Sublime

me https://t.co/LrYSrBIGXH

The following list comes from Michael Pettis, a very incisive commentator on global economics. It is probably one of the best single pieces you can read on how to identify problem countries in advance. Here is a slightly edited version of Michael Pettis’s five things that matter.3 1. Debt levels matter. The best way to measure them is as total debt

... See more

J. S. Morgan’s core business was short-term trade finance, “discounting bills,” as it was called. Its primary customers were American cotton or iron merchants. They typically sold their goods on credit, taking back a piece of paper, or “bill of exchange,” which could be cashed at a specific bank such as Barings at some set future date. If a merchan

... See more

there is a well-known pattern in government behavior called financial oppression: There exists an alternative to outright default. “Financial oppression” (imposing on creditors real rates of return that are either negative or artificially low) has been used repeatedly in history in similar circumstances. Investors should be prepared to face financi

... See more