Author: John E. Charalambakis

By: John E. Charalambakis | On: May 14, 2015 |

Dioskouri Brothers Confronting a Joyful Disorder: Bonds, Yields, and Negative Equilibrium

Over the course of the last two weeks, we have been observing a twist in the bond markets. Yields are rising and consequently bond prices dropping. More than $420 billion […]

By: John E. Charalambakis | On: April 28, 2015 |

A Walk Down the Elysian Fields: Cicero Meets Maimonides to Discuss Imbalances and Negative Equilibrium

This past Monday we posted an article by Chairman Paul Volcker on the need for radical financial reform (see     http://stage.blacksummitfg.com/2978).  Chairman Volcker wrote “it is too clear that […]

By: John E. Charalambakis | On: April 22, 2015 |

Negative Equilibrium: The Sustainability of the Unsustainable

In its recent World Economic Outlook, the IMF questioned the sustainability of the current growth trajectory around the globe. This should not have been a surprise given the levels of […]

By: John E. Charalambakis | On: April 8, 2015 |

White Knights in a Festival of Fools: The Tale of a Dangerous Encounter

Around the globe fundamentals are being ignored. Unsustainable debt keeps rising, the equity markets of dysfunctional economic unions seem to “thrive”, unprecedented monetary measures are implemented and a Leviathan state […]

By: John E. Charalambakis | On: March 29, 2015 |

Lorca on Headwinds and Tail Risks: It’s Five O’clock at the Crossroads of Liquidity and Volatility

Could the markets suddenly unravel? Of course they could. The fiat monetary system is like a mirage, it can tumble because of underestimated circumstances. Imagine for example Greece abruptly leaving […]

By: John E. Charalambakis | On: March 11, 2015 |

Drying Up The Collateral Base

Since 1873 the world has suffered two periods of great deflationary pressures: the first one from 1873-1893, and the second during the Great Depression in the 1930s. We may be […]

By: John E. Charalambakis | On: March 3, 2015 |

“Quanto Sia Vana Ogni, Quanto Fallace Ciaschedum Disegno”: The Economics of Turmoil, and the Financing of Dysfunctionalities in the Midst of Volatile Markets

Lorenzo the Magnificent (the scion of the Medici banking family), whose lending institution dominated not only Florence but much of Europe, was also a poet influenced by Horace and Catullus. […]

By: John E. Charalambakis | On: February 16, 2015 |

Overfed but Still Malnourished: The Aegean Sea Meets Singapore

About a year ago in a meeting we had in Warsaw, Poland I contrasted Jamaica and Singapore. The contrast was based on a simple observation/fact, which stated that those two […]

By: John E. Charalambakis | On: February 5, 2015 |

Warning: Head-On Collision Ahead

Close to twenty years ago, the Eurocrats decided to defy the laws of gravity in economics, and they started designing a common currency without a fiscal union. Their thinking was […]

By: John E. Charalambakis | On: January 21, 2015 |

Fait Accompli: Searching for Answers Where Answers Cannot Be Found

As it is widely expected, the ECB will unveil today its own version of QE. Welcome to a dead-end where central banks may resemble Prometheus bound by chains made by […]