OB: It's the end of Dubai World as we know it

In this episode of Practical Economics Matt Stiles talks whether the bond default of Dubai World marks the beginning of a run on emerging markets or whether it is just a passing regional financial failure that will have little broader impact. Could Dubai World be the canary in the coal mine, foretelling a broader market crack-up just around the corner?

Check out Matt's blog at http://futronomics.blogspot.com/.




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NOTE: You can view the complete list of Practical Economics podcasts to hear more conversations with the experts. Tune in to the weekly economics round-table discussions to hear the latest from the Optimistic Bear.

OB: Now we know - the game of economics and finance is rigged

In this episode of Practical Economics, John Berling Hardy explains how the economy, and society, are driven by the actions of an elite group that understand and orchestrate what happens, ensuring they always come out on top. The current global recession only makes sense when explained in the context of someone orchestrating things. These same principals of unsporting gamesmanship also apply on the level of small groups, where someone is always taking unfair advantage of others. Understanding that this game exists, and how it is played, is an important part of protecting ourselves and our investments.

You can check out more of John's ideas at http://www.playingtheplayers.com/.

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NOTE: You can view the complete list of Practical Economics podcasts to hear more conversations with the experts. Tune in to the weekly economics round-table discussions to hear the latest from the Optimistic Bear.

OB: Eugenics resurrected

In this episode of Practical Economics, Alan Hall of The Socionomics Institute talks about his latest research paper on Eugenics, which traces the rise and fall of the movement with the ups and downs of social attitudes throughout history. If the patterns Alan sees hold true, we could see a massive resurgence in an acceptance of ideologies to cleanse humanity of unwanted genes as the depression progresses. Already there are signs that human life is being talked about as a cancer plaguing the world.

You can check out more about Socionomics at http://www.socionomics.net/.

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NOTE: You can view the complete list of Practical Economics podcasts to hear more conversations with the experts. Tune in to the weekly economics round-table discussions to hear the latest from the Optimistic Bear.

Round table economics discussion - 2009-11-17

In this episode of the Optimistic Bear round-table economics discussion our panelists (Elliott & Jeremy) talk about how the fact the US does not have much debt denominated in foreign currencies sets it apart from other nations which have had gret economic stresses. They also talk about how a deeper recession may not mean a break-down in civil society, but that it could lead to greater inneficiences as businesses and consumers start to keep greater supplies of goods to make up for a less predictable supply chain.

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Round table economics discussion - 2009-11-10

In this episode of the Optimistic Bear round-table economics discussion our panelists (Kevan & Jeremy) discuss the definitions of inflation and deflation, and whether government policy makers actually understand economics or are willfully driving the economy into a deeper hole. The Optimistic Bear's attempts at finding hope from economic trauma, with the belief that the depression will cure the mal-investments, are tempered by Jeremy's comparison to the rise of Fascism in 1930s Germany, and Kevan's concerns that the lack of US savings, and massive unfunded liabilities cannot possible lead to a happy ending.

This is a recording of the innaugural live broadcast of the Optimistic Bear weekly discussion.



NOTE: Tune in to the weekly economics round-table discussions to hear the latest from the Optimistic Bear. You can view the complete list of Practical Economics podcasts to hear conversations with the experts.

Round table economics discussion - 2009-11-05

In this episode of the Optimistic Bear round-table economics discussion our regular panel (Kevan, Elliot & Jeremy) discuss the Federal Reserve's decision to keep interest rates unchanged, and whether their hands are tied by the direction of the Treasury Bill markets. We also ponder the morality of "walking away" from properties that are worth substantially less than the mortgage, even when a home-owner is able to continue making payments.

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NOTE: Tune in to the weekly economics round-table discussions to hear the latest from the Optimistic Bear. You can view the complete list of Practical Economics podcasts to hear conversations with the experts.

Round table economics discussion - 2009-10-30

In this episode of the Optimistic Bear round-table economics discussion Matt Stiles joins us as a guest, filling in for our regular participants who are unavailable this week. We talk about the paradox of a declining stock market at the same time that the economic news was so positive this week and the financial stresses that local governments are experiencing with pension obligations. If the global economy is indeed about to head to new lows emerging markets that have been seeing some of the largest gains recently could catch the brunt of the decline. McDonald's recent decision to leave Iceland may be an indicator of things to come as globalization takes a breather.

Check out Matt Stiles' blog at http://futronomics.blogspot.com/.

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NOTE: Tune in to the weekly economics round-table discussions to hear the latest from the Optimistic Bear. You can view the complete list of Practical Economics podcasts to hear conversations with the experts.

Round table economics discussion - 2009-10-22

In this episode of the Optimistic Bear round-table economics discussion Elliott, Jeremy and Kevan talk about whether the dollar is set to fall even further and if the tech industry has turned the corner. Is Windows 7 really the engine that will "save" Microsoft? Has Apple found the magical formula to success even in a recession? The law of supply and demand is called into question, with concerns that it might not be sufficient to explain why currencies rise and fall (or at least the way most people interpret the law to work).




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Here is the link to the article about innovation in a recession that was mentioned in the podcast.

NOTE: Tune in to the weekly economics round-table discussions to hear the latest from the Optimistic Bear. You can view the complete list of Practical Economics podcasts to hear conversations with the experts.