From   countercurrents.org

About the Global Economic Crisis -update here

21 April, 2009

The Economics Of Turning People Into Things
By Nitasha Kaul

Economic violence is not only the violence caused for economic reasons, but also the violence caused by spurious economics. It is the violence caused to people when they lose their jobs and livelihoods, when they witness massively divergent rewards for work, when they see an endless perpetuation of inequality around them. Such involuntary unemployment in the long run leads to social breakdown and community fragmentation. This is already ongoing, but it must not be exacerbated

20 March, 2009

Keynes, Capitalism, And The Crisis
John Bellamy Foster Interviewed by Brian Ashley

Real solutions to the contradictions of capitalism lie not in Keynesian economics but in a revolt from below of the population, which holds out the potential for a change in the rules of the game. Joan Robinson said somewhere that a political movement strong enough to reform capitalism would also be strong enough to introduce socialism. Therein lies our hope and their fear

25 February, 2009

How The US Economy Was Lost
By Paul Craig Roberts

If incompetence in Washington, the type of incompetence that produced the current economic crisis, destroys the dollar as reserve currency, the “unipower” will overnight become a third world country, unable to pay for its imports or to sustain its standard of living

23 February, 2009

America's Municipal Meltdowns
By Nick Turse

Stories about the economic woes facing individual cities and towns are already a staple of national newspapers, even as the bad news, experts believe, is only beginning to flow in. Spikes in unemployment already reaching double-digit levels in some cases, municipal governments deep in the red, essential cutbacks in local services, increasing lines at food pantries, towns facing bankruptcy or even contemplating municipal suicide are increasingly common nationwide

Dispatches From The Front Lines Of Economic Crisis
By Stephen Lendman

Today's crisis should bury the myth about "free-market" fundamentalism as the best of all possible worlds. History proves otherwise by clearly showing that it fails the many to advantage the few because it's arranged that way

11 February, 2009

Speculation , Scams, Frauds and Crises:
Theory And Facts
By Sunanda Sen

Curbs on speculatory finance and an aggressive expansionary fiscal policy are the answers to what has gone wrong in the world today

07 February, 2009

Global Jobs Crisis Deepens
By Tom Eley

In a clear indication the economic crisis is rapidly heading into a severe global depression, US employers purged 598,000 jobs in January, the most job losses in a single month since 1974. January's firings raised the unemployment rate to 7.6 percent, the highest level since 1992

31 January, 2009

Worst US Economic Contraction In Quarter Century
By Peter Symonds

More grim figures released by the US Commerce Department yesterday provide further confirmation of the severity of the economic contraction in the US and globally. The US economy shrank at an annualised rate of 3.8 percent in the fourth quarter of 2008—its worst result since 1982. The decline followed a contraction of 0.5 percent in the third quarter—the first successive quarterly GDP declines since 1990-91

The American Economy Is Not Coming Back
By Dave Lindorff

What we are now seeing is the beginning of an inevitable downward adjustment in American living standards to conform with our actual place in the world. We are headed to a recovery that will not feel like a recovery at all. Eventually, productive capacity will be restored, as lowered US wages make it again profitable for some things to be made here at home again, but like people in the 1930s looking back at the Roaring 20s of yore, we are going to look back at the last two decades as some kind of dream

29 January, 2009

Meltdown Madness : The Human Costs Of
The Economic Crisis
By Nick Turse

The body count is still rising. For months on end, marked by bankruptcies, foreclosures, evictions, and layoffs, the economic meltdown has taken a heavy toll on Americans. In response, a range of extreme acts including suicide, self-inflicted injury, murder, and arson have hit the local news. By October 2008, an analysis of press reports nationwide indicated that an epidemic of tragedies spurred by the financial crisis had already spread from Pasadena, California, to Taunton, Massachusetts, from Roseville, Minnesota, to Ocala, Florida

06 January, 2009

Towards Post Neo-Capitalism
By Nimer Ahmad

What needed is the destruction of current system, a revolution, not within the boundaries of one or few nation-states, but a global revolution, not just to uproot this system but to uproot the attitudes and fixation towards knowledge, ideas and initiatives

Economic Withdrawal
By David Kendall

We can envisage a truly parallel system of business -- one that deliberately competes with the existing system, growing daily from the inside out, even as the "shell" of the old system crumbles all around us. As Mahatma Ghandi and others have suggested, let's "build a new society in the shell of the old"

28 December, 2008

The Coming Capitalist Consensus
By Walden Bello

While progressives were engaged in full-scale war against neoliberalism, reformist thinking was percolating in critical establishment circles. This thinking is now about to become policy, and progressives must work double time to engage it

08 December, 2008

The Global Economic Crisis: Bad And Worsening
By Stephen Lendman

In a new article, economics professor Richard Wolff explains the current crisis in Marxian terms. It "emerged from the workings of the capitalist class structure. Capitalism's history displays repeated boom-bust cycles punctuated by bubbles. They range unpredictably from local, shallow and short to global, deep and long." Clearly we're now in one of the latter and potentially the worst ever

19 November, 2008

Crisis? What Crisis?
By Dave Fryett

The economic mess that has been unfolding the last few months is not, as the right fear and the left hope, an organic collapse of the global capitalist system But rather it is, as so many so-called financial crises before it, a scam perpetrated by what Lincoln used to call the "money power." The goals are to capture other lucrative businesses, reduce government and its ability to constrain its hegemony over capital, and to reduce union membership by creating such dire economic circumstances as to make unions powerless to save their members from hardship

14 November, 2008

Economic Crisis Is Beyond The Reach Of
Traditional Solutions
By Paul Craig Roberts

By most accounts the US economy is in serious trouble. Robert Reich, an adviser to President-elect Obama, calls it a "mini-depression," and that designation might be optimistic. The Russian economist, Mikhail Khazin says that the "U.S. will soon face a second ‘Great Depression.’" It is possible that even Khazin is optimistic

12 November, 2008

Global Economic Tremors
By Stephen Lendman

Can the worst of all possible outcomes be avoided? It's beyond this writer's ability to imagine. It's for the Fed, Treasury, GSEs (government sponsored enterprises like Fannie, Freddie, Sallie, Ginnie, etc.) and banks, if they're able and willing, to try. To create money, get it flowing, inflate or die, but it already may be too late. Things that can't go on forever, won't, and as writer Ellen Brown observes: "The parasite has run out of its food source." The engine is now out of fuel

Is There Such A Thing As Society?
By Aseem Shrivastava

These are strange times indeed, when the high priests of the day, the economists, are eager to quote prophetic poets like WB Yeats (The Second Coming), fearing an apocalypse, which has already happened a few times in the recent history of “modern” civilization. But they fear, perhaps rightly, that what may arrive may be something unimaginably worse than all catastrophes seen hitherto

Free Trade And Distorted Development:
A Critique Of WTO Perspectives
By Sharat G. Lin

Global policymakers need to understand not only the economics of aggregate growth, but the socio-economic impact of globalized flows on the distribution of income and on the welfare of human beings

05 November, 2008

Waiting For The Other Shoe To Drop
By Eddy Laing

Amidst the cacophony of the present crisis and confusion, the revolutionary Marxists need to step up and clarify the essential nature of the current economic crisis, as well as the further economic and political crises that are on the way. The ruling classes are struggling to retain their political as well as their economic hegemony, both of which are being threatened in every field. We should not let this opportunity pass

The Challenge Of The New Statism
By Dan Lieberman

The liberal democracies have experienced financial shocks and reacted, but not as free market advocates expected. Adam Smith’s name is not being loudly heard in the world’s central banks

04 November, 2008

Under The Mountain Of Debt
By Eddy Laing

The current credit crisis is not primarily due to failing single family home mortgages, although mortgage debt is part of it. It is the coming due of capital debts that resemble Russian nested dolls, each one opening up to reveal yet more debt. These are the now-famous 'toxic assets', the 'collateralized debt obligations' and 'jumbo covered bonds' which promised to pay the holder based on the interest that would be collected on yet other debt instruments

