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Mr. Bernanke Goes to War by Barry Eichengreen

In October 2010 Brazilian Finance Minister Guido Mantega warned of an impending ?currency war?. The United States, Britain, Switzerland and Japan, Mantega complained, were all simultaneously attempting to push down their currencies in an effort to export their way out of their economic doldrums. Their policies were in obvious conflict, since not every country can weaken its exchange rate against the others. This was a zero-sum game that could only come to grief.

Can the world avoid a fresh crisis? by Ian Bremmer

For better and for worse, globalization -- all the various processes by which ideas, information, people, money, goods, and services now cross international borders at unprecedented speed -- has been the primary geopolitical and economic trend of the past several decades. But the financial crisis and its aftermath have proven that no one has forgotten how walls are built, and this moment is in many ways more dangerous for the global economy's future than anything we experienced during the Cold War, threats of nuclear war notwithstanding.

The blinkers in Budapest - The Economist

According to the announcement on September 8th by György Matolcsy, the national economy minister, that the country will aim for a 2011 budget deficit of 3 per cent of GDP is the first sign the government has given that it will not fight too many battles simultaneously.

 

But it would only take a new shock, a sharp increase in risk-aversion, or a further forint slide, to force the country to return to the IMF, but this time with no cards left to play.

 

To deal with the deficit, let the tax cuts expire - Fareed Zakaria

The "Bush tax cuts," passed in 2001 and 2003, remain the single largest cause of America's structural deficit -- that is, the deficit not caused by the collapse in tax revenue when the economy goes into recession.

Those cuts are set to expire this year.

I understand the fear that this is not a good time to raise taxes. But the impact of marginal shifts in tax rates on growth is pretty unclear.

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