July 7, 2015 0

Ezra Kleinian hippie-distancing

By News Desk

Tweet A version of something I wrote on email struck a chord with some folks regarding the assertion "GMOs are safe": The term "safe" should be bifurcated into "safe for human health" and "safe for the general environment".

July 6, 2015 0

Can Greece Print Euros? No, Not Really; Parallel Currencies Now in Use

By News Desk

The Guardian discusses practical math in With a Return to the Drachma Unwanted, Could Greece Just Print its Own Euros? It is certainly physically capable of doing so: the Greek central bank owns a press in Holargos, a suburb of Athens, that once printed drachma and is currently one of 14 high-security currency printing works across the eurozone producing euro banknotes. But actually going ahead and printing unauthorised notes would amount to a declaration of war on the European Central Bank.

July 6, 2015 0

China Attempts to Prop Up Stock Market After Steep Declines; 1929 Flashback

By News Desk

Also consider Investors Still Not Convinced by Beijing’s Bid to End US$2.8 Trillion Market Rout . The brevity of a relief rally on Monday morning shows investors are yet to be convinced by the slew of measures announced after a weekend meeting of the State Council, China’s cabinet, chaired by Premier Li Keqiang.“Senior policymakers realise that, because of the leverage in the system, stock market declines create a ripple effect that could damage the wider economy, so this is all about preventing a spreading panic that could trigger a systemic crisis,†Lu Ting, head of research at Hong Kong-listed mainland brokerage HTSC, told the South China Morning Post. An initial 7 per cent rally for Shanghai and Shenzhen A shares in response to measures that included liquidity support for the state-backed margin lender China Securities Finance Corporation from the central bank had faded by the lunch break, with the Shenzhen Composite Index falling back into negative territory