by Dan Mitchell | Aug 14, 2011 | Big Government, Blogs, Economics, Regulations
The governments of Spain, Italy, Belgium and (of course) France recently imposed 15-day bans on “short selling,” which means they are prohibiting people from making investments that would be profitable if certain stocks fall in value. According to the politicians, the...
by Dan Mitchell | Jul 5, 2011 | Big Government, Blogs, Economics, Taxation
If you want to understand how government intervention screws up markets and damages an economy, there are two new publications worth reading. First, pick up a copy of Reckless Endangerment, a new book by Gretchen Morgenson of the New York Times, and Joshua Rosner, an...
by Dan Mitchell | May 15, 2011 | Bailouts, Big Government, Blogs, Regulations
Here are two superb articles on the financial crisis. First, from Peter Wallison at the American Enterprise Institute, we have a piece on the role of government housing subsidies. Since he warned, in advance, that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were ticking time bombs,...
by Dan Mitchell | Jan 5, 2011 | Bailouts, Big Government, Blogs, Government Spending, Monetary Policy
The news is going from bad to worse for Ireland. The Irish Independent is reporting that the Swiss Central Bank no longer will accept Irish government bonds as collateral. The story also notes that one of the world’s largest bond firms, PIMCO, is no longer purchasing...
by Dan Mitchell | Nov 18, 2010 | Bailouts, Big Government, Blogs, Economics, Government Spending
Ireland is in deep fiscal trouble and the Germans and the French apparently want the politicians in Dublin to increase the nation’s 12.5 percent corporate tax rate as the price for being bailed out. This is almost certainly the cause of considerable smugness and joy...