The Economics Of Global Democracy
By Adam W. Parsons

The economic freedom promised through the liberalisation of market forces has, in reality, resulted in a freedom for the very few and a contradiction of the promise that increased wealth will be shared - demanding a reframing of the concepts of 'democracy' and 'human rights', says Adam W. Parsons

03 November, 2008

More From The Front Lines Of The Financial Crisis
By Stephen Lendman

America's salad days are over, Peter Schiff writes in his 2007 book "Crash Proof: How to Profit from the Coming Economic Collapse." We've gone from a nation of savers, investors and producers to one of borrowers, consumers and gamblers. Official government statistics lie. They conceal hidden truths. America's house of cards is crumbling. It won't be pretty when it collapses. His advice is get out of the dollar. Get your money out of the country while you can, and gold is one of his recommendations

31 October, 2008

The End Of Prosperity
By Stephen Lendman

Dealing with today's crisis requires big international rescue according to economist Nouriel Roubini. Called Dr. Doom for his gloomy views that today command worldwide respect. And whatever's done, America faces "year(s) of economic stagnation." After a deep protracted downturn. If as true as he forecasts, it signals the end of prosperity. A new age of austerity and world economies in extreme disrepair and needing an alternative model in lieu of a clearly failed one. Hugely corrupted as well

30 October, 2008

World Tires Of Rule By Dollar
By Paul Craig Roberts

What explains the paradox of the dollar’s sharp rise in value against other currencies (except the Japanese yen) despite disproportionate US exposure to the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression? Read on, here is the answer

The 2008 US Recession,Military Keynesianism
And The Wars In The Middle East
By Peter Custers

Nouriel Roubini, the Wall Street economist who has gathered world fame by predicting the current world financial crisis, has already warned that the US economy may end up as a 'war economy', just as happened during the 20th century world wars. Clearly, it is time economists catch up, and engage in debate on the military underpinnings of economic policymaking in the US and beyond

Marxism And The Economic Crises
By Rohini Hensman

It is possible to get out of this recession without allowing it to become a depression if enough people press for decisive action along these lines. Eventually, another crisis will come along, of course: that is the nature of capitalism. But we can deal with that problem when we get to it!

27 October, 2008

Nicolas Sarkozy And Sovereign Wealth Funds
By Kavaljit Singh

Not long ago, the EU gave a call for “Global Europe” with much fanfare and avowed commitment to open economy. Why double standards?

16 October, 2008

Stock Markets Fall As Global Recession Takes Hold
By Patrick O’Connor

The financial crisis has brought to a head the underlying contradictions which have been wracking the capitalist system over an entire period. Notwithstanding the desperate hopes of policy makers in Europe, Asia, and other regions, a severe and protracted recession in the US will inevitably trigger a major downturn in the world economy

The Financial Economy And The Real Economy
By Justin Podur

Writers on financial or economic matters rarely see the need to explain the basics of the field or justify them at the best of times, let alone in the middle of unfolding crises. What are these “financial instruments” — futures, options, and swaps? What are they for, and how did they increase the dangers of what occurred? What is the relationship between finance and the ‘real economy’? What exactly is wrong with that relationship? Events move so quickly that stories discussing them rarely stop to explain the basics

14 October, 2008

Does The Bailout Pass The Smell Test?
By Paul Craig Roberts

The authorities have blamed subprime mortgages for the crisis. Why then does their solution fail to address the problem of the mortgages? Instead, the solution directs public money into an increasingly concentrated private financial sector, the management of which is not only vastly overpaid, but also has escaped accountability for the financial chicanery that, allegedly, threatens systemic financial meltdown unless bailed out by the taxpayers

The October Surprise: Global Panic
By Stephen Lendman

Ordinary people are hit hardest. Millions will suffer grievously for years as a result of this totally avoidable crisis. Fraudsters who caused it are rewarded. Innocent homeowners, households, and workers are punished. Mercilessly

01 October, 2008

World Financial Crisis Reveals
Vulnerability Of Russia’s Economy
By Vladimir Volkov

Shocks throughout the world financial system, centered in the financial meltdown in the US, led by mid-September to a sharp fall on the Russian stock markets. The country is facing its greatest banking crisis since the default of August 1998, demonstrating the enormous vulnerability of the Russian economy to fluctuations on the world markets

30 September, 2008

House And Global Investors Vote
"No" On Paulson Bailout
By Mike Whitney

The US House rejected Treasury Secretary Paulson's $700 billion Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 . Paulson said he has the votes, but Paulson was wrong. The House bucked the Paulson's claim that buying up the illiquid mortgage-backed assets from the nation's banks would be enough to save the financial system from an impending meltdown

The Current Crisis: A Socialist Perspective
By Leo Panitch & Sam Gindin

The type of facile analysis that focuses on 'it's all over' – whether in terms of the end of neoliberalism, the decline of the American empire, or even the next great crisis of capitalism – is not much use here insofar as it is offered without any clear socialist strategic implications. It ain't over till it's made over

29 September, 2008

No Bail Out For Wall Street Billionaires
By James Petras

The Treasury and Congress have inadvertently revealed that federal financing is readily available to rebuild the US economy, guarantee decent living wages and provide health care for everyone if we choose elective officials who are committed to the needs of the US workers and not the Wall Street billionaires

Grand Theft America
By Stephen Lendman

The crime of the century. The greatest one ever. Author Danny Schechter calls it "Plunder." The title of his important new book on the subprime and overall financial crisis. Economist Michael Hudson and others refer to a kleptocracy. A Ponzi scheme writ large. Maybe an out-of-control Andromeda Strain. An economic one. Deadly. Unrecallable. Science fiction now real life. Potentially catastrophic. World governments trying to contain it. Trying everything but not sure what can work. Maybe only able to paper it over for short-term relief. Buy time but in the end vindicate the maxim that things that can't go on forever, won't

27 September, 2008

Bailout For Who?
By Adrianne Appel

U.S. lawmakers and the George W. Bush administration are continuing their closed-door meetings through the weekend to try and fashion a softer 700-billion-dollar deal for Wall Street that will appeal to citizens angry at the prospect of the mega-corporate bailout

A Better Bailout
By Joseph E. Stiglitz

The administration is once again holding a gun at our head, saying, "My way or the highway." We have been bamboozled before by this tactic. We should not let it happen to us again.There are alternatives

$700 Billion Bailout: Let’s Do
Some Simple Arithmetic
By Michael Dickel

The Bush-Cheney-Haliburton administration proposes to hand over to Wall Street over twenty-five hundred dollars for each person over the age of 14 in the U.S. That’s over $10,000 for a family of four where the children are teen-agers. Do you know many families of four, with two teens, who can cough up $10,000 to help bail out Wall Street?

26 September, 2008

The Great Bailout: Is The Cure
Worse Than The Disease?
By Dan Lieberman

Secretary Paulson’s plan to prevent collapse of the financial system prompts immediate and unanswered questions: Will the Paulson plan fulfill its intentions or will it worsen what it wants to correct? The health of the financial system is a major problem, but is it the problem, and does it disguise the true problem?

