Submitted by Leo Kolivakis, publisher of Pension Pulse. Bloomberg reports pension plans’ private equity cash depleted as profits shrink: U.S. pension funds contributed to the record $1.2 trillion that private-equity firms raised this decade. Three of the biggest investors, state pensions in California, Oregon and Washington, plunked down at least $53.8 billion. So far, they […]
Read more...A step closer to ‘synthetic life’ BBC This is Your Brain on Neurotechnology h+ (hat tip reader David C) UBS Money Laundering: What Did Phil Gramm Know? Philip Sheer, The Nation (hat tip reader Jospeh M) Japan Turns to Taxis for Help in Selling Bonds as Deficit Grows Bloomberg (hat tip DoctoRx) Buffett’s false promise […]
Read more...I have a good deal of respect for Gillian Tett, but I disagree with her analysis in a Financial Times piece today: A decade ago, it was fashionable for Western consultants, bankers and business people to decry Japan’s domestic service industry. For Japanese business sectors, ranging from milk production to financial broking, have long been […]
Read more...Tim Duy pointed out this priceless remark from AIG’s new CEO, Robert Benmosch: Benmosche told employees that he “had the luxury to say to the government, I’m not going to rush to do this. I’m appalled at how much pressure has been put on all of you to just sell it no matter what, because […]
Read more...Served by Jesse of Le Café Américain US Personal Income has taken its worst annual decline since 1950. This is why it is an improbable fantasy to think that the consumer will be able to pull this economy out of recession using the normal ‘print and trickle down’ approach. In the 1950’s the solution was […]
Read more...Submitted by Leo Kolivakis, publisher of Pension Pulse. A week ago, MacLean’s magazine published an article, Pressure rises to protect our pensions: At long last, there is a ray of hope for workers whose employers have filed for bankruptcy. Currently pensioners, the disabled, and employees owed severance pay are treated the same way as banks […]
Read more...Autonomous tech ‘requires debate‘ BBC. Everyone dust off your Asimov. Health Care Reform and single payer – an Australian perspective John Hempton (hat tip reader Kalle). From my two years in Australia a few years back, I though the care was top notch, very cheap compared to here, and no problem with queuing (it took […]
Read more...Edmund L. Andrews in the New York Times today depicts Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke as badly treated by his critics. The article verges on hagiography: As central bankers and economists from around the world gather on Thursday for the Fed’s annual retreat in Jackson Hole, Wyo., most are likely to welcome Mr. Bernanke as […]
Read more...Served by Jesse of Le Café Américain
Read more...Submitted by Edward Harrison of Credit Writedowns. I have had pretty much no computer access where I am so I apologize for not getting into the debate in the comments from my last post on healthcare. I wrote this article as an update to that post. The opinions here reflect only my view and have […]
Read more...This story on Bloomberg, about stockpiling of base metals by Chinese farmers and housewives, highlights a type of speculation that observers in the West haven’t considered deeply. Since these were purchases by individuals, sometimes in the form of scrap, it’s hard to ascertain how significant a factor this activity has been. If nothing else, the […]
Read more...Submitted by Leo Kolivakis, publisher of Pension Pulse. The FT reports that the decline of final salary pension scheme set to accelerate: Half of UK companies whose defined benefit pension schemes are still open to existing members expect to have closed them to all employees by 2012, according to a survey by pension consultants Watson […]
Read more...Grr. It was so obvious and it never occurred to me…:”When in doubt, bail it out.” I am jealous. Kenneth Rogoff, who among other things has (with Carmen Reinhart) has created a large dataset on financial crises through history, today takes on the exceedingly permissive posture the US has adopted to the banking industry, simply […]
Read more...There is a not-too-bad article up at the Wall Street Journal on how consumers have hunkered down and are unlikely to resume their freespending ways any time soon. Even though it has useful on the ground observations about the new consumer austerity, it repeats the oft-repeated tidbit that consumer spending is 70% of the economy. […]
Read more...‘Social networks’ may help devils BBC Building block of life found on comet Reuters (hat tip reader John D) Systemic Risk: Is it Black Swans or Market Innovations? Institutional Risk Analyst The Specter of Debt Revolt Is Haunting Europe: Why Iceland and Latvia Won’t (and Can’t) Pay for the Kleptocrats’ Ripoffs Michael Hudson (hat tip […]
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