One of my regrets is that I did not make more of the fact that I was thought by Kevin O’Rourke in the final year of my undergraduate degree. He’s a great economist who, although not an anti-capitalist, has research interests that overlap heavily with mine. The ‘more’ in the title of this post refers to his latest post over at IrishEconomy:

The FT is full of depressing news stories this morning, none of which are surprising.

In the US, a Tea Party candidate won the Republican nomination for the Senate elections in Delaware.

In France, Sarkozy suggested that Luxembourg (home of the Commissioner who sharply criticized him for the Roma expulsions) would do well to welcome a few Roma itself.

In Sweden, the Sweden Democrats, a party with roots in the neo-Nazi movement, may be on the brink of an electoral breakthrough that might see it hold the balance of power after the elections there.

And the Japanese decision to weaken the yen is provoking tension with Europeans and Americans.

Lots of zero sum thinking out there this morning:history rhyming.