Now we know why John Thain was so eager to sell Merrill. That comment isn’t entirely fair (the deterioration in the securities firm took place in the fourth quarter, while the sale was negotiated in September). But directionally, the former Merrill chief saw the downside risks and did what was best for the firm. The […]
Read more...Martin Wolf has a very good comment in the Financial Times, “Why Obama’s plan is still inadequate and incomplete,” which readers might tempted to ignore, since the headline suggests the piece reaches a conventional conclusion: the Obama stimulus plan is too small. That would be a mistake. The Wolf article (as others have done) does […]
Read more...The classic British bulldog is to disappear under a reform of breeding rules Times Online ‘Carbon cost’ of Google revealed BBC. Oooh, this almost makes up for the fact that I don’t own a car. Worst Apartment Rental Ad Ever [Funny] Consumerist Some States in a Pinch May Raise Gasoline Tax New York Times. This […]
Read more...I know I sometimes go for hyperbole in headlines, but the statement above is accurate. Your humble blogger had expected China (and presumably the rest of Asian) trade to fall in January and February from already depressed levels. While the drop in Chinese exports for December was less than experts expected (imports fell more sharply […]
Read more...One of the reasons I am partial to Australians is that they are critical thinkers, not easily cowed by authority or conventional wisdom. In the US, one of the reasons that Fed chair Ben Bernanke is given so much deference (aside from the fact that we treat people in positions of power with kid gloves) […]
Read more...We’ve read off and on speculation that Chrysler might not make it, even assuming a less punitive attitude towards carmakers under the Obama regime. It’s hard to justify government subsidies when a wealthy owner, Cerberus, is refusing to open its checkbook. And Chrysler’s number three status makes it the least problematic to shrink or liqidate. […]
Read more...The effort to get the second half of the TARP approved (or more accurately, not force Obushma to nix a Congressional turndown) is all feeling a bit Groundhog Day-ish, without the backdrop of a Lehman collapse and AIG implosion to add a sense of urgency and high drama. The officialdom is again using its access […]
Read more...Even though China’s trade surpluses continue at record and near record levels (imports are falling faster than exports), China’s foreign exchange reserves are not even close to keeping pace. Readers may recall that a massive amount of money flowed into China, a good bit of it disguised (FDI was one of the suspect categories) because […]
Read more...The irony is rich, and a bit sad. I had Citi as a client in the 1980s, and served them in a small way in their efforts to make inroads into investment banking. It looked like a quixotic effort with commercial banks seeming likely to remain relegated to the margins: smaller clients, simpler deals. JP […]
Read more...Rabbits devastate island wildlife BBC Gaming The Brain The Escapist Spineless in Washington: Obama and Guantánamo Bay Willem Buiter Honest Brokers Mark Thoma. Keeping tabs on a wee firefight provoked by Greg Makiw’s comments on some stimulus-related analysis by the new CEA head Christina Romer. Christie’s Cuts Costs as Art Market Slows New York Times […]
Read more...The oil-rich countries of the Middle East have some advantages in pursuing the “green” energy market. First, they have pools of investment capital they can turn to this purpose. Possibly more important than access to money is that the funding sources may be willing to take a longer term horizon and lower returns than US […]
Read more...I assume readers know that I am a pretty skeptical sort, and don’t expect a lasting stock market recovery until the fat lady sings (as Barry Ritholtz pointed out, in the dot-bomb bear market, the stock market did NOT anticipate economic recovery, but rallied after the economy had started to turn). But as the Great […]
Read more...Remember the much decried end-of-Clinton- era pardons, the most controversial of which involved tax cheat and storied trader Marc Rich? Well, if I am reading the tea leaves right, those shenanigans pales compared to the nonsense Bush is trying to pull in his last week in office. Bush is making it sound as if it […]
Read more...IRS May Push for Tax Compliance in Virtual Worlds Washington Post E-Waste Not Time Neoconservatism dies in Gaza Juan Cole, Salon Obama’s bang for the buck Models and Agents Leading economist fears decade of weakness in US Times Online Villa prices fall by up to 45% amid real estate slump Arabian Business This really doesn’t […]
Read more...Why is it that economics is a Teflon discipline, seemingly unable to admit or recognize its errors? Economic policies in the US and most advanced economies are to a significant degree devised by economists. They also serve as policy advocates, and are regularly quoted in the business and political media and contribute regularly to op-ed […]
Read more...