Debt repayments by low-income nations record high
By Nick Beams The genocide in Gaza, where bombs rain down every day killing thousands, destroying schools, hospitals and refugee centres and pulverising the facilities and resources necessary for life, leading to starvation and disease, is only the most egregious form of capitalist-imperialist violence against the world’s people, against life itself. Another
US financial system a “minefield of vulnerabilities”
By Nick Beams. Those pondering why the US Federal Reserve made a sudden and dramatic turn away from its previous insistence that monetary policy would need to remain restrictive, will find some of the answers in the latest annual report of the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC). In its report, issued the
Question mark raised over the world’s most important financial market
By Nick Beams. The current edition of the Economist, one of the world’s leading financial magazines, carries an extraordinary headline. It poses the question: “Is the world’s most important asset market broken?” The article deals with significant problems in the $25 trillion US Treasury market where government debt is bought and sold, and which
The bond market turmoil: The social implications
By Nick Beams The headline financial news this week, announced on Wednesday afternoon, was the US Federal Reserve decision to maintain interest rates on hold for the second meeting in a row. But a more significant decision came that morning with the move by the US Treasury to slow the pace
US Fed pauses interest rate hikes amid rising bond yields
By Nick Beams Interest rate payments on US debt will grow as yields rise and budget deficit increases. The US Federal Reserve has paused its interest rate hikes for the second meeting in a row and sent out some mixed signals about whether it will lift rates at its last meeting for
UN report says global economy could be heading for systemic crises
By Nick Beams One of the key features of the present situation is the increasing domination of the global economy by giant corporations and finance capital which has led to the reduction of the labour share of income from 57 percent in 2000 to 53 percent today. The latest UN Trade and
Bond prices fall, financial risks rise
By Nick Beams One of the key issues at work in the selloff is whether the Treasury market has the capacity to finance the ever-growing levels of US debt. The selloff in the $25 trillion US bond market, one of the foundations of the global financial system, is continuing. The yield on
IMF downgrades global growth forecast as global financial problems still loom large
By Nick Beams The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has slightly revised down its forecast for global growth, largely on the back of worsening conditions in the euro zone and China. It has stated that a “full recovery toward prepandemic trends appears increasingly out of reach, especially in emerging market and developing
Bond market “rout” a result of major structural shifts
By Nick Beams. There is a growing realisation in financial and media circles that the selloff in the US bond market, which has seen a rapid rise in interest rates, is the product of far-reaching shifts in global financial markets. The initial hope was that the turbulence was simply the product of
Fed pauses rate increases but indicates more to come
By Nick Beams The US Federal Reserve decided not to lift interest rates at its meeting yesterday, in line with market expectations. However, it signalled it could raise them again in at least one of its two scheduled meetings remaining for this year. After instituting a steep climb in rates, from near