Even though this blog and some others have warned of the vulnerabilty of the greenback to erosion of its reserve currency status, many have dismissed that idea as if it were a lunatic fringe view. Yet pound sterling was once the reserve currency and is no more. Now Pimco has joined the camp of seeing […]
Read more...Submitted by Leo Kolivakis, publisher of Pension Pulse. Stocks tumbled on Monday and lots of people are worried that they will retest their March lows. Stop worrying so much! Let me quote the bonddad blog today: “While I am sure there are people in a panic about this, I’m not. The market needs a sell-off […]
Read more...Submitted by Edward Harrison of Credit Writedowns. Below is a post I recently wrote at Credit Writedowns. I hope you find this in line with Marshall Auerback’s recent post on the same issue. Here I am looking at things from a purely political standpoint – not necessarily a defense of one position or another on […]
Read more...Killer whales visit ‘social clubs’ BBC Better Monkeys? h= (hat tip reader Sugar) Dow Jones: Home prices have not bottomed Bubble Meter Tax Bills Put Pressure on Struggling Homeowners New York Times Structurally High Unemployment For A Decade MIchael Shedlock “Odd WSJ Story on Vermont” Tim Duy Insurance Fraud Paul Waldman, American Prospect Lack of […]
Read more...From Marshall Auerback, an investment management and commentator who writes for New Deal 2.0. No more free passes. A number of the President’s supporters who expressed concerns about the pro-Wall Street tilt of his early administration decisions were prepared to give him the benefit of the doubt so long as he came through on healthcare. […]
Read more...Readers may know that William Black, who teaches economics and law at the University of Missouri, Kansas City, has been a vociferous critic of US policy on the financial crisis. In this lecture, he not only revisits one of his favorite topics, fraud, but also examines a wealth transfer from the middle classes to the […]
Read more...Reuters reports that a number of credit card issuers reported modest improvement in their chargeoff rates for July. While any improvement is good news, it is way too early to break out the champagne. First, some of the improvement may be related to tax refunds being used to pay down debt, a strictly seasonal affair. […]
Read more...I don’t believe in market calls, and trying to time turns is a perilous game. But most savvy people I know have been skeptical of this rally, beyond the initial strong bounce off the bottom. It has not had the characteristics of a bull market. Volumes have been underwhelming, no new leadership group has emerged, […]
Read more...India’s water use ‘unsustainable’ BBC Pandas could be extinct in 2-3 generations: report PhysOrg Walking Around Your 3D Data h+ (hat tip reader David C). Snow Crash, here we come! Developing Nations May Reuse More Electronics Than Thought GreenerComputing (hat tip reader John L). A bit of good news. The Coming Foreclosure Wave The Economic […]
Read more...Ooh, this is getting interesting. Sports fans may recall that as of last week, Citigroup was refusing to back down on the issue of the contract for Andrew Hall, the head of commodities trading unit PhiBro, which could be worth as much as $100 million this year. A side comment: Hall seems to be trying […]
Read more...Submitted by Edward Harrison of Credit Writedowns. It has been my thesis for some time that we are seeing a secular change in consumption patterns in the United States. This will have grave implications for a world economy used to seeing the American consumer as an economic growth engine and consumer of first choice. Retail […]
Read more...I was recently contacted by Steve Patterson, host of a podcast titled ‘Two Beers With Steve‘, which I added to my blog roll. Steve informed me of a recent podcast featuring Dr. Chris Martenson discussing inflation vs. deflation. This is an excellent interview and Mr. Martenson is very knowledgeable on the subject. He has his […]
Read more...Thai elephant gets artificial leg BBC Shaky Forecasts Science News. On earthquakes. The Quick Buck Just Got Quicker Gretchen Morgenson, New York Times Whole Foods CEO Spurs Boycott With Health Care Views Consumerist SAR #9226/Weekender Some Assembly Required ING drops fund for investors in infrastructure Independent Investors Should Stop “Worrying” About Consumers: They Don’t Have […]
Read more...Frank Veneroso was kind enough to write as a result of seeing a guest post “Debtor’s Revolt?” by his colleague Marshall Auerback. Veneroso also provided his latest newsletter and gave us permission to post it. It it pretty long (12 pages), I extracted the executive summary and other key bits. Be sure to read the […]
Read more...Ambrose Evans-Pritchard has a good piece up at the Telegraph on an issue that appears not to have gotten the attention it merits, namely, the level of underutlization of capacity and the risk it poses to anything dimly resembling recovery. Evans-Pritchard brings up a related topic, that deflation is a bigger issue that most commentators […]
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