Note: Regular readers will recognize this submissoin. We got a very good response last time, both domestically and abroad, and real estate professionals recommended continued exposure. Rest assured that this is NOT crowding out other posts! And for those new to it, enjoy! In a departure from our usual programming, I thought I would introduce […]
Read more...I believe in synchronicity, so I found it noteworthy that I came across two articles that gave great prominence to the issue of values, one Jeremy Grantham’s April newsletter, “Immoral Hazard,” the other a post by Willem Buiter on, of all things, the Olympics. Grantham’s excellent piece is unfortunately too long to present in full; […]
Read more...Well, Buiter did not go quite as far as I suggested in the headline. He recommended a 1500 year pause. This post made me realize why I have a certain fondness for Buiter. It’s not that I agree with his argument (I hate to confess, I have come to be completely bored by the event, […]
Read more...In “Japan may be rigid but it is not inefficient,” David Philig takes issue with metrics that find Japan’s service economy to be woefully inefficient. The commonly used yardstick is labor productivity, and Japan allegedly scores badly due to its tendency to have high staff ratios (for instance, those ladies in hotels who walk you […]
Read more...Still Debating With Plato ScienceNews. Was mathematics discovered, or was it invented? Did Robert Rubin Jeopardize Financial Stability to Protect Goldman Sachs? Dean Baker Tin Cups and Ponzi Boyz Russ Winter Distance Tariffs On Fossil Fuel: Trade Impacts Kent Welton. Another discussion of the topic featured in the New York Times yesterday, the environmental costs […]
Read more...I’m off to Los Angeles Sunday to participate in a first time panel of econbloggers at the Milken Conference. Needless to say, I’m flattered to be in such good company. As a result, my posting may be a bit lighter next week. If you want to help, please send interesting research, scholarly articles, and news […]
Read more...Even great investors have bad days and bad calls. John Authers has a clever piece in the Financial Times on the errors Buffett and Soros have made. According to a soon-to-be-released book by Vahan Jahigian, Buffett is astute about his picks, natch, but not so hot at selling. He argues that the Sage of Omaha […]
Read more...There’s a good article at the New York Times, “Movable Feast Carries a Pollution Price Tag,” on the issue of CO2 emissions resulting from the delivery of foodstuffs around the world. The article discusses at some length how international fuel tax breaks have facilitated this trade. Let’s face it, many foods are low value per […]
Read more...Why do whales beach themselves? PhysOrg Climate ‘fix’ could deplete ozone BBC Happy spamiversary! Spam reaches 30 New Scientist Why Haven’t Existing Home Sales Fallen Further? Calculated Risk. A fascinating little post. CR does not see the not-so-bad existing home sales as a predictor of things to come. Please… No C*#t in the Oval Office […]
Read more...Loyal readers may know we’ve had tech misery for the last 24 hours. Ed Wright, who among other things, once ran mission critical trading platforms for a major global bank does not take no for an answer and had us operational, albeit by migrating some of our recent content over. Google came around only by […]
Read more...Various indicators suggest that the tone of the credit market (save the interbank market) is improving: jck at Alea deems the latest TSLF auction to be a success. Bloomberg tells us that government bond prices are falling, not just in the US but other major economies, signaling a return of confidence: Government bonds worldwide are […]
Read more...The New York Times has one of those “your tax dollars at work” stories in the form of “Costly Lesson on How Not to Build a Navy Ship.” The article recounts how the Navy set out to build a new type of vessel, “littoral combat ships,” which would become the first line of defense in […]
Read more...Human line ‘nearly split in two’ BBC and Humans nearly wiped out 70,000 years ago, study says CNN. Note the difference in emphasis. Does economics make you selfish? Greg Mankiw. The evidence can be read that way….. The cost of a lifeline: Humbled financial groups brace for more regulation Gillian Tett and Krishna Guha, Financial […]
Read more...It’s predictable that embattled Ambac CEO Michael Callen would claim that all is well at the bond insurer in the face of considerable evidence to the contrary in the form of first quarter net loss of $1.66 billion, which wiped out last month’s highly dilutive capital raise of $1.5 billion. Ambac had to triple its […]
Read more...Credit Suisse, which heretofore looked somewhat immune to credit market problems, has joined its peers in having a loss-making quarter. A Sf5.3 billion writedown on leveraged loans and mortgage instruments was the proximate cause. Note the quarterly deficit was more than three times the consensus estimate. The CEO was also loath to declare the debt […]
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