Financial Meltdown And The Madness
Of Imperialism
By Raymond Lotta

The events of the last ten days on Wall Street represent a new and more destabilizing phase of the turmoil gripping financial institutions and markets in the U.S. A financial crisis has been unfolding for more than a year. It is now the most serious financial crisis of U.S. capitalism since the Great Depression of the 1930s. And it is by no means contained or under control

Framing The $700 Billion Question
By Pablo Ouziel

As the bailout of Wall Street is debated in the U.S. Congress, and world political leaders and global financial analysts, are all excited about what will ultimately save us from a economic Pearl Harbor, will prevent a financial Tsunami, or the repeat of the Great Depression, I am surprised that no CEO has yet been arrested. I am amazed and perplexed; obviously the question has not been framed properly

20 September, 2008

Will This Gigantic Bailout Work?
By Sean O’Grady

This is what we might call the $1trillion question. That's $1,000,000,000,000, by the way. It is a little like surgery. The US government has amputated the gangrenous leg of the banking system to save the patient. But it is now preparing to graft the infected limb on to the body politic of America. The US taxpayers will be lucky if they do not feel distinctly unwell as a result of this little experiment

It's The Derivatives, Stupid! Why Fannie,
Freddie, AIG Had To Be Bailed Out
By Ellen Brown

Why the extraordinary bailout measures for Fannie, Freddie and AIG? The answer may have less to do with saving the insurance business, the housing market, or the Chinese investors clamoring for a bailout than with the greatest Ponzi scheme in history, one that is holding up the entire private global banking system. What had to be saved at all costs was not housing or the dollar but the financial derivatives industry; and the precipice from which it had to be saved was an "event of default" that could have collapsed a quadrillion dollar derivatives bubble, a collapse that could take the entire global banking system down with it

18 September, 2008

Panic Sell-Off On Wall Street
By Barry Grey

In the midst of the market frenzy, increasingly reminiscent of the 1929 crash that ushered in the Great Depression, more icons of American capitalism were set to topple, with investment bank Morgan Stanley and savings and loan giant Washington Mutual desperately seeking to avoid collapse by finding other banks willing to buy them

17 September, 2008

Meltdown On Wall Street:
Grave Warning For India
By Partha Banerjee

I pray to God that Americans now find the courage to stand up against the lies, distortions and censorship. I pray to God that Indians now find the courage to stand up against a mindless mimicking of a failed and exploitative economic and political system

16 September, 2008

You Know It's Bad When Yahoo.com Features
A Story About Fiscal Armageddon
By Paul Joseph Watson

You know things are bad when Yahoo.com, the most trafficked website in the world and usually a purveyor of mindless celebrity gossip, cooking tips and dating advice, features a top story about how Americans could lose their bank deposits following the collapse of Lehman Brothers

06 August, 2008

Shifts And Faultlines In The World Economy
And Great Power Rivalry: What Is Happening And
What It Might Mean- Part III
The European Union As A Potential Rival To U.S. Dominance
By Raymond Lotta

The EU may find itself torn between those within its imperialist ruling classes calling for a more robust European military capacity and those that still want to rely on the NATO alliance. The pathways towards a greater or lesser EU international geopolitical role would be profoundly influenced by a major move by China to wrench more initiative in the world economy and/or to forge closer alliance with Russia

Inflation And The New World Order
By Richard C. Cook

Are we seeing the totalitarian dictatorship of the world’s financial elite being rolled out, with petroleum and food prices the primary weapon of a final coup d’etát against every national government on earth and their citizens? And if we knew who these “high-end investors” were, and who controlled them, wouldn’t we then understand who is in charge of the New World Order and for whom it really functions?

05 August, 2008

Shifts And Faultlines In The World Economy
And Great Power Rivalry: What Is Happening
And What It Might Mean
By Raymond Lotta

China's capitalist development and China's rise in the world imperialist system, its nature and implications

04 August, 2008

Shifts And Faultlines In The World Economy
And Great Power Rivalry: What Is Happening
and What It Might Mean Part I
By Raymond Lotta

This is a research essay about changes in global capitalist accumulation, newly emerging relations of strength among imperialist and regional powers, and the force of competitive pressures and tensions. It is about great-power rivalries in a world system based on exploitation. To use an analogy to the complex motions of large parts of the Earth’s crust and upper mantle, this is a discussion of shifting tectonic plates in the world economy: some of their longer-term movements and some of the more sudden and unexpected eruptions

22 May, 2008

"Immoral Hazard"
By Stephen Lendman

Direst forecasts have it in its early innings with the worst of things ahead. Only in the fullness of time will we know, but some things are clear. None of this happened by chance. Nor should it have in the first place. A combination of financial malpractice, outright fraud, and greed are to blame. The same mistakes keep getting repeated. The costs keep going higher. Sooner or later they matter, and some day it'll be too late to fix them. Some day may be closer than smart money folks think. Stay tuned, be cautious, and ignore Fed Chairmen and politicians promising miracles

15 April, 2008

Recession Takes Hold In US
By Barry Grey

GE’s results shook the financial markets because they indicated that the impact of the housing and credit crisis was spreading beyond the housing and banking sectors to broader parts of the US economy. GE’s report came at the beginning of the first-quarter earnings report season, and seemed to confirm the worst fears on Wall Street that profits will drop sharply nearly across the board

Recession, Depression, Collapse:
What's Fear Got To Do With It?
By Carolyn Baker

The world we wanted to have is not within our reach; the world we deeply dread is upon us. Meanwhile, the world we have known, ugly as it may be but nevertheless familiar, is vanishing before our eyes. Herein lies an opportunity to experience deeper layers of who we really are and what we are really made of. Collapse is compelling us to confront these issues, whether we want to or feel ready to do so or not. While I do not welcome the suffering this will entail, I do welcome the transformation of human consciousness and thus the evolutionary quantum leap it may offer us

Losses Mount In Chinese Export Industry
By Alex Lantier

Light export industries in China are continuing to face massive losses, shedding jobs and moving operations either abroad or to lower-wage regions of China. The immediate triggers of the downturn—the political and commercial consequences of the US financial crisis—are exacerbating working class discontent over low wages, pollution and poor working conditions

19 March, 2008

US Federal Reserve Cuts Interest Rates Again
By Alex Lantier

The new interest rate cuts can only exacerbate the decline in the dollar, which has already fallen to record or near-record lows against the euro, the yen and other currencies. There are already signs that the dollar’s plunge is having serious effects on the financing of US trade

14 March, 2008

Gold And Oil Prices Soar, Dollar Slumps
By Barry Grey

Just two days after the Federal Reserve Board announced an emergency $200 billion debt-relief plan for distressed Wall Street finance houses, markets in the US and internationally were shaken by the collapse of Carlyle Capital Corporation (CCC), a publicly traded investment fund established by the Carlyle Group private equity fund.The Carlyle debacle was accompanied by other developments pointing to both recession and rising inflation. Crude oil prices hit a new record of $111, gold futures breached the $1,000-an-ounce mark, and the dollar fell to record lows versus the Japanese yen, the euro and the Swiss franc

Gas Prices In Hawaii, California Hit $4
By Jaymes Song

While the price of oil climbs above $110 a barrel, most Americans dread the day they will have to pay $4. On this tropical island and a few stations in California, $4 gas has already arrived, straining the pocketbooks of residents and businesses

Watching The Dollar Die
By Paul Craig Roberts

I’ve been watching the dollar die all my life. I sometimes think I will outlast it

07 March, 2008

The Grim Reality of Economic Truths
By Pablo Ouziel

I remember the time when General Motors Corp. was considered a pillar of the American dream, a fundamental of the economic miracle. Now, after reporting a quarterly loss of $722 million, compared with a profit of $950 million a year earlier, and offering buyouts to all of its 74,000 United Auto Workers employees, GM is clearly not a part of the sound fundamentals which President Bush likes to describe

11 February, 2008

The Great Bust of '08
By Mike Whitney

So, what does it all mean? It means that people who want to hold on to their life savings are going have to be extra vigilant as the situation continues to deteriorate

28 January, 2008

How Bush Destroyed The Dollar
By Paul Craig Roberts

If the US government cannot balance its budget by cutting its spending or by raising taxes, the day when it can no longer borrow will see the government paying its bills by printing money like a third world banana republic. Inflation and more exchange rate depreciation will be the order of the day

