NEW YORK | By Daniel Altman | In economics there are few axioms and fewer laws. The science, if it can be called that, lacks the certainty of mathematics and the elegance of physics, which may be why quite a few run-of-the-mill mathematicians and physicists turn out to be excellent economists.
BEIJING | Via Caixin Magazine | Chinese SOEs, the state behemoths, use systems that make dictators of top managers, a situation that must be addressed for corruption to be rooted out. Appointed outside directors, and learning from advanced economies such as Britain, can be a solution, he magazine believes.
SAO PAULO | By Marcus Nunes | The ‘peddlers’ of fiscal stimulus who say monetary policy (the Fed) is powerless at the ZLB-LT, and the inflation “nutters” have both done a grave disservice.
NEW YORK | By Ana Fuentes | For the IMF, it’s time for Europe’s fiscal union. Unless the 17 members of the euro zone are willing to lose some control over their budgets in favor of an insurance program and do common borrowing, bailout crisis like Cyprus’ are likely to cripple them, the Washington-based fund’s said in a report.
BANGALORE | By Srikanth Vasuraj | Indian economy needs a push. After a lull of almost 3 years in bringing in reform initiatives, due to political one-upmanship by the opposition parties, we have seen some key reforms passed Parliament in recent months. Whilst these are not expected to produce results overnight, they will become performance benchmarks for whoever forms the government after the 2014 general elections.
SAO PAULO/ NEW YORK | By Marcus Nunes and Ana Fuentes | Since Larry Summer’s withdrawal, Janet Yellen seems to be the clear candidate to replace Bernanke at the U.S. Fed. However, for Marcus Nunes, the choice is clear: former White House Council of Economic Advisors chair Christina Romer should be the one because she “shows an understanding Bernanke lacks”. Other members of The Corner team are strongly supporting Stanley Fisher. Time for readers to bet (and speculate).
NEW YORK | By Ana Fuentes | In a few months, Google has definitely managed to get tons of publicity by limiting Glass to some selected users: tech reporters, actors and opinion makers who are all posting their pictures and videos wearing the gadget and being the brand’s best PRs. However, Glass has raised privacy concerns in many parts of the world. In Europe, the networked frames are not likely to get to the shops in years.
WASHINGTON | By Jeff Madrick via The Next New Deal | Wall Street has responded well to Summers’s withdrawal, but Main Street would also be better off without an inflation hawk leading the Federal Reserve.
SAO PAULO | By Marcus Nunes | That´s because it can´t be simply called “policy”. Over time the Fed´s economic growth projection has been falling, and after it drops a few notches the Fed introduces something “new” (or “surprising”).
MADRID | By J.P. Marin Arrese | When it comes to make a decision, a central banker is not supposed to hesitate, otherwise bewilderment and dismay will take in and lead to utter economic disarray. Mr Bernanke is bound to keep his word about tapering. And he has very little time to deliver before leaving office.