1929: The Great Depression

Wales Prepares for No-deal Brexit

The Welsh government today cleared its diary in the assembly for ministers to announce one by one what the impact would be of leaving the EU in 66 days without a deal.

Paradise Papers: Tax Haven Secrets of Ultra-rich Exposed – BBC News

Economic Update: Politicians Faking It

Trump's Economy Is Great for Billionaires, Not for Working People

THE GUARDIAN: Instead of giving tax breaks to billionaires and large corporations, we must demand that they pay their fair share

Donald Trump tells us the US economy is “absolutely booming”, the “strongest we’ve ever had” and “the greatest in the history of America”.

Well, at his Mar-a-Lago country club where the price of admission has doubled to $200,000, he is right. The economy could not be better for the top 1% and corporate America.

In 2017, the top 10 corporate executives in America saw their combined compensation skyrocket by over 60% from the year before soaring to $1.85bn.

The top 25 hedge fund managers on Wall Street made over $15.3bn in compensation in 2017, up 40% from 2016 – the highest in four years. Incredibly, this $15.3bn is nearly double what all 140,000 kindergarten teachers in America made last year.

Not surprisingly, since Trump was elected, the five richest people in America have seen their wealth go up by over $100bn and corporations have announced over $1tn in stock buybacks in 2018 alone.

Yes, under Trump, the economy is “absolutely booming” for the billionaire class and corporate America. But for working families, the economy is not doing so great. » | Bernie Sanders | Wednesday, January 16, 2019

'Ridiculous': Report Ivanka Trump Could Lead World Bank Meets Scorn

THE GUARDIAN: First daughter’s name said to be ‘floating around Washington’ but it wouldn’t be her first unconventional role

The Financial Times reported on Friday that the name of Ivanka Trump is “floating around Washington” regarding the need for a new president of the World Bank.

The role will soon be open due to the surprise departure of the current president, Jim Yong Kim. But on politics Twitter, at least, the idea that his replacement might be the first daughter met with widespread derision.

“Of all the people in US who could be World Bank President,” tweeted California Congressman Ted Lieu, sarcastically, “the most qualified is Ivanka Trump, who lost her fashion line & happens to be the daughter of @POTUS. I see.” » | Jamiles Lartey in New York | Saturday, January 12, 2019

Global Capitalism: Huge Risks for Economy and Politics - What We Can Expect [Jan 2019]

Germany Prepares for an Economic Downturn

SPIEGEL ONLINE INTERNATIONAL: Clouds are gathering on the horizon of the global economy and the risk of a recession is growing. Many experts believe that the international banking system is unprepared and Germany has begun getting ready for the worst.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is something like a global weather station for the economy, carefully registering even the tiniest of disruptions to the world economic stage. And in the past week, IMF analysts have concluded that a storm is brewing on the horizon.

Its experts carefully register every impulse, and in the past week they've concluded that the forecast is looking increasingly dark. "I see storm clouds building," David Lipton, the IMF's first deputy managing director, recently said in London, adding that the global banking system isn't ready for another downturn. "The work on crisis prevention is incomplete," he said.

The economic outlook is worsening almost by the week. A general consensus among economy experts has emerged that 2019 will be worse for all large national economies than last year. Stock exchanges already began dropping last year, with Germany's blue-chip index DAX losing almost 20 percent of its value in 2018 while the Dow Jones also showed losses. » | Christian Reiermann | Tuesday, January 8, 2019

Britain Is Crippled by Record Personal Debt While the Tories Boast of a Boom

THE GUARDIAN: UK households are taking on more debt than ever to make ends meet. In this climate, rising employment figures mean nothing

With a government torn apart by Brexit and a country falling to pieces because of that government, Conservative MPs have a fallback they sometimes like to use as proof of their success: the UK has record employment levels. It’s a proud badge of honour they wear, fetishising work – it doesn’t matter what that work looks like or how much it pays – because it’s supposedly a sign that the economy is doing well. The thing is, people might be in work, but they’re also in debt. » | Maya Goodfellow | Monday, January 7, 2019

Fat Cat Friday Should Shatter the Myth That Britain’s Bosses Deserve Their Pay

THE GUARDIAN: Top executives now earn 133 times more than the average worker. They can no longer rationalise this growing inequality