24 January, 2008

How To Stop The Downturn
By Joseph E. Stiglitz

America's economy is headed for a major slowdown. Whether there is a recession (two quarters of negative growth) is less important than the fact that the economy will operate well below its potential, and unemployment will grow. The country needs a stimulus, but anything we do will add to our soaring deficit, so it is important to get as much bang for the buck as possible

"Lame Duck" Citizens And The Global Economy
By Pablo Ouziel

In regards to our ‘global economy’, one is better off reading Dostoevsky’s The Gambler and saying to himself, “at the present moment I must repair to the roulette-table,” than listening to George Bush deluding himself about the fact that “while there is some uncertainty, the financial markets are strong and solid.” The truth is, our global markets have become a “lame duck” and all we can do is wait for the next disaster to shake the corrupt foundation on which things have been run

23 January, 2008

US Cuts Interest Rates Amid Fears Of
Global Financial Collapse
By Andre Damon

The Fed’s emergency action gave more the impression of a panicked attempt to stave off catastrophe, confirming the growing conviction that the US economy is sliding into recession, regardless of attempts at either monetary or fiscal stimulus

Hard Times A-Coming
By Dave Lindorff

Get ready for some hard economic times. The next step will be soaring inflation, as strapped companies in China, India and elsewere start raising their prices for goods shipped to the US and paid for in dollars. Then the Fed will have to respond by raising interest rates again, in an effort to shore up the currency. And with that will come deeper recession and an even lower stock market

Farewell To Old Economic Nostrums
By Paul Craig Roberts

The rebate will help Americans reduce their credit card debt. However, adding $150 billion to an existing federal budget deficit that will be worsened by recession could further alarm America's foreign creditors, traders in currency markets, and OPEC oil producers. If the rebate loses its punch to consumer debt reduction, imports, and pressure on the dollar, what will the government do next?

Will Economic Stimulus Measures
Stave Off Recession?
By Richard C. Cook

If you dig a little deeper, it is easy to see that the U.S. never really got out of the recession of 2000-2002 which followed the bursting of the dot.com bubble at the end of the Bill Clinton presidency. This event was marked by the stock market crash starting in December 2000 that cost Americans over a trillion dollars in retirement savings and other forms of paper “wealth” over a period of a few months

How To Sink America
By Chalmers Johnson

Why the Debt Crisis Is Now the Greatest Threat to the American Republic

How The West Was Re-sold
By Niranjan Ramakrishnan

Let me make this simple and practical suggestion to the President and Congress: Cut out the middleman and mail the 145 billion dollars directly to China. That's where it is going to end up anyway. The America people will thank you for not filling their homes and garages with more junk. And...this is important...you can all take pride in boasting to the people that you kept the government out of it

22 January, 2008

Threat Of US Recession Panics Global Stock Markets
By Andre Damon

Stock prices plummeted worldwide Monday and Tuesday , amid heightened fears of a US recession. While over the course of last week US financial markets suffered the worst fall since 2002, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropping by 5 percent, many Asian and European indices dropped by a similar amount in just one day

The False US Economy Versus Nature’s
Expansion-Contraction Cycle
By Shepherd Bliss

The growth-based US economy is contracting. Media economists are alarmed, even panicky. They describe this as a “recession” and wring their hands with woe. They should have expected this downturn and we should accept it. Lets see what will happen. Maybe the Earth will benefit from the declining US economy? Perhaps its pollution and other threats to the global climate and environment will lessen?

19 January, 2008

Bush Announces “Stimulus” Plan
As Recession Fears Grip Washington
By Patrick Martin

There was a distinct note of panic in the sudden issuance of a statement, only hours after Bush’s return to the US from a weeklong trip through the Middle East. Bush could give few details of the stimulus package, since they have not been worked out, but instead outlined what he called the broad “principles”: the package should be limited to 1 percent of GDP, or about $140 billion; and it should consist of tax cuts only, with no increase in social spending

The Week The Economy Turned Nasty
By Jeremy Warner

Retail sales plummet; gas and electricity prices soar, further eating into already squeezed disposable incomes; Citigroup and Merrill Lynch, two of the great symbols of American capitalism, forced to hand round the begging bowl among Asian and Middle Eastern sovereign wealth funds after massive write-downs on US sub-prime mortgage lending

18 January, 2008

As Wall Street Posts Sharp Losses,
Washington Promotes “Stimulus Package”
By Bill Van Auken & Andre Damon

With major Wall Street finance houses posting tens of billions of dollars in new losses, housing starts declining 30 percent compared to last year, retail sales plunging and unemployment climbing to 5 percent—a two year high—the Bush White House, the Democratic congressional leadership and the Federal Reserve Board chairman all signaled Thursday their support for the passage of an economic stimulation package

15 January, 2008

US Bank Losses Intensify Recession Fears
By Patrick Martin

Two more major banks reported heavy mortgage and consumer-loan losses Monday for the fourth quarter of 2007, reinforcing fears that that US financial crisis will likely trigger a recession, not only in America, but worldwide

12 January, 2008

US Federal Reserve Chairman Warns Of
Recession Danger, Promises More Rate Cuts
By Andre Damon & Joe Kay

US Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke warned Wednesday that the US economy is slowing dramatically and broadly hinted that the Fed would aggressively cut interest rates in response, perhaps before its next scheduled policy meeting at the end of January

The Deflation Time Bomb
By Mike Whitney

When banks don’t lend and consumers don’t borrow; the economy crashes. End of story. The whole system is predicated on the prudent use of credit. That system is now in terminal distress. Everyone to the bunkers. Perhaps the whole “inflation-deflation” debate is academic. The real issue is the length and severity of the impending recession. That’s what we really want to know. And how many people will needlessly suffer

11 December, 2007

Iran Drops Dollar From Oil Deals
By AFP

Major crude producer Iran has completely stopped carrying out its oil transactions in dollars, Oil Minister Gholam Hossein Nozari said on Saturday, labelling the greenback an "unreliable" currency."At the moment, selling oil in dollars has been completely halted, in line with the policy of selling crude in non-dollar currencies," Nozari was quoted as saying by the ISNA news agency

29 November, 2007

Impending Destruction Of The US Economy
By Paul Craig Roberts

Which will Washington sacrifice, the domestic financial system and over-extended homeowners or its ability to finance deficits? The answer seems obvious. Everything will be sacrificed in order to protect Washington’s ability to borrow abroad. Without the ability to borrow abroad, Washington cannot conduct its wars of aggression, and Americans cannot continue to consume $800 billion dollars more each year than the economy produces

28 November, 2007

Forecast: U.S. Dollar Could Plunge 90 pct
By UPI

A financial crisis will likely send the U.S. dollar into a free fall of as much as 90 percent and gold soaring to $2,000 an ounce, a trends researcher said. "We are going to see economic times the likes of which no living person has seen," Trends Research Institute Director Gerald Celente said, forecasting a "Panic of 2008."

A Dollar The Size Of A Postage Stamp
By Mike Whitney

Central banks across the globe are trying to figure out how to ditch their dollar reserves without triggering a stampede for the exits. No one wants to see that. But, then, nobody wants to be stuck with vaults full of Uncle Sam's green confetti either. So, the question arises; What is the best way to divest oneself of $5.6 trillion (total USD held overseas) before the Lusitania capsizes?

