It’s always interesting to get an international perspective on the state of American economic affairs.  Germany’s Der Spiegel published a rather scathing article on the United States’ fiscal management (”Chancellor Merkel Visits the Debt President“), outlining the Obama Administration’s “Five Errors.”   We’ve condensed Spiegel’s criticisms below (though we recommend you read the whole article):

#1.  ”The US amassed much more debt during World War II, it is often said. That, though, is not true. According to conservative forecasts, Obama’s policies could end up being three times as expensive as US expenditures during World War II.” Read the rest of this entry »

With all the talk of “green shoots” sprouting up in the world economy, it should be pointed out that the fight against deflation is far from over.  In the United States, there appears to be a mild lull in the storm.  But in Europe, the situation continues to worsen.  Consider the following Wall Street Journal headline:
“Irish Consumer Prices Slid 4.7% in May”

The Journal writes,

Ireland’s consumer-price index fell 4.7% in May from a year ago, by far the sharpest of price drops across Europe and the worst here since 1933…. Read the rest of this entry »