Should central banks publish their interest rate forecasts?

By: Stefan Gerlach, University of Frankfurt

No. The level of uncertainty is simply too high.

Is US inflation at 8%?

By: Wolfgang Münchau

Some estimates suggest that we are consistently underestimating the rate of US inflation. While I am largely agnostic on this particular issue, I strongly believe that we need a debate about how we measure prices. (Note to readers: The guestbook entries are working again.)

Private versus Public Banks: The academic evidence

In France, about two thirds of the banking system is owned by the public sector. In Germany, that proportion is even higher – about 75%. In Spain, the public sector owns no banks outright, but the public sector is still a dominant player among the savings banks. In Italy, the situation is interesting. In 1990, Italy had a similar banking structure to Germany, with about 70% of the banking sector stated-own. That proportion went down to 9% by 2005.

 The creation of a single European financial market is often viewed as one precondition for the success of monetary union in the long-run. The EU’s Financial Services Action Plan is one part of the process towards a harmonized financial sector in the EU. But for the euro area specifically, the ambitions the ambitions should go beyond...

A crisis is in store for Spain's election victor

Whoever wins Sunday's Spanish elections will have to sort out a huge mess. Spanish house price are set to fall by 50% in real terms, as the country's bubble-growth model is imploding.

The UK can no longer rely on being cool

Economic reality is catching up with the UK. The UK's economic miracle was little more than an overlong joyride on the back of an overlong asset price bubble.

The death of German corporatism

It was always clear that German corporatism would not survive the first half of the 21st century. What was less clear was how long this process would last and which form its destruction would take. Two important events last week greatly accelerated that process.

Forget about deflation

A global deflationary depression is highly unlikely even if the credit crisis has systemic effects. The real risk stemming from the Federal Reserve's interest rate policies is a meltdown in global bond markets.