China Evergrande hit the news again Published by Hilliard MacBeth on Mar 25, 2022 China Evergrande hit the news again, with a surprising announcement that a creditor had seized US$2 billion of funds from a subsidiary of the company. Creditors are upset that one lender received preferential treatment from the restructuring process,... Read more
Russia threatens to use nuclear weapons Published by Hilliard MacBeth on Mar 17, 2022 Russia is threatening to use nuclear weapons in the current conflict with Ukraine if western countries intervene. Is there a significant possibility of a nuclear war? V. Putin issued a vague threat, but everybody thinks they know what he was talking about... Read more
Cost of crude oil could start a recession Published by Hilliard MacBeth on Mar 11, 2022 A doubling in the price of crude oil in a short period of time (a year or less) has been a reliable predictor of recession. In fact, every time in the post-WWII period when oil has doubled, there has been a recession. Will there be a recession after the... Read more
Rate hikes will test all the bubbles Published by Hilliard MacBeth on Mar 04, 2022 The Federal Reserve is ready to make an interest rate increase in mid-March. The Bank of Canada increased rates this week. Can economic activity withstand these rate hikes without experiencing a recession? The Bank of Canada hiked rates slightly on March... Read more