Author: John E. Charalambakis

By: John E. Charalambakis | On: May 3, 2013 |

The Eureka Moment of the EU, Market Cyclicality, and Monetary Aggregates: Approaching a Crossroad

A few days ago Jose Manuel Barroso (President of the European Commission) declared that austerity has its limits. The Eureka moment which says that you cannot add by subtracting finally […]

By: John E. Charalambakis | On: April 13, 2013 |

Resilient Markets Searching for Vitality: Incompatible Affections and Inept Detachments

I do not think that we would have had a hard time if we desired to find alarming market signals. However, the message from the markets seems to be a […]

By: John E. Charalambakis | On: April 2, 2013 |

An Attempt to Explain Stagnation, Growth, and Inflationary Episodes in the Post Bretton Woods II Era: The Absorption Framework

I think we are all puzzled by the fact that despite the pumping of credit via monetary reserves in several western nations, we still feel that stagnation prevails and certainly […]

By: John E. Charalambakis | On: March 29, 2013 |

“It is Finished”: Financial Institutions, Economic Stability, and Hades

Last Thursday (March 28) professor Simon Johnson of the MIT (former chief economist of the IMF) published an excellent piece in his blog (http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/03/28/the-debate-on-bank-size-is-over/#postComment). Needless to say that nothing else […]

By: John E. Charalambakis | On: March 23, 2013 |

10 to Midnight in the Garden of Credit: Socrates Wonders About Cardinal Rules, Historical Precedents, Matter-Antimatter, and the Fantasy Era of Fiat Money Creation

The unfolding events – by the hour – in Cyprus shine light to a historical precedent: When the next crisis comes around bank deposits may not be spared. This is […]

By: John E. Charalambakis | On: March 17, 2013 |

Lasciate Ogne Speranza, Voi Ch’intrate: Dante Meets Pandora in Aphrodite’s Island a.k.a. Cyprus

In Dante’s Inferno, the poet is guided in the underworld by the great Roman poet Virgil. As he enters the gate of Hell (Inferno) the inscription reads “Lasciate ogne speranza, […]

By: John E. Charalambakis | On: March 5, 2013 |

At the Intersection of Geopolitics and Geoeconomics: Francafrique Meets Africom

Objective: The energy independence of Europe, the containment of China in Africa, and the development of African assets Goal: Breaking the energy ties between Russia and Europe, limiting the transfer […]

By: John E. Charalambakis | On: February 28, 2013 |

The Parallel Universe of Greece and Cyprus: Where Do they go from Here?

The dream became a nightmare for both Greece and Cyprus. Who is to be blamed for this? The purpose of this brief is not to present an outline for all […]

By: John E. Charalambakis | On: February 24, 2013 |

The Softening of Inflation Targets and the Trajectory of the Markets: Upswing or Downtrend?

There were three events last week that paved the way forward for the markets, namely: The minutes of the Federal Reserve Bank that exhibited some reservation about continuing accommodative monetary […]

By: John E. Charalambakis | On: February 15, 2013 |

On the Restless Efforts to Jumpstart the Global Economic Engine: Riding the Tide

In this week’s commentary we will briefly show how the buffer zones created by the world’s central banks are expected to result in above (recent) trend growth due to the […]