27 November, 2007

The Ghosts of Misplaced Conscience
By Charles Sullivan

Rather than an economy based upon savage greed and exploitation, let us create an economy based upon justice and equality, need rather than excess; a society that does not leave people behind but invites the full participation of everyone and recognizes that, “An injury to one is an injury to all.” Let it be all inclusive and worthy of respect: where every woman, man, and child, every being of this earth is the same under the law and equally respected and valued—a great global community seeking harmony rather than competitive advantage

26 November, 2007

Reckoning: The Economic Consequences Of Mr. Bush
By Joseph E. Stiglitz

When we look back someday at the catastrophe that was the Bush administration, we will think of many things: the tragedy of the Iraq war, the shame of Guantánamo and Abu Ghraib, the erosion of civil liberties. The damage done to the American economy does not make front-page headlines every day, but the repercussions will be felt beyond the lifetime of anyone reading this page

17 November, 2007

The Dollar's Decline: From Symbol Of Hegemony
To Shunned Currency
By Andy McSmith

The decline of the dollar, symbol of US global hegemony for the best part of a century, may have become so entrenched that some experts now fear it is irreversible

15 November, 2007

The Titanic Economy
By Mike Whitney

The only thing looking up are oil futures. And they’ll be denominated in euros soon enough

14 November, 2007

U.S. Economy: Recession, Depression, Or Collapse?
By Shepherd Bliss

Our economy is paying and will continue to pay the consequences of over-consumption and the over-purchasing of people reaching beyond their resources that characterized the housing market. We have been greedy. There are limits to growth and those limits are crashing in on us

08 November, 2007

Dollar Slumps To Record On China's
Plans To Diversify Reserves
By Agnes Lovasz & Stanley White

The dollar fell the most since September against the currencies of its six biggest trading partners after Chinese officials signaled plans to diversify the nation's $1.43 trillion of foreign exchange reserves

The End Is Near!—Gisele Bundchen Dumps Dollar
By Paul Craig Roberts

When the dollar ceases to be the reserve currency, foreigners will cease to finance the US trade and budget deficits, and the American Empire along with its wars will disappear overnight. Perhaps Bush will be able to get a World Bank loan, or maybe one from the "Chavez bank", to bring the troops home from Iraq and Afghanistan

Seven Countries Considering
Abandoning The US Dollar
By Jessica Hupp

It’s no secret that the dollar is on a downward spiral. Its value is dropping, and the Fed isn’t doing a whole lot to change that. As a result, a number of countries are considering a shift away from the dollar to preserve their assets. These are seven of the countries currently considering a move from the dollar, and how they’ll have an effect on its value and the US economy

29 October, 2007

The Bank Of The South: An Alternative
To IMF And World Bank Dominance
By Stephen Lendman

Small signs of change are emerging, the Bank of the South may be one of them, and a new generation of leftist leaders may in the end break Washington's weakening (but still strong) hold on the region. That's the hope, and every step forward means more power to the people and another possible world

04 October, 2007

Economic Sharing: A Shift In Global Values
By Rajesh Makwana

A growing body of progressives within the global justice movement, including environmentalists, economists and policy makers, broadly agree that a significant overhaul of the world’s economic and political systems is long overdue, and that without significant restructuring our most pressing problems will never be tackled

23 September, 2007

Nail Biting Time
By David Truskoff

The Fed cut the interest rates. Newspapers clear across the USA had front page Headlines such as, "Rate drops, Dow leaps. The New York stock exchange gained more than three hundred points. All that it means to the average American is that the rich will get more rich and the poor will get poorer

22 September, 2007

Recession Too Mild A Word
By Pablo Ouziel

The same group of people who lied to the world about the war in Iraq are doing the same about the state of the global economy, and again the public is sleepwalking listening to their lullabies. We could be witnessing the collapse of capitalist model of society as we know it. According to President Bush, however, we are seeing a "thriving" U.S. economy

19 September, 2007

The Fed's Cut And Run Strategy
By Jeff Berg

If however everything goes according to the Fed's cut, run and pray dreams the plus side will be that this delay may be long enough to give those who see what’s coming a little more room for maneuver. But it will do so at the cost of two very unfortunate things. 1) It will make Bush and Cheney's getaway all but complete. I.e. The worst of the economic effects will not take place until the next President takes over. Which is of course the very strongest reason why the Fed's "consequences be damned" strategy is the most likely scenario to unfold

15 September, 2007

Plummeting Dollar, Credit Crunch...
By Mike Whitney

The days of the dollar as the world’s “reserve currency” may be drawing to a close. In August, foreign central banks and governments dumped a whopping 3.8 per cent of their holdings of US debt

Economic Crisis: The U.S.
Political Leadership Has Failed
By Richard C. Cook

As the 2007 economic collapse picks up speed, it’s time to take a hard look at the performance of the U.S. national political leadership in meeting some of their most fundamental responsibilities. It’s time to face the fact of serious failure over the last quarter century

13 September, 2007

China: Is High Growth - High Risk Liberalization
The Only Alternative?
By James Petras

China’s drive toward economic superpower status in the world economy has accelerated in recent years. As China’s economy becomes globalized, fundamental changes in its financial markets have opened opportunities for overseas expansion as well as increasing risks of financial crisis

For The Poor; Present Economic Development
A Hope Or A Hoax?
By Firdous Syed

The total number of people in India belonging to the poor and vulnerable group having a daily per capita consumption of less than Rs 20 in 2004-05 was 836 million, constituting about 77 percent of the population. What a person like Mukesh Ambani or somebody else of his elk earns in a day, anybody among the marginal income group of 836 million, constituting about 77 percent of Indian population, will not be spending during the whole span of his life

11 September, 2007

American Economy: R.I.P.
By Paul Craig Roberts

The US economy continues its slow death before our eyes, but economists, policymakers, and most of the public are blind to the tottering fabled land of opportunity

10 September, 2007

War Cometh Before A Fall
By Dan Lieberman

If the problems grow and the U.S standard of living declines, the U.S. government will seek an obvious solution for a strong power: capture markets, capture resources, crush competition, silence those who impede expansion. War cometh before a fall

07 September, 2007

Credit Crunch Could Bring Recession
By Nick Beams

While global share markets appear to have stabilised—at least for time being—it’s a different story as far credit markets are concerned. Here there are fears that a growing crisis could spark a major downturn in the world economy

01 September, 2007

The Predicted Financial Storm Has Arrived
By Gabriel Kolko

Contradictions now wrack the world's financial system, and a growing consensus exists between those who endorse it and those who argue the status quo is both crisis-prone as well as immoral. If we are to believe the institutions and personalities who have been in the forefront of the defense of capitalism, we are on the verge of a serious crisis-if not now, then in the near future

The Social Toll Of The US Home
Mortgage Crisis- Part II
By Andre Damon

A multi-millionaire like George W. Bush, a thousand miles removed from the everyday realities of American life, can describe the “recent disturbances in the subprime mortgage industry” as “modest.” However, many lives are being turned upside down by the present mortgage crisis and wave of foreclosures

31 August, 2007

The Social Toll Of The US Home
Mortgage Crisis - Part 1
By Andre Damon

Predatory lending practices, speculation and widespread fraud cannot, however, fully account for the scale of the foreclosure crisis. Rather, the ultimate causes lie in long-term trends; the stagnation of wages, the lack of affordable housing and the growing indebtedness of American households

29 August, 2007

On Market Predictions In The Current
Chaotic Environment
By Richard C. Cook

No one can predict how deep the decline in Western economies that is underway will go, because there is so little transparent information. Within the U.S., the government is hiding the severity of the crisis in order to prevent a collapse of consumer confidence

24 August, 2007

Credit Crunch Fallout Begins To spread
By Nick Beams

While stock markets have stabilised—at least for the time being—the effects of the credit crunch sparked by the crisis in the US subprime mortgage market are now working their way through the banks and financial institutions and the economy as a whole

Britons' Personal Debt Dxceeds Britain's GDP
By Martin Hickman

Britons have racked up so much debt on loans and credit cards that the total borrowed now exceeds the entire value of the economy, new research shows today. The financial consultant Grant Thornton is forecasting that gross domestic product (GDP) will hit £1.33 trillion this year, less than the £1.35trn which was outstanding on mortgages, credit cards and personal loans in June

Market Efficiency Hokum
By Stephen Lendman

Astute observers continue to speculate and comment that the housing bubble and resultant current financial market turmoil came from deliberate widespread malfeasance aided by considerable cash infusion help from the Federal Reserve in the lead on the scheme

