Hugging a Chicken via the Internet
I’m normally try not to go overboard on videos on NC, but this one features two of our pet interests at once: geekery and being nice to animals.
Read more...Author Archives: Yves Smith
Neil Barofsky Discusses “Incestuous Orgy” Between Washington and Wall Street on Bill Moyers
It was Bill Moyers who used the expression “incestuous orgy” in this interview with former head of SIGTARP Neil Barofsky to describe the relationship between major financial firms and the Federal government. That beats the anodyne “revolving door” all day and I hope becomes part of the lexicon for describing the capture of Washington by Wall Street.
Read more...Links 10/26/12
Rentier CEOs Advocate Austerity for America
Felix Salmon did