Copper - according to Dan Gross -- is a good leading indicator of global economic activity.  It also is trading at close to a record high.  Other metals too. Last year, financial types used to joke…

For Saudi Arabia. Just how is the continuation of Saudi Arabia's dollar peg consistent with the IMF's long-term expectations for oil prices ($40-55 a barrel?) and the dollar (tend to depreciate ov…

I don't quite know what to make of the news that the Bush Administration won't seek more budget funds to rebuild Iraq.   At least not this year.Is it:A leading indicator of a broader reduction in the…

Eichengreen provides the best summary I have seen of competing views on the sustainability of large US trade deficits, along with the impact of sustained trade deficts on US external debt and the inv…

China's leaders talk of rebalancing the basis for Chinese growth, shifting from exports and investment to consumption.   That makes a lot of sense to me.  China's economy is every bit as unbalanced a…