Sunday, July 27, 2008

Despite energy, Houston is not immune to U.S. economic woes


Credit markets tightened, housing sales slowed, gasoline prices rose and job growth pulled back.

But the booming energy sector helped get the Houston area through the second quarter.

So what can Houston expect for the rest of the year?

As we do each quarter, the Chronicle asked some experts to tell us what they think. Here are excerpts of responses from a banker, two economists and a chief operating officer for a local economic development group.

Q: What's ahead for the area's economy?

A: The area is not immune to problems that are national in scope, the experts said.

"We're seeing some signs of slowing that stem from two sources: tight credit in the wake of the subprime mortgage debacle and growing consumer caution as inflation heats up," said Tracye McDaniel, chief operating officer of the Greater Houston Partnership.

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Sunday, July 13, 2008

Oil Prices and Monetary Inflation

I found this very interesting interview by Paul van Eeden. He mentions the importance of central bank inflationary policies (increase in money supply in other words) and the impact on crude oil.

Video