Economy

Peter Oborne opens a media can of worms

Just because we are encouraged to avert our gaze from the dependency of the media on advertising does not mean that interference by advertisers will cease. The relationship was poisoning the integrity of our media and journalists long before the Oborne revelations and it will continue doing so long after – or until we come up with a completely different model of media funding.

Yanis Varoufakis: No Time for Games in Europe

Our government is not asking our partners for a way out of repaying our debts. We are asking for a few months of financial stability that will allow us to embark upon the task of reforms that the broad Greek population can own and support, so we can bring back growth and end our inability to pay our dues.

Princes of the Yen: Central Banks and the Transformation of the Economy

Princes of the Yen offers a disturbing new look at Japan’s post-war economy and the key factors that shaped it. It gives special emphasis to the 1980s and 1990s when Japan’s economy experienced vast swings in activity. According to the author, the most recent upheaval in the Japanese economy is the result of the policies of a central bank less concerned with stimulating the economy than with its own turf battles and its ideological agenda to change Japan’s economic structure.

Two arrested after paint-bombs thrown at fancy bailiffs’ dinner

The CICM British Credit Awards, where tables cost from £3,000 to £4,000, are meant to celebrate the work of bailiffs, credit agencies and debt-collectors.

However, the black-tie event was interrupted by angry activists who blocked the doors, threw paint-bombs at tuxedo-wearing partygoers, and waved placards that read ‘social housing not social cleansing’.

Message From Greece

We hope that the calls and solidarity actions will grow even more on Greek and international level and we encourage you to do your best in turning the conflict over Greece in a change for all Europe and beyond.

Greece needs an exit option

There is no guarantee that Greece will be as successful with a return to the drachma, but there are reasons for optimism. First and foremost, the country now has both a primary budget surplus and a trade surplus. The primary budget refers to the national budget without counting interest payments. Greece is running a primary budget surplus of more than 3 percent of GDP (the equivalent of $500 billion a year in U.S. GDP). This means that if it didn’t have to pay interest on its debt, it would not need to borrow to make ends meet.

Greek Finance Minister on BBC Newsnight

“As a fan of the BBC, I must say I was appalled by the depths of inaccuracy in the reporting underpinning this interview (not to mention the presenter’s considerable rudeness). Still, and despite the cold wind on that balcony, it was fun!”