recovery. And for five years he's been dead wrong. Since this crisis began, the United States has spent trillions...more money than any nation in history. In the process, it's gone from being the world's biggest creditor to the biggest debtor of all time. In fact, our national debt is now so high that people literally can't count the zeros. So most have thrown up their hands in exasperation and given up trying. Now, to be perfectly clear, I don't believe Dr. Krugman is stupid. Far from it - you don't win Nobel Prizes for being an idiot. However, I do believe that he's trapped in the past--an acolyte of sorts to failed economic policies and doctrine that dates to the 1930s. Some people, like University of Chicago Finance Professor John H. Cochrane, are more pointed, noting that if Krugman were a scientist, he'd be akin to a "flat-earther," an "AIDS-HIV disbeliever" or somebody who believes the continents don't actually move. This makes him very dangerous in the scheme of things because Dr. Krugman's solution is that "we" just haven't spent enough money...yet. I don't know how he can make that argument with a straight face.

IMF sees 140m jobs shortage in aging China as 'Lewis Point' hits

China’s vast reserve of cheap workers in the hinterland is vanishing at a vertiginous pace.

Twin crises in Italy and Spain stalk markets as political unrest prevails

The escalating political crises in Italy and Spain are being watched with growing concern by bond investors, fearful that both countries could slide into paralysis and lose the crucial backing of the European Central Bank.

Revolutionary Japan is suddenly the centre of world affairs

So Japan may not slide into genteel oblivion after all. To the surprise of the Japanese people, their country is smack in the middle of two riveting dramas that threaten to upturn the global strategic landscape in short order.

Italy risks political crisis as MPS bank scandal turns 'explosive'

Italian magistrates investigating losses at Banca Monte dei Paschi say the mushrooming scandal has taken a dramatic turn, with political fallout that threatens to rock the country’s elections next month and upset eurozone plans for a banking union.

Spain's crisis strategy under fire as economy buckles again

Spain’s economy has tipped into an accelerating downturn as sales data and the money supply flash serious warnings, calling into question Madrid’s high-risk strategy of refusing an EU-IMF rescue.

Mario Draghi confronts Berlin over contagion from Cyprus default

Leading European Union officials have warned Germany it would be a grave mistake to let Cyprus default or to impose losses on private creditors, fearing a repeat of errors made when Greece first flew out of control.

Russia shuns euro bonds on North-South rift, rotates into stocks

Russia has no intention of buying any more eurozone bonds and may start to run down its holdings, warning that it is far from clear whether monetary union can hold together.

David Cameron has one great ally: the people of Europe

Cherry-picking. Europe a la carte. And from Madrid, a finger-waving admonition that "David Cameron must understand he cannot pretend to renegotiate the treaties, and undo what we have done, or slow the speed of the EU cruiser."

Central bankers should be brought to heel by elected parliaments

Intellectual fashion is changing. Central bankers around the world no longer command the charisma of a high priesthood.

Britain becomes Germany's biggest trade partner as Berlin-London pact deepens

Britain has overtaken France to become Germany’s biggest global trade partner for the first time in the modern era, solidifying the emergence of a “special relationship” between Europe’s two like-minded northern powers.