Plain Sense Economics

So, who cares about the Greek debt crisis? It’s a small country, a long ways away.
Answers:
Greece as a Country: “We care!”
The Euro currency countries: “We care!”
Europe Generally: “We care!”
U.S. and International Financial Community: “We care!”
Stock Investors: “We care!”
All right, already.  Here’s why they care.
The background
Through a series of missteps over the last 10 years the [...]

Each year The Economist magazine publishes one of my favorite economic indicators – the Big Mac Index. This year The Economist said,
Our Big Mac index, based on the theory of purchasing-power parity, in which exchange rates should equalise the price of a basket of goods across countries, suggests that the yuan is 49% [...]

The headline in the March 9, 2009 national edition of the New York Times said, “A Rising Dollar Lifts the U.S. but Adds to the Crisis Abroad.” The article, by Peter Goodman, illustrates a fundamental action in currency exchange rates. When demand for goods or bonds or securities in one country goes up, that [...]