The Bailout Cycle

Neil Irwin with the latest on Cyprus:

FA Insights is a daily newsletter from Business Insider that delivers the top news and commentary for financial advisors. Buffett's Favorite Valuation Metric Has Surged Over 100% And That Isn't A Good Thing (Pragmatic Capitalism)

I usually dread spending time in airport terminals. Drab decor, lousy food, mounted TVs playing CNN on a loop — the sooner I can board my flight, the better.

From the second quarter the government has unleashed a lot of projects, and that has started to be felt in the economy, but it’s not a very healthy recovery yet BEIJING — China’s economy picked up in November, but a broader global recovery remains fragile and patchy, a clutch of factory surveys suggested on Monday, with activity elsewhere in Asia remaining subdued amid depressed demand from the developed world.

Central bankers respond to every debt crisis as if they were all created equal. As such, they are willing to pile debt and promises upon debt and promises. In cyclical recessions the strategy eventually "works" using the term loosely. In reality, such kick-the-can strategies will eventually blow sky high, which is precisely where we are today, with Bernanke is scratching his ass, wondering why his policies are not working.

LOTS of people around the internet have lots of things to say about the latest twists and turns in Europe. I've been letting events percolate over the last few days and trying to take a broader view. You should all know, by the way, that the print edition's coverage of the ongoing crisis has been excellent and very thorough (see especially this, and this).