Author Archives: ffwiley

Do you need a break from public policy buzzwords? Are you happy to go back to the days when cliffs were discussed occasionally on the National Geographic channel but not analyzed ad nauseum on CNBC? Are you tired of reading … Continue reading →

Update (May 17) – Here’s another analysis of recent improvements in the FY2013 budget deficit, this one from Charles Biderman of TrimTabs (via ZeroHedge). Biderman keeps close tabs on the budget and offers a breakdown of the changes that we’re … Continue reading →

Way back in early March – before we witnessed new extremes in sloppy island bailouts and malicious economist witch hunts – I promised to “wield a ruler” and clear up some fallacies about the lengths of the things. The idea is … Continue reading →

Here are two of the objections to Saturday’s “More Reasons to Call Off the Reinhart-Rogoff Witch Hunt” from a commenter (on Seeking Alpha) who contributed a competing list of “pet peeves” to counter my list:

On Monday, I posted an article that one pundit introduced on Twitter with the words: “Ladies and gentlemen, we have a Reinhart-Rogoff defender.” Needless to say, comment threads on the sites that published my article have been interesting.

This morning’s quarterly bank lending survey capped off a series of indicators with a bleak message for the Eurozone economy. Almost all signs suggest that Europe continues to spiral downwards.

Update (May 2): We’re finally seeing more fair-minded commentators taking a balanced view of Reinhart’s and Rogoff’s research. After investigating data discrepancies for New Zealand (pointed out by reader Margaret below), Bloomberg’s Matthew C. Klein called out the three University … Continue reading →

When data released last year showed China losing its appetite for U.S. bonds, it didn’t cause much concern. Sure, some bloggers took notice, such as the always alert Tyler Durden(s) in this post. But most pundits saw other countries picking … Continue reading →

This is the final article and summary of the “Deadly Sins” series. For those who missed the first six articles, we’ve combined a cold, hard look at the way the government presents its finances with a gaming challenge you might … Continue reading →