The American Nomenklatura
Welcome to the world of crony capitalism.
Welcome to the world of crony capitalism.
On the heels of Forbes’ meeting with the World Bank comes news that China has surpassed the World Bank in lending to the developing world. The Financial Times estimates that over the past two years, China has made an estimated $110 billion worth of loans to Africa, South America and the Middle East. With China taking center stage in the U.S. political arena, could it also be taking over the globalization agenda? read »
On Jan. 6 the Fed released a very important document, albeit one with a boring headline: "Factors Affecting Reserve Balances of Depository Institutions and Condition Statement of Federal Reserve Banks." read »
At the World Economic Forum in Davos I've interacted or interviewed many CEOs and executive leaders. It's fascinating to hear their thoughts on the biggest challenges facing their industry. All are consistent--finding and grooming talent, growing organically versus inorganically, and nurturing innovation within their companies. I sat down with John Veihmeyer, Chairman of KPMG Americas, to talk about how CEOs are managing complexity caused by regulatory compliance, information management, government[...] read »
For the first time in modern history a major Internet economy is being shut down. The Egyptian government appears to have cut off web and mobile phone access to much, if not most of its citizens ahead of a weekend of mass demonstrations against Hosni Mubarak. The country’s controversial president has been in power for nearly 30 years and local people are calling for regime change. read »
“Within the next five years, we’ll make it possible for businesses to deploy the next generation of high-speed wireless coverage to 98 percent of all Americans,” enthused the president in his State of the Union address. The president didn’t explain how he proposes to get us from here to there. But most economists who pay attention to this sort of stuff agree that the best route is to make available as much electromagnetic spectrum as is technically practical, and then let the market decide how it’s[...] read »
Welcome! For a first column, we will explore the basics of a vibrant economy. read »
Median income growth has stalled. The third jobless recovery in a row persists. Indeed, “America is in disarray.” And economist Tyler Cowen thinks he knows the reason – a three-decade technological plateau that has not lived up to America’s innate assumption of economic possibility. read »
In an Orwellian twist of Obama rhetoric, the president tells Americans that we must keep spending because “Spending is investment.” Or at least that’s my take from the State of the Union speech. Spending is NOT investment when there is no return, and no prospect of payback, ever. More important, spending MUST be stopped, when the bank account is dry. What part of that statement does our Harvard-educated president not understand? read »