Posts From Ray Pierce
DURING HIS decade-long legal battle with the Swiss authorities, Rudolf Elmer, a bank whistleblower, has endured 48 prosecutorial interrogations, spent six months in solitary confinement and faced 70 court rulings. None, though, has been more important than the decision by Switzerland’s
IT HAS been a nervy few days for financial markets. A sell-off in bond markets, prompted by monetary tightening in America, this week infected global stockmarkets, too. The S&P 500 share-price index fell by over 3% on October 10th, its
WHEN Wang Xianchen, a Chinese official in the early 1500s, tired of the scheming of imperial politics, he returned to his home in the southern city of Suzhou for a simpler life. He planted gnarled trees and built up rocky
Britain’s war on dirty money lacks oomph
WHEN Bill Browder investigated a $ 230m fraud perpetrated by Russian officials against his investment company, Hermitage, he uncovered a money trail that led to several financial centres, including London. At least $ 30m of the stolen money flowed into
WHY do economies grow, and why might growth outstrip the natural world’s capacity to sustain it? There are few more important questions in economics. The answers require a working grasp of the mechanisms underlying growth. For the progress that the
ONE LUNCHTIME around 1960 a professor proposed a wager to a colleague. Flip a coin and call “heads” or “tails”. If you call right, you win $ 200. If you call wrong, you pay $ 100. This is a favourable
ONE of Dianne Burns’ most important retirement plans involved a dapple-grey horse named Scout. The former forensic scientist had dreamed of riding once she stopped work. So it was a happy coincidence when she discovered that her financial planner—who advises
The IMF appoints a new chief economist
THE International Monetary Fund (IMF) used to be known for its unwavering advocacy of the “Washington consensus”, a set of free-market policies including free capital flows and fiscal consolidation. Nowadays it is a little more introspective—or, perhaps, open-minded. On October
Australia’s biggest banks are in the dock
BANKS often face conflicts of interest when it comes to advising their customers. The regulators who are supposed to stop the abuses that can result are not always up to the job. But when wrongdoing does finally come to light,
IT IS a warm morning on Bondi Beach. Simon and Sophia are drinking coffee on a terrace while athleisure-clad millennials stroll by. The young American couple, both management consultants, came to Sydney from New York for a working holiday. Both