Please raise a glass – if you’re not doing Dry January, of course – to our nation’s exceptionally talented CEOs and their superhuman work ethic and skills. For the average executive to have earned the equivalent of a worker’s average annual salary by 4 January is surely testament to an unimaginable amount of hard work and graft. They must truly deserve the 11% hike in their salaries since last year, unlike millions of good-for-nothing slackers like nurses and teachers who have endured years of stagnating pay. » | Owen Jones | Friday, January 4, 2019

The Wall Street Crash of 1929

This BBC documentary from 2009 takes a fresh view of the 'Crash of 1929' and the subsequent global Depression, comparing aspects of that event with the most recent turbulence in 2008. Uploaded for educational purposes only. Any advertising that appears is unbidden.

Roubini Warns of 'Perfect Storm' for US Economy in 2020

Sep.18, 2018 -- Nouriel Roubini, chairman at Roubini Macro Associates and a professor at NYU Stern School of Business, explains why he sees a U.S. economic slowdown in 2020. He speaks on "Bloomberg Surveillance."

Steve Keen Says US Heading for 2020 Recession

Sep.19, 2018 -- Steve Keen, professor of economics at Kingston University, discusses inequality, Federal Reserve policy, house prices and the U.S. economy. He speaks on "Bloomberg Surveillance."

Richard Wolff: We Need a More Humane Economic System—Not One That Only Benefits the Rich

The partial shutdown of the U.S. federal government is entering its fifth day after a political impasse over President Donald Trump’s contentious demand for border wall funding. Funding for about a quarter of all federal programs expired at midnight on Friday, including the departments of Justice, Agriculture and Homeland Security. On Christmas Day, Trump said the shutdown will last until Democrats agree to fund his $5 billion U.S.-Mexico border wall, despite previously repeatedly claiming Mexico would pay for the wall. The shutdown is occurring as concern grows over the U.S. economy. U.S. stock markets are on pace to suffer their worst December since 1931 during the Great Depression. In response, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin held an emergency meeting with top financial regulators and also convened a separate call with top executives of six major banks. We speak to economist and professor Richard Wolff.

Markets Stage One of Worst Christmas Eves Ever, Closing Down More Than 600 Points as Trump Blames Fed for Stock Losses in a Tweet

THE WASHINGTON POST: The Dow Jones industrial average followed its worst week in a decade with a 653-point drop Monday, and President Trump once again took to Twitter to interject himself into financial markets.

As blue chips sank even deeper into the red after weeks of chaos, Trump tried to assign sole blame for the sell-off to the Federal Reserve, likening the central bank to a golfer who “can’t putt.”

“The only problem our economy has is the Fed,” the president said in a tweet. “They don’t have a feel for the Market, they don’t understand necessary Trade Wars or Strong Dollars or even Democrat Shutdowns over Borders. The Fed is like a powerful golfer who can’t score because he has no touch — he can’t putt! » | Thomas Heath & Philip Rucker | Monday, December 24, 2018

My comment:

This must surely be what a 'stable genius' can do for the economy! We are all already so tired of winning! He warned us that we would be! »

German Amazon Workers Demand a Collective Contract

Every Christmas the German workers of Amazon attempt to strike and disrupt the company’s profits during the busiest time of the year. The management uses bonuses to tempt workers to break the strike.

Banker Says Another Recession Would Be Good for Business

"I don't look at a recession as a bad thing." - Jamie Dimon, the CEO of JP Morgan Chase (one of the big banks that crashed the economy 10 years ago).

Adresse à la Nation | Emmanuel Macron

La colère qui s'exprime aujourd'hui est juste à bien des égards. Elle peut être notre chance.

London Prime Property Hit by Steep Price Falls

Homebuyers in London’s most exclusive central postcodes are securing typical discounts of more than £350,000 off the asking price of properties as reductions reach their highest level in almost a decade.

The US Senate Has Left Us Vulnerable to the Big Bank Criminals

The Senate passed legislation that's gonna repeal protections that had been put in place with the Dodd Frank Act. Ring of Fire’s Mike Papantonio and Peter Mougey discuss this issue.