A feature of the UK housing market is the low quantity of new houses built compared to the long term growth in demand. Despite high house prices, firms are unable / unwilling to build as many as market forces dictate. The supply of housing is price inelastic. The lack of supply has meant that the …
The highest credit rating is a AAA rating with ‘stable outlook’. A AAA credit rating implies there is no remote chance of default on government debt. A negative AAA credit rating implies there is a chance of downgrading the debt to AA. A credit rating of BBB- or higher, it is said to be ‘investment …
Standard & Poor downgraded the US fiscal position from AAA to AA. This reflects the credit rating agencies believe that the US fiscal position has deteriorated and they are more pessimistic over long term fiscal consolidation in the US. It means that the rating agency feels the threat of US defaulting on its federal debt …
Readers Question: What have been the drivers of the mortgage default rate in the 2008 recession compared to the late 1980s/ 1990s? Despite the depth of the recession in 2008, the mortgage default rate in the UK has been lower in the current recession than in the early 1990s. The peak for home repossessions occurred …
Readers Question: I thought of an analogy and wondered if I am correct. Suppose there is a concert venue that seats 10,000 people. On one day, the Rolling Stones are scheduled to perform there. Tickets are nominally $50, but since the venue is likely to sell out, scalpers buy them up. Let’s assume that Rolling …
“Where and who creates the money?” Looks like Newton’s “Law of conservation of energy: Energy never be created nor destroyed”. To be more clear, I will explain with 2 examples. First case : I work in a big retail company in USA and get paid bi-weekly. How my company is getting money? Retail company makes …
Readers Question: Should Greece Leave the Euro? Arguments for and against Greece leaving the Euro. One thing is clear, the Greek situation is dire. Government debt is very high, yet extremely harsh austerity measures have only succeeded in pushing the economy back into recession and leading to much higher unemployment. Within the Eurozone, Greece is …
A two speed Europe refers to how, within the EU, economies are growing at different rates and are at different stages in the business cycle. For example, countries in the core of the Eurozone (Germany, Netherlands, France) have seen relatively good recovery since the recession. In these countries, unit labour costs have remained competitive, enabling …