Comment, analysis and other offerings from Monday’s FT,
Clive Crook: It is never too early to fear inflation
Justified anxiety about long-term public debt will make the task of managing inflation expectations, and hence the operation of short- and medium-term monetary policy, even harder. Congress could help by coming up with a fiscal consolidation plan, writes Clive Crook.
Editorial comment: The legacy of Lehman Brothers
One year ago, the US authorities allowed Lehman Brothers to collapse, unleashing chaos. But they were right to allow Lehman to fail. They could not know how awful it would prove to be, and, when it comes to saving failing companies, governments should err on the side of inaction. Capitalism relies on the discipline provided by the lure of wealth and the fear of bankruptcy.
FT.com in-depth special: Lehman, the aftershock
On the eve of the one-year anniversary of Lehman Brothers’ collapse, read comprehensive reportage and analysis on the circumstances leading up to the bank’s failure – and the aftermath, by FT reporters and specialist commentators.
Book review: Madoff – The Man who stole $65bn
How did Bernard Madoff get away with it for so long, and more importantly, why did he do it? A new account, by Erin Arvedlund, as hastily written as it is, seeks to frame an answer for these questions and is a gripping read, writes John Kay.
Towards a better measure of well-being
There is more to life than GDP estimates, writes Joseph Stiglitz, University professor at Columbia University and recipient of the Nobel Prize in economics in 2001. After chairing French president Nicolas Sarkozy’s International Commission on the Measurement of Economic Performance and Social Progress, says Stiglitz, he concluded that the usual metrics, such as GDP, suggest a trade-off: one can improve the environment only by sacrificing growth. But if we had a comprehensive measure of well-being, perhaps we would see this as a false choice.
FTfm: Asset managers get their houses in order
A recent survey of the global asset management industry by PRPi Consulting paints a positive picture given the market conditions, writes Richard Parkhouse, managing director of asset management remuneration specialists, PRPi Consulting. These businesses are run by people who take a longer term view and have to answer to ordinary people for their results. So what did these businesses do differently?
Lex: China’s stimulus
It has become a cliché to observe that China will save itself before it saves the world. But an analysis of where its stimulus is actually going shows how true this is.
Lina Saigol: The Real Deal
What’s the best M&A tactic when you really, really want to buy an asset? Bid low and then bid against yourself; or bid low, wait for someone else to bid, and then bid against yourself? That’s the corner Kraft seems to have painted itself into in its hot-headed pursuit of Cadbury.
FT Video view from the markets on US growth
Jan Hatzius, chief US economist at Goldman Sachs, sees fiscal stimulus as contributing to “quite strong” US growth in the second half of 2009 but, he warns, 2010 may bring renewed deceleration in growth.