Subprime Loans = Primetime For Vampire Lenders
By Jim Hightower

Let's recognize that the need for "subprime" mortgages is driven by our low-wage/no-benefit economy and by our country's growing scarcity of affordable housing. It's not merely a low-income mortgage system that must be fixed -- our leaders' pursuit of a low-income America must be stopped

19 August, 2007

The “Crash Of 2007-8” Is Underway
By Richard C. Cook

As the house of cards comes tumbling down, the leading question on financial websites and blogs is how deep will the decline go. Will it stop at the level of the recessions of previous decades, including 2000-2002, with a decline that is reflected in the DJA of somewhere around thirty-five percent from its peak? Or will it be the “Armageddon” scenario which would take us to depression-level conditions? Of course there are multiple possibilities based on a decline somewhere between a recession and a depression that would share some of the characteristics of each

14 August, 2007

A Day Of Reckoning For Americans
Who Lived Beyond Their Means
By Joseph Stiglitz

The pessimists who have long forecast that the US economy was in for trouble finally seem to be coming into their own. Of course, there is no glee in seeing stock prices tumble as a result of soaring mortgage defaults. But it was largely predictable, as are the likely consequences for both the millions of Americans who will be facing financial distress and the global economy

A "Slow Motion Train Wreck"
By Stephen Lendman

Jeremy Grantham's persuasive evidence suggests we're watching an unstoppable "very slow motion train wreck" likely to be pretty ugly on "impact." By his reckoning, it's probably too late to undue the enormous damage done no one will escape from. His advice is that to be forewarned is forearmed to prepare as best as possible although for most people it's practically impossible

11 August, 2007

Subprime Or Subcrime? Time
To Investigate And Prosecute
By Danny Schechter

The "subprime" credit crunch is really a sub-crime ponzi scheme in which millions of people are losing their homes because of criminal tactics by financial institutions

China's Threat To The Dollar Is Real
By Paul Craig Roberts

The Chinese made no threats. To the contrary, one of the officials said, “China doesn’t want any undesirable phenomenon in the global financial order.” The Chinese message is different. The message is that Washington does not have hegemony over Chinese policy, and if matters go from push to shove, Washington can expect financial turmoil

10 August, 2007

Credit Fears Spark Stock Market Plunge
By Patrick Martin

Stock markets worldwide slumped Thursday amid mounting fears that the crisis in the subprime mortgage lending market is leading to a more generalized credit crisis. The Dow-Jones Industrial Average, the most widely followed stock index, ended down 387.18 points, its largest loss in six months and the fourth triple-digit movement in five days, an indication of the increasing instability in financial markets

09 August, 2007

Uncle Sam, Your Banker Will See You Now
By Paul Craig Roberts

If Western financial markets are sufficiently intelligent to comprehend the message, US interest rates will rise regardless of any further action by China. At this point, China does not need to sell a single bond. In an instant, China has made it clear that US interest rates depend on China, not on the Federal Reserve

02 August, 2007

Bursting Of credit Bubble Underlies
Stock Market Turbulence
By Barry Grey

The sudden volatility on stock exchanges resembles the fever chart of a delirious patient. It reflects fears that the near-collapse of credit markets linked to subprime US home mortgages is spreading more broadly and leading to a major contraction of credit throughout the economy

25 July, 2007

International Investments:
Is Policy Pendulum Swinging Back?
By Kavaljit Singh

Despite the dominant trend towards greater liberalization of investment flows, nowadays certain kinds of investments have come under closer scrutiny by policy makers. In several countries (both developed and developing), there are moves to tighten existing investment rules or to enact new rules to regulate foreign investments and protect “strategic sectors” from foreign investors

09 May, 2007

Anti-Capitalism In Five Minutes Or Less
By Robert Jensen

One of the common responses I hear when I critique capitalism is, “Well, that may all be true, but we have to be realistic and do what’s possible.” By that logic, to be realistic is to accept a system that is inhuman, anti-democratic, and unsustainable. To be realistic we are told we must capitulate to a system that steals our souls, enslaves us to concentrated power, and will someday destroy the planet

03 May, 2007

‘I was Always Leftist. Economic Reforms
Made Me Completely Marxist’
By Mani Shankar Aiyar

In a speech at a CII meet, Mani Shankar Aiyar argued that policy is hijacked by a small elite. That the cabinet he belongs to is quite comfortable with this hijacking. That India’s system of governance is such that Rs 650 crore for village development is considered wasteful but Rs 7,000 crore for the Commonwealth Games is considered vital. The classes rule all the time, Aiyar says, the masses get a look-in every five years

01 May, 2007

Southern Transnationals:
The New Kids On The Block?
By Kavaljit Singh

Given the fact that most developing countries are usually capital importers, the rise of Southern TNCs poses new policy dilemmas. The policy makers in the developing world are increasingly finding it difficult to strike a balance between the country’s interest as a host country and its newly-found interests as a home country

27 April, 2007

The End of Economic Growth
By Adam Parsons

The myth of endless economic growth is a path towards disaster and destruction

25 April, 2007

Mystery: How Wealth Creates
Poverty In The World
By Michael Parenti

There is a “mystery” we must explain: How is it that as corporate investments and foreign aid and international loans to poor countries have increased dramatically throughout the world over the last half century, so has poverty? The number of people living in poverty is growing at a faster rate than the world’s population. What do we make of this?

Economic Armageddon Is Coming
By Joel S. Hirschhorn

Stop being a compliant consumer. Face the ugly truth. Don’t get fooled by the stock market. Accept the need for the mistreated middle class to become the revolutionary class. The British military establishment's most prestigious think tank sees what too few over-consuming Americans are willing to anticipate. Unjustified and mounting economic inequality is planting the seeds for global economic conflict

24 April, 2007

Corporate Accountability:
Is Self Regulation The Answer?
By Kavaljit Singh

While acknowledging that voluntary approaches could be used as tools for leverage on corporate behavior and therefore are worth testing, this chapter underscores the need for enhancing the state regulatory and supervisory frameworks. Any strategy aimed at privatizing regulation is bound to fail; even the limited gains made in the past through voluntary approaches always rested on governmental backing. Voluntary codes of conduct can never be a substitute for state regulations

20 April, 2007

SEZs: Behind The Curtain
By Aseem Shrivastava

The outsourcing and sub-contracting of corporate totalitarianism

17 April, 2007

Bangladesh: Sovereign Or Subsidiary?
By Anu Muhammad

Global capital is in confrontation with people all over the world, among others, on three issues: (a) whether people and the country should own and have authority over their own lives and natural resources or global corporates should be allowed to take over; (b) Whether natural resources should be used or preserved for the maximum utilization for the development of the country or to be extracted in a big way to maximize profit of foreign big companies; and (c) whether resources will remain common property or turned into private property of corporates. Bangladesh needs to answer these too

23 March, 2007

Global Ruling Class: Billionaires
And How They ‘Made It’
By James Petras

While the number of the world’s billionaires grew from 793 in 2006 to 946 this year, major mass uprisings became commonplace occurrences in China and India

01 March, 2007

Global Markets Slide After China Sell-Off
By Nick Beams

Global stock markets tumbled on Tuesday after a near 9 percent drop in the Chinese market—the biggest fall in a decade—sparked fears that a series of financial imbalances in the global economy could start to cause serious problems

22 February, 2007

The Developer’s Model Of Development
Or The Economist’s?
By Aseem shrivastava

Two competing notions of development are increasingly at war in the Indian economic landscape. Development according to developers must be restrained, while the old idea of development must be awakened from its slumber in the minds of the policy-making elite. A failure to achieve this is likely to prove economically costly, quite apart from generating a political derailment of the growth process, with worse outcomes to follow in the shape of rising social tensions, political violence and crime

