Don’t Blame the Buyers, Blame the Suppliers of Sovereign Debt

According to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), its 33 member countries will almost double government borrowing from 2007 to 2011 to the tune of $19 trillion. In the face of this ramp in borrowing (and spending) bond investors are supposed should sit back and calmly continue to absorb all the sovereign requests … Read more

Kyle Bass Reiterates the Case for A Sovereign Debt Default in Japan

Hedge fund manager Kyle Bass, managing partner at Hayman Investments, earned his claim to fame by predicting the crash in housing prices and the financial crisis that would follow. Now, he has focused his cold stare on the bubbles in sovereign debt in developed economies. The folks at CNBC’s Strategy session interviewed Bass last week … Read more

Stockman Takes Umbrage with 40 Years of Republican Fiscal Policies

If David Stockman, former director of the Office of Management and Budget under President Ronald Reagan, created the political party of “Fiscal Conservatives,” I might have to give serious consideration to signing up. For now, I have to settle for non-partisan organizations like the Peter G. Peterson Foundation who work hard to promote fiscal discipline … Read more

“Collateral Damaged” Tackles America’s Addiction to Debt and Credit

“Collateral Damaged: The Marketing of Consumer Debt to America” by Charles R. Geisst is a detailed and captivating examination of the history and growth of consumer debt in America. The book scrutinizes the political, cultural, social, and financial forces that converged to inflate America’s tremendous bubble in consumer credit. Geisst reaches all the way back … Read more

Greek Finance Minister Blames Markets for “Attacking” His Country

“The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender.” (Proverbs 22:7, New International Version) This proverb is understood all too well by anyone who has become impoverished by severe indebtedness. I thought of this proverb as I read a Reuters article titled “Eurozone gives Greece 30 days to show good … Read more