Monthly Archives: April 2012

ILO Report Critical of Austerity Warns of Prolonged high unemployment

Posted on April 30, 2012 by haroldchorneyeconomist

A new report from the ILO’s International Institute for Labour studies entitled Better Jobs For A Better Economy edited by Raymon Torres and researched and written by a team of economists and labour market analysts including some 13 individuals  has … Continue reading →

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Schiller talks of negative impact of ‘new age of austerity’:Spain contracts again GDP falls 0.3%

Posted on April 30, 2012 by haroldchorneyeconomist

Yale university economist Robert Schiller is featured on CNBC’s Squawk Box Europe arguing that house prices may not yet have hit bottom and the new age of austerity was promoting recessionary lack of confidence. Schiller who is a very creative … Continue reading →

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Some European debt data

Posted on April 29, 2012 by haroldchorneyeconomist

Country           GDP billions euros   public debt              Debt to GDP     Unemployment% (4th quarter 2011) Germany         2,567               … Continue reading →

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Spanish unemployment 24.4 %;U.S. GDP up 2.2%:austerity not working.

Posted on April 27, 2012 by haroldchorneyeconomist

This mornings news is anything but positive. U.S. growth is still positive but it would have been 0.6 % greater had  government cuts not subtracted from the total, leaving U.S. growth in the first quarter still positive but only modestly … Continue reading →

Posted in austerity, deficit hysteria, deficits and debt, European unemployment, Greek sovereign debt crisis, Spain, Uncategorized, unemployment | Leave a comment

French unemployment rises for 12th consecutive month:austerity a bad bet

Posted on April 26, 2012 by haroldchorneyeconomist

Again no surprise but painful to report nonethess unemployment in France continues to rise for the 12th consecutive month as reported by INSEE. In metropolitan France it is now 9.7 % with the overall national rate even higher at just … Continue reading →

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UK negative growth no surprise: austerity leads to double dip recession.

Posted on April 26, 2012 by haroldchorneyeconomist

Britain has suffered a double dip recession according to the latest GDP data for the first quarter of 2012. The economy contracted in this quarter 0.2% after having contracted 0.3 % in the fourth quarter of 2011. This is no … Continue reading →

Posted in austerity, classical economics, deficit hysteria, deficits and debt, European debt crisis, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Alberta polls dead wrong but French poll shows Hollande likely to defeat Sarkozy in second round 54-46 % %

Posted on April 24, 2012 by haroldchorneyeconomist

Election polls or sondages as they are called in Québec are usually devoured by the media hungry for headlines. Of course, the methodology of polls, whether they were taken from a properly weighted and conducted random sample from the population … Continue reading →

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A Tale of Two Frances:Marine Le Pen 6.2 % in Paris, 27.5 % in Vaucluse

Posted on April 24, 2012 by haroldchorneyeconomist

When one analyses the first round French presidential election results in detail and examines the vote in the major cities and compares it with the regions some very striking differences emerge which illustrate the divide in French society today. For … Continue reading →

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France votes:Hollande 28.5 %; Sarkozy 27.1%;Le Pen 18.2%;Mélenchon 11.1%;Bayrou 9.1%;Joly 2.3%

Posted on April 22, 2012 by haroldchorneyeconomist

France the bastion of democracy has voted in the first round of the Presidential elections. As the polls suggested François Hollande of the Parti socialiste has finished just ahead of the President Nicholas Sarkozy of the UMP. In third place … Continue reading →

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More violent clashes in Quebec between student demonstrators and police over proposed tuition fees increase

Posted on April 21, 2012 by haroldchorneyeconomist

Both yesterday and today there have been further violent clashes between demonstrators opposed to the fee increases and the police in Montreal. Malicious property damage , personal injury to both protestors  and police and innocent bystanders have resulted. One has … Continue reading →

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