13 February, 2007

Special Economic Zones: Lessons From China
By Bhaskar Goswami

While single-minded pursuit of exports has helped China touch record growth figures, millions have been left behind, besides incurring huge environmental costs. And without even the limited dose of welfare that China offers its poor farmers, India must wary of copying China's SEZ-approach, writes Bhaskar Goswami

25 January, 2007

Soros On Capital Account Convertibility
By Sunanda Sen

A note of caution and warning for India

16 December, 2006

Nobel - Man's Un-Noble Corporate Nexus
By Omar Tarek Chowdhury

So why then did Norway’s Nobel committee give Yunus the award? Colleagues in Oslo point out to me that he was strongly supported by friends in the Norwegian elite, including a former top finance ministry bureaucrat and leading officials of the national phone company, Telenor, which owns 62% of lucrative GrameenPhone, a company in control of 60% of Bangladesh’s cellphone market

03 December, 2006

Richest 2% Hold Half The World’s Assets
By Chris Giles

Personal wealth is distributed so unevenly across the world that the richest two per cent of adults own more than 50 per cent of the world’s assets while the poorest half hold only 1 per cent of wealth

03 December, 2006

Will The Tumbling Dollar Start
An Economic Whirlwind?
By Philip Thornton

Transatlantic travellers hoping to cash in on a $2 pound for the first time in 14 years should enjoy the good times while they last, because a tumbling dollar could start an economic whirlwind

08 November, 2006

Dollar Poised For A Dip
By Axel Merk

When we say the dollar may weaken after the election, we know as little as anyone what will happen to the dollar in the days that follow the election. But we believe that the focus will shift to what is ahead. Given that timing currency moves is extremely difficult, investors may want to consider taking a long-term approach by broadly diversifying into a basket of hard currencies, that is, those currencies backed by sound monetary policy

31 October, 2006

From Orangi To Grameen Bank: An Alternative Route
To Pro-Poor Development
By Md. Saidul Islam

Both Grameencredit and the OPP have left ground-breaking legacies for both poor and development planners all over the world. There are questions as to whether both are congruent or different, but there is no question that both are alternative route to "pro-poor development", models devised by the poor themselves

18 October, 2006

Special Exploitation Zones
By Tejal Kanitkar & Puru Kulkarni

Special Economic Zones (SEZ) is a pseudonym for a new tsunami let loose on the Indian working class and peasantry by the Indian State.One hundred-fifty Special Exploitation Zones have already been sanctioned. This means 70,000 hectares of land is being grabbed as we read this.Two hundred twenty five more Special Exploitation Zones are waiting approval. This means that 2,74,000 hectares of land will be grabbed soon. The extent of the planned mass murder and mass displacement is unimaginable

17 October, 2006

Microcredit, Macro Problems
By Walden Bello

So probably the best way we can honor Muhammad Yunus is to say, Yes, he deserves the Nobel Prize for helping so many women cope with poverty. His boosters discredit this great honor and engage in hyperbole when they claim he has invented a new compassionate form of capitalism--social capitalism, or "social entrepreneurship"--that will be the magic bullet to end poverty and promote development

14 October, 2006

Nobel Acknowledges Counter Economy
By Mirza A. Beg

Yunus proved that the poor need respect, trust, economic justice, and a helping hand. They do not need pity and charity. It is truly a Peace Price because there can not be peace without justice, particularly economic justice

26 September, 2006

Can Microfinance ‘Halve’Poverty By 2015: A Review
By Sirajul Islam

There is an enormous unmet demand for micro credit worldwide roughly estimated at 400 to 500 million poor and low-income people, the sector still has a long way to go to fulfil its potential

04 September, 2006

The Socialism Of The Twenty-First Century’
In Latin America And Venezuela
By Zeki Ergas

In Latin America there is now hope. The efforts to build ‘The socialism of the 21st century’ represents that hope

18 July, 2006

G8 Ignores Mounting Problems In World Economy
By Nick Beams

The scant attention to the global economy, let alone any discussion of co-ordinated economic policies, is remarkable given the fact that, despite continued economic growth, the world economy is facing a series of problems as serious as any since the so-called Asian economic crisis of 1997-98

11 July, 2006

Gyrations Of Indian Stock Market Point
To Future Economic Instability
By Parwini Zora and Kranti Kumara

The wild fluctuations in Indian share prices over the past two months point to the increasing power foreign finance capital is exerting over Indian equity markets and indirectly the Indian economy

04 March, 2006

How Capitalism Threatens Your Health
By Julian Edney

After years of collecting health data, Ichiro Kawachi in the U.S., Richard Wilkinson in Britain and John Lynch in the U.S. and their associates have discovered that more lethal than cigarettes, obesity, alcohol, pollution, AIDS, vehicle accidents, suicides and homicides, is the gradient of inequality in our societies

24 February, 2006

What The Price Of Gold May Be Telling Us
By Stephen Lendman

My best judgment is that the gold market senses trouble and is sending an ominous message that all is not well in the world, and it's better to take cover in the traditional safest of all safe havens than risk potential big losses in the financial markets. As one market seer once said - we'll know for sure "in the fullness of time." Place your bets, and stay tuned

22 February, 2006

Booming Indian Bourse: Illusion And Reality
By Girish Mishra

The sensitive index of the Bombay Stock Exchange, during the first week of February 2006, performed the much-awaited feat of crossing the 10,000-mark. This brought great joy to industry and trade. If one looks slightly deeper, many things become crystal clear, underlining the fact that what is being propagated is seer illusion with not much connection with domestic realities

01 January, 2006

China And The Dollar
By Mike Whitney

On Thursday, The People’s Republic of China fired off the first volley in what could turn out to be economic Armageddon. China announced that it would begin to diversify its foreign-exchange reserves away from US dollar

30 October, 2005

The Financial Imbalances Of A “Bizarre World”
By Nick Beams

How much longer can the imbalances in the world economy continue to grow before they give rise to a major crisis? That is the question being increasingly asked in leading financial, academic and government circles

08 October, 2005

Foreign Capital Pours Into China’s Banks
By John Chan

A flood of foreign investment into China’s largest state-owned commercial banks (SCBs) since last year has signalled the start of a process that will have major economic ramifications

07 October, 2005

Is the Dollar Still Falling?
By Robert Pollin

The historical transition away from 25 years of neoliberal ascendancy will only come when the "no" to neoliberalism votes, such as in France and the Netherlands, can be transformed into positive and successful programs and movements throughout the world

15 May, 2005

Clouds Gather Over World Economy
By Nick Beams

While the official forecasts are still for strong economic growth, a number of storm clouds are gathering over the world economy. They include: recession or near-recession conditions in a number of eurozone countries, doubts about the direction of the US economy and concerns that financial markets could face considerable turmoil if major hedge funds start to run into trouble

19 April, 2005

World Markets Expecting Further Falls
By Nick Beams

World stock markets are bracing themselves for further turbulence following the sharp decline on Wall Street last week which saw the Dow Jones index close at its lowest level for the year.The sell-off was sparked by adverse reports from some of America’s biggest companies, coupled with fears that the US economy could be sliding into a recession

12 April, 2005

Global Financial System Faces Growing Risks
By Nick Beams

The International Monetary Fund’s semi-annual assessment of the state of global financial markets is devotes considerable space to outlining the growing dangers posed by the increasing complexity of the entire structure

10 April, 2005

The Price Of Oil And The Bush Dollar
By Dave Lindorff

Some Wall Street oil industry analysts are now predicting that oil could, before too long, hit $100 a barrel. What they are saying really is that the dollar is likely to fall in value by 50 percent

18 March, 2005

Kerala's Silent Revolution
By Rajaji Mathew Thomas

It was the participation of huge masses in public action and political decision making that transformed Kerala. At present a silent revolution driven by hundreds of thousands of women is in the making. The women self-help group’s, especially the state supported ‘Kudumbasree’ project are turning the poor women of Kerala into small time entrepreneurs

