How Fracking Changed the Economics of Oil Production Around the World
By James Meadway, DeSmog Blog
US shale oil is unusual, in being privately owned: most of the world’s oil reserves (over 70 percent) are in state hands.
Deflation and the eurozone: why falling prices aren’t always good news
By James Meadway, New Economics Foundation
As oil prices continue to fall, a strange phenomenon is making its presence felt across Europe: deflation.
The next financial crisis – not if but when
By James Meadway, New Economics Foundation
The latest World Economic Outlook from the International Monetary Funds (IMF) paints a gloomy picture of slowing growth across the world.
‘Democratic Wealth’: clearing a path to the future
By James Meadway, Open Democracy
There has been no fundamental reshaping, anywhere, of the market machine, however loud its critics have become.
Our Austerity Basics all in one place!
By Rob Hopkins, James Meadway, Transition Culture
Ever wondered what austerity actually means? Where the idea comes from? Whether it actually works?
A year on from Occupy and austerity is foundering
By James Meadway, nef
It’s one year since Occupy took over the churchyard at St Paul’s. Thwarted from their original plan to take Paternoster Square – opposite the London Stock Exchange, privately-owned – by its closure and surrounding with police, the Cathedral steps next door were turned into an impromptu forum. Over the next few months, Occupy, haphazardly and with no grand strategy in sight, managed to break through the omerta surrounding Britain’s financial services.
A Spanish bank run gathers pace
By James Meadway, nef
Like Greece before it, Spain is going through a slow-motion bank run. Spanish depositors, fearful for the safety of their cash, withdrew €74bn in the last month – a euro-era record, with deposits in Spanish banks falling by nearly 11% over the last year.
Europe: another round of failure
By James Meadway, nef
It took perhaps a little longer than usual, but the EU’s latest wheeze to rescue Europe’s struggling economies has again come apart at the seams. Borrowing costs for Spain have pushed back above 7% to their highest level since the single currency was formed. Greece will not meet its EU/IMF/ECB austerity targets. And even Germany has had its pristine triple-A credit rating tarnished by a “negative outlook” from ratings agency Moody’s.