Death Force Hits New Zealand

Naturally enough, and like any author, I'm anxious for indications of how 'Death Force' is faring in the shops. So I was pleased to see on the Mighty Ape online bookshop in New Zealand it was one of the most popular books of the week. It's a small market, true. But if it can work there, it can work other places.

Die Welt

It's not often I get a by-line in Die Welt, but they ran my Bloomberg column on bankers.

Devaluation Doesn't Work

There is a lot of nonsene out there being pushed as economic wisdom. One of that worst is that the collapse of the pound will lead to the revival of the UK ecomomy. It's not going to happen. Today's terrible industrial production figures make that clear. Output fell by another 2.2% in December, and is now 10% down on its peak. Of course, it is hard to export when the whole world is in recession, but there should be some signs of stability by now. If Britain could devalue its way out of trouble, we would have been booming all through the 60s and 70s. In reality, the UK needs a strong currency, and it is not going to have that until the government gets to grip with taxes and spending.

Bankers Slip To The Bottom Of The Pile

I was pleased to see my Bloomberg column on how bankers are being turned on by their wives and mistresses picked up plenty of places this morning - it is running on two of my favorites sites, RealClearMarkets and FT Alphaville. The most interesting response came from another blogger Mrs Robinson, who's take on the story is well worth reading.

Win A Signed Copy of Death Force

Over on the All In London website you can win a signed copy of Death Force,

Reykjavik On The Thames

Britain isn't quite Iceland yet but it's economy looks in more and more trouble by the day. There has been a lot of glib talk about how the collapse in sterling will help out the British economy. But that ignores our reliance on imports. I noticed today that both Ford and Carlsberg said they were planning to raise their prices to take account of the fall in the value of sterling. We'll see a lot more of that in the year ahead. The net result is that inflatin will remain stubbornly high even as we move into a full-blown recession. One result will be to lower consumer spending even further, hitting demand. Another is that the Bank of England will have to think twice about lowering interest rates any furher. In a worse case scenario, it might even have to raise them. If that happened, the economy really would be plunged into a full-scale depression.

The Big Thrill Features Death Force

Death Force is highlighted in this month's issue of The Big Thrill. You can read about it here.