by Claus Vistesen: Copenhagenbr /br /According to a href="http://www.amazon.com/International-Economics-MyEconLab-1-semester-Student/dp/0321488830"the well known textbook in international economics/a by Maurice Obstfeld and Paul Krugman [1] the notion of original sin refers to the fact that many developing economies are not able to borrow in their own currencies but are forced to denominate large parts of their sovereign debt in order to attract capital from foreign investors. The argument then goes that if and when the goings get tough those countries will face difficulties paying off their liabilities and once the dust have settled the sin, as it were, has only become more binding when these same economies yet again venture onto international capital markets.p/p pIt is interesting to ponder this story in relation to Eastern Europe where far from being a sin the ability to denominate liabilities in foreign currencies such as Euros and Swiss Francs was almost seen as a virtue of ...

div class="body" pBy Claus Vistesen: Copenhagenbr //ppAccording to a href="http://www.amazon.com/International-Economics-MyEconLab-1-semester-Student/dp/0321488830"the well known textbook in international economics/a by Maurice Obstfeld and Paul Krugman [1] the notion of original sin refers to the fact that many developing economies are not able to borrow in their own currencies but are forced to denominate large parts of their sovereign debt in foreign currency in order to attract capital from foreign investors. The argument then goes that if and when the goings get tough those countries will face difficulties paying off their liabilities and once the dust have settled the sin, as it were, has only become more binding when these same economies yet again venture onto international capital markets./p pIt is interesting to ponder this story in relation to Eastern Europe where far from being a sin the ability to denominate liabilities in foreign currencies such as ...

I will forgive my readers if they think that my coverage of the recent debacle surrounding the potential for an imminent devaluation in Latvia has been a bit asymmetric. I mean, here I was; throwing fuel on the bonfire when it looked as if the cracks would make the edifice tumble and now as it seems that those cracks have been temporarily mended, I have gone silent. Well, not entirely then, and this post is thus to show that I actually do attempt to provide a balanced coverage.

Consequently, it seems as if the defences will hold in Latvia, but the apparent vote of confidence from the IMF and the EU commission and thus promises that the external loan financing will continue will not come for free. In order to make due on the loans the Latvian government is planning an unprecented range of spending cuts amounting to an astonishing 10%

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Peering out of the window on a rainy and cold Sunday (election) afternoon in Copenhagen it is difficult not to paraphrase, yet again, one the Economist's many classic cover stories but really; it sure has been one hell of ride this week in Latvia. One wonders whether politicians and economists in the central bank really want to see what happens come tomorrow as markets and the flow of news re-commence. The truth however is that they really do not have a choice. Consequently and what actually started a little more than a week ago has now steadily turned into the well known story of politicians and official authorities doing their best to maintain a crumbling edifice. Markets, analysts, and commentators, on the other hand, are beginning to smell a rat and this particular rat looks set to gnaw its way right to the core of the

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But for the many reasons we’ve described in these reckonings, we doubt that we’ve seen the last of this bear market.

“Either cuts in spending or increases in taxes will be necessary to stabilize the fiscal situation,” said Ben Bernanke in response to a question posed by a Member of Congress. Then, he added…

“The Federal Reserve will not monetize the debt.”

That last sentence has a ring to it. It reminds us of Richard Nixon’s “I am not a crook.” Surely, it is destined to make its way into the history books, alongside Bill Clinton’s “I did not have sex with that woman” and the builder of the Titanic’s “even God himself couldn’t sink this ship.”

Monetizing the debt is precisely what the Fed will do. But it will not do so precisely. Instead, it will act clumsily… reluctantly… incompetently… accidentally… and finally, catastrophically.

That’s our prediction, here at the Daily

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Sitting here on a murky Sunday morning in Copenhagen your author has had one of these recurring, but important epiphanies. He just realized, again, that the internet is a wonderful place; you think you know most of the interesting sites and most of the places which are compatible with your own wonkish inclinations. Nothing,as it were, could be further from the truth. Consequently I present you Khan Academy (hat tip: Indian Economy Blog) which seems to be me to be an absolutely invaluable resource of knowledge, sharing of insight, and easy to use learning tools. I can only reiterate Prashant's headline; this is indeed a fabulous resource. Here is the intro from the site;

The Khan Academy is a not-for-profit organization with the mission of providing a high quality education to anyone, anywhere. We have 700+ videos on YouTube covering everything from basic arithmetic and algebra to differential equations,

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For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL - April 28, 2009 - Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include: Dynavax Technologies Corp. (DVAX),Skyworks Solutions, Inc. (SWKS), Wilmington Trust Corp. (WL), Micromet Inc. (MITI) and Embraer (ERJ).

Get the most recent insight from Zacks Equity Research with the free Profit from the Pros newsletter: http://at.zacks.com/?id=4579.

Here are highlights from Monday's Analyst Blog:

Dynavax Surge Not Warranted

In early morning trading, Dynavax Technologies Corp. (NASDAQ: DVAX) shares shot up dramatically (36%). However, we don't see a clear reason for that.

The surge may be related to two pieces of news: phase III Heplisav data and the swine

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Dynavax: Surge on Heplisav Phase III or Swine Flu? In early morning trading, Dynavax Technologies Corp. (DVAX) shares shot up dramatically (36%). However, we don't see a clear reason for that.The surge may be related to two pieces of news: phase III Heplisav data and the swine flu breakout.The first piece of news is about its phase III candidate Heplivsav. This morning, the company announced the oral presentation of additional phase III clinical data for Heplisav hepatitis B vaccine in a session for late-breaking abstracts at the 44th Annual Meeting of the European Association for the Study of Liver Disease (EASL) in Copenhagen, Denmark.In the presentation, Heplisav met its primary endpoint in this phase III trial and demonstrated the vaccine's potential to provide more rapid and increased protection against hepatitis B viral infection and with fewer doses than the licensed ...

By Don Miller Associate Editor Money Morning In a surprise move yesterday (Monday), Oracle Corp. (ORCL) pounced on the opportunity to buy Sun Microsystems Inc. (JAVA), for about $7.4 billion in cash, stepping in after Sun’s talks with International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) fell apart. The deal gives Oracle control of server and software maker Sun’s coveted Java programming language and brings to a close Sun’s 27-year reign as the maverick of Silicon Valley. Java is the dominant language of the Internet and runs on over 1 billion devices worldwide. The acquisition is in line with Oracle’s overall business strategy. Oracle, the world’s second-biggest software maker, has dropped $34.5 billion on buyouts since 2005, making it the most aggressive software company in the hi-tech field. "The deal would strengthen Oracle’s position against IBM. Oracle has done a good job ...

With the U.S. stimulus package in place and the politically contentious cap-and-trade program looming, one sector is poised to benefit from both measures. Calling it the “Rodney Dangerfield” of renewable energies, Greg Reid, director of Clean Technology at Wellington West Capital Markets, says geothermal doesn’t get a lot of respect right now—but that’s about to change. In this exclusive interview with The Energy Report, Greg discusses how the political push, and monetary allocation, for clean energy are aligning the political and social stars over geothermal.

The Energy Report: Greg, in one of your articles, you call geothermal the “sleeping giant” of renewable energy. What makes geothermal so interesting to you?

Greg Reid: I think the political and social stars are starting to align here. One of the key things is political will. You now have the governments that are pushing renewable energy. There was a lot of concern that as …