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The US dollar is softer against most major currencies.  The still expansionary FOMC statement, the BoJ’s extension of Q/E overnight and the conclusion of the EU finance ministers’ meeting yesterday may have helped ease tensions.  However, the dollar was already beginning to soften ahead of these events after failing to extend gains in early March.  [...]

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Popular myth and, allegedly, the laws of aerodynamics have it that the bumblebee should not be able to take flight. Yet still, our good bumblebee refuses to be pulled down by such details and year after year it takes flight as if nothing has happened. This allegory applies, with some imagination, to Japans economy too. [...]

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I was talking to a friend of mine who does emerging market investing for a living and I asked him what he made of recent China-bullish comments by Stephen Roach. 
The Morgan Stanley Asia head was in Germany speaking to German business daily Handelsblatt last week. The guys from Handelsblatt wrote up a piece called [...]

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AIB has the ‘worst loan book’ ever seen in Europe – Irish, Business – Independent.ie
China Blames U.S. for Strained Relations – NYTimes.com
FT.com – Gideon Rachman – Japan edges from America towards China
Why do journalists expect to have credibility? – Glenn Greenwald – Salon.com
EconomPic: Is the Consumer Relevering?
Vitamin D lifts mood [...]

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When former Morgan Stanley chief Asian economist Andy Xie comments on the United States, he focuses on a bailout nation keen on perpetuating a bubble economy predicated on malinvestment and overconsumption.  In this he sees parallels with Japan and its long malaise.
Japan has experienced two decades of economic stagnation since the collapse of the infamous [...]

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Morgan Stanley – Global Economic Forum – Debating Debtflation
FT.com – Pandit blames Citi’s woes on short selling
Marshall Auerback: A tale of two recoveries – Germany and Malaysia, Part II
Stuck in neutral – what Japan’s rebalancing can teach us – Michael Pettis
U.S. lawmakers launch push to repeal NAFTA | Reuters
Economist’s View: [...]

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This is a post by Edward Hugh, who also blogs at Global Economy Matters.
Global manufacturing activity continued to expand in February, albeit at a slightly weaker pace than in January. At 55.2, down slightly from 56.1 in January, the JPMorgan Global Manufacturing PMI posted its second highest reading in almost four years. The average reading [...]

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Edward wrote a piece about Japan’s government net asset value falling below zero. He thought it would make sense if I gave you an alternative view using Richard Koo’s latest thinking about the Japanese experience, especially given the parallels to the U.S. regarding balance sheet recessions.
Before I get to Koo, I should add that, for [...]

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Bloomberg reports:
The Japanese government’s net assets in 2009 may have fallen below zero for the first time, the Nikkei newspaper reported, citing an unidentified government official. The result, which includes the central and regional governments, may add to pressure for the government to reduce bond sales, the paper said. Net assets of the central government [...]

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I referenced Matt Taibbi’s latest work at Rolling Stone “Wall Street’s Bailout Hustle” recently when talking about a movie on Ponzi schemes and fraud that aired on 60 Minutes. I liked the piece and recommend you read it – fully aware of the awaiting hyperbole Taibbi uses to hype his case.
The interesting bit is Taibbi [...]