The G8 summit is taking place in County Fermanagh on 17th and 18th June. The summit website is here. According to Jeffrey Frankel, Japan's monetary stimulus and the associated sharp fall in the value of the yen will be one of the main items on the summit's agenda. However, he argues that there is not a currency war going on - Japan is simply engaging in expansionary monetary policy in order to stimulate its economy (article here).
My colleague and former PhD student Gareth Campbell has created a website about the British Railway Mania - click here . This episode has been described by the Economist as probably the greatest bubble in human history. Gareth's website provides background on the Mania and posits some explanations for the 'bubble'. In his explanation of why the bubble happened, Gareth places a lot of emphasis on investor myopia regarding future dividends and uncalled capital. His study of investors during the episode does not support the view that this episode was fuelled by naive and irrational investors.