Word: debts
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...course, it's not an absolute certainty. The easier option is even more quantitative easing - a euphemism for printing money, which is a dirty phrase economists never like to use. This would devalue the country's currency and sovereign debt, triggering a cycle of hyperinflation of the likes the U.S. has never seen...
Last year British Prime Minister Gordon Brown raised his country's top marginal rate for income tax to 50% from 40%. This came on the heels of a decision to borrow more than $1 trillion over the next five years, bringing his country's public debt to 79% of GDP by 2013. There has been the expected backlash from the superrich, but the majority of Brits don't seem to mind so much...
...similar strategy for managing a growing mountain of debt on this side of the Atlantic might work, with Washington increasing the top tax rate, say, from 35% to 45%. At the same time, rates could be increased by a smaller amount in lower brackets...
Also reshuffling consumers' debt priorities is the fact that loan-modification programs are making it more likely that consumers will be able to keep their home, even after they have missed some payments. Many banks, too, have cut back on credit-card lending, lowering limits and canceling cards of borrowers who are behind on their payments. Consumers, though, have come to rely on credit cards, especially in the bad economy, to help them make everyday expenditures. So the need to protect those cards has leapfrogged ahead of the desire to stay in a house...
...past couple of years haven't been kind to the European Union: it's been battered by the recession, buffeted by the Greek debt crisis and bypassed by a host of dynamic, emerging nations. The E.U. is desperate for a magic potion to revitalize its creaking economy, but it may have to settle for something less dramatic. On Wednesday, the European Commission will unveil a 10-year plan outlining the first tentative steps toward forming a common economic policy. The "Europe 2020" strategy is being touted as a way to boost competitiveness and growth over the next decade. Skeptics, however...