1. On policy announcement #1: the government is spending too much and throwing money away on an economic stimulus plan that will fail!
2. On policy announcement #2: sure we would spend 90% as much money, but our dollars would be magic dollars that went to better places!
3. Prior to figures #1: the government spent all that money and it hasn't done anything!
4. ( Read more... )

"The ban was due to be lifted today and there had been speculation about plans by hedge funds to short sell the shares of the highly market-capitalised big four banks and drive down the value of their stock."
I have a vague understanding of all of the following concepts:

• hedge funds
• market capitalisation
• short selling

I'd be interested to hear someone's ( Read more... )

This evening I was out with a friend and since we are both without doubt consumed solely by the most cerebral of matters, the conversation soon turned to prat-level debate of the economic stimulus package and how it could, or should work.

( Rather long discussion about stimulus delivery technology, my wacky unstoppable theory of super-as-fiscal-lever, and economics as not much in the way of a science. )

Today a massive "stimulus package" was announced to "kickstart" the economy.

( And now I'm going to ramble on about that and other topics. )

I don't know nearly enough economics to understand this topic. Yet. Anyone want to explain it?

In this morning's Australian the fair-way-to-the-right Alan Wood questions the assumptions underpinning the economic model used in the Stern review on climate change. The article, not that lucid or explanatory, is hereThe somewhat-to-the-left ( Read more... )

Finished Affluenza, by Clive Hamilton and Richard Denniss of the Australia Institute, over the weekend ( Read more... )