Recent news hints that agencies like Standard and Poor’s, Moody’s and Fitch may downgrade their ratings of U.S. Treasury bonds. This is not good news, but it is fundamentally different from a decline in an individual’s credit score, a Dun…
Self-interest, not drama, guides China’s Hu
Winston Churchill’s maxim that ‘jaw-jaw is better than war-war’ also applies to economic issues. It is better to negotiate about finance issues and international trade than not to negotiate. But don’t expect too much substance to emerge from President Hu…
Push is coming to shove on state budgets
Democratic governor Pat Quinn of Illinois is being excoriated, along with a lame-duck Legislature, for pushing through sharp increases in both personal and corporate income taxes. There are many things to criticize. The increase was twice the 1 percentage point…
Nuclear power: It’s not the risk, it’s the uncertainty
Pendulums swing in public opinion and hence in public policy. Right now the pendulum seems to be swinging in the direction of nuclear generation of electricity. About two decades ago, in the wake of the 1979 incident at Three Mile…