17 March, 2005

Dollar Catching Asian Flu
By Alan Boyd

They may be telling a different story to money markets, but Asian central banks have been quietly switching their dollar holdings to regional currencies for at least three years, confirm global banking data

02 December, 2004

The Brandt Report
By Mohammed Mesbahi

The Brandt Report was well publicized, read and discussed, but twenty years later none of Brandt’s recommendations have been put into practice. Indeed the third world has been plunged deeper and deeper into poverty, hunger and degradation

30 November, 2004

Dollar Worries
By Nick Beams

As the dollar contiues to fall against all the major currencies, the onset of a global financial crisis looks imminent

06 November, 2004

India's Transaction Tax Disproves All Fears
By Kavaljit Singh

On October 1, 2004, the Securities Transaction Tax (STT) came into implementation in the Indian financial markets. The market players and analysts who had predicted that the introduction of STT would bring Indian financial markets to a standstill have been proved completely wrong

The World Of International Finance
By C.P Chandrasekhar

The global operations of financial firms have registered a galloping growth, leading to a deluge of capital into developing countries irrespective of their needs and, ultimately, limiting the policy space of their governments

21 August, 2004

Still Not Getting By In Bush's America
By Joel Wendland

According to recent statistics provided by the U.S. Census Bureau, the gap between the rich and poor since 1967 has grown by 75 percent. Approximately 26 million households combined to earn only 3.5 percent of the total income earned by people in the US

18 August, 2004

Technology For A New Economic System
By Howard Rheingold & Robert D. Hof

The tech guru Howard Rheingold sees a "new economic system" in the unconscious cooperation embodied by Google links and Amazon lists

05 August, 2004

Overturning Transaction Tax
By Kavaljit Singh

Under pressure from powerful lobby of brokers, speculators, arbitrageurs and "noise traders," Finance Minister, P. Chidambaram, diluted several important provisions of the proposed securities transaction tax (STT)

20 July, 2004

India Introduces Securities Transaction Tax
By Kavaljit Singh

India is about to introduce Securities Transaction Tax (STT) in the Indian financial markets which will slow down the flow of speculative money and curb purely short-term speculation by day traders, “noise traders,” arbitrageurs and big operators without significantly affecting the long-term investors

07 June, 2004

The Euro's Big Chance
By Niall Ferguson

The dollar's reign as the world's undisputed reserve currency could be drawing to a close

01 June, 2004

McMedia & Market Jihad
By P. Sainath

Whose interests do we give priority to? Voters? Or `The Market'?

26 May, 2004

Stock Market And The Real Economy
By Jayati Ghosh

The current downslide in the stock markets is really not a matter of serious concern for most Indians, and it should certainly not be much of an issue for the new government either

Influencing Economic Policy Using
The Stock Market
By C.P. Chandrasekhar

Recent upheaval in the Indian stock market was due to the manouerings of the financial profiteers seeking to influence economic policy in their favour

07 May, 2004

World Food Prices Set To Rise
By Jim Lobe

U.S. and global consumers, already hit hard by sustained high oil prices, may be looking at increases in food prices as well over the coming year, according to an independent Washington-based research group, the Earth Policy Institute

05 May, 2004

Chinese Capitalism:Industrial Powerhouse
Or Sweatshop Of The World?
By John Chan

The combination of plentiful labour, low wages, low taxation and brutal police-state repression made China one of the most attractive investment sites for transnational corporations

25 April, 2004

Fiscal Responsibility Act: Issues and Concerns
By Siba Sankar Mohanty

The Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Bill, 2000, has been enacted in Indian Parliament. The Act is based on the presumption that the fiscal deficit is the key parameter adversely affecting all other macroeconomic variables

25 March, 2004

A Perfect Storm About To Hit
By Jeremy Rifkin

Rising Oil Prices and a Weak Dollar could Shatter the Global Economy

17 February, 2004

Income Inequality In India
By Jayati Ghosh

The period since the neo-liberal economic reforms were introduced in India has been one of dramatically increased income inequality. For the bottom 80 per cent of the rural population - well more than half of India's total population , who now number nearly 600 million, per capita consumption has actually declined since 1989-90.

07 January, 2004

How The War Machine Is Driving The US Economy
By Andrew Gumbel

The war on Iraq was a form of military keynsianism aimed at bringing the US economy back on the tracks and it seems to be working as the recent growth figures suggest

03 January, 2004

World Economy: No Smooth Path
To Growth In 2004
By Nick Beams

The longer the world economy continues on the present path, the greater will be the underlying disequilibrium and the possibility of a major financial crisis

08 December, 2003

How To Fix The World Bank
By Mark Scaramella

The estimated total yearly value of worldwide currency transactions is over $1.2 trillion a day. Or almost $500 trillion per year. Imposing just 1 % tax on these transactions would wipe out poverty from this world

11 November, 2003

Europe Plans Huge Trade War With US
By Stephen Castle

American jeans, Florida orange juice and dozens of other US products could double in price from next month because of a growing transatlantic trade war

13 October, 2003

Anxious Time Ahead For World Economy
By Nick Beams

The annual report of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) issued in Geneva earlier this month pointed to an “anxious time for the global economy.”

30 September, 2003

Dollar Fall Adds To Global Turbulence
By Nick Beams

The sharp drop in the value of the dollar in money markets last week has pointed to the underlying instability of the international financial system and the ever-present possibility of a major crisis

2 June, 2003

Dollar Crisis And American Empire
By Jeffrey Sommers

An America in economic crisis would place the world in even greater danger of American military adventures by a government seeking both diversions from its domestic ills while it also sought means to shore up its empire

31 May, 2003

Enron Used U.S. Government To Bully
India And Other Nations
By Emad Mekay

Enron used the U.S. government to coerce the World Bank and poor nations to grant concessions and resolve its investment problems

21 May, 2003

On The Hunger Trail
By Jean Drèze

A journey through the drought hit Chambal area of Madhya Pradesh where death and hunger dance in chambers of horror

09 May, 2003

Trouble in Bush's America
By Bob Herbert

More than 1 in 10 New Yorkers who would like to work cannot find a job

07 May, 2003

Rich in Imagination
By George Monbiot

The figures which purport to show that the world’s poor are emerging from poverty don’t add up

26 April, 2003

Dollar Lose
By John Brinsley

Dollar Heads for Losing Week Versus Euro

30 March, 2003

A Looming Monetary Collision:
Oil, The Dollar and The Euro
By Arjun Makhijani

Currency turbulence and a de facto competition between the euro and the dollar compounded by war and oil supply uncertainties could produce military and financial chaos

Head-To-Head On World Economic Dominance
By Geoffrey Heard

Dollar Vs Euro.The war in Iraq is actually the US and Europe going head to head on economic leadership of the world.

Budget 2003-2004
Budgeting The Demise Of Indian Agriculture
By Devinder Sharma

Union of India Budget 2003 - 2004 also is in line with the states unproclaimed aim of the industrialisation of Indian agriculture and the corporate take-over.

Gulf Bounty Is Drying Up in Kerala
By Amy Waldman

Kerala is going to face great financial crisis with the remittance from the migrant workers from the Gulf which is estimanted about 22 percent of the state's income fast diminishing. The state has to develop alternative sources of income.

Behind the scenes at the cricket world cup
By Mandisi Majavu

Is this cricket world cup the coming together of nations to celebrate sports; or just a money-making scheme that business make profit from once every four years?

Micro credit groups boost women enterpreneurship
By Maleeha Raghaviah

Women enterpreneurship in Kerala has received a tremendous boost under the Kudumbashree project which has its objective of elimination of poverty through the setting up of small enterprises managed by women.

“MONEY MAKES THE WORLD GO AROUND:
One Investor Tracks Her Cash Through the Global Economy”
An Inerview done with Barbara Garson

Alternative currency promotes fresh thinking
about sustainable economics
By C.B. Gaines

A History of Ithaca HOURS
By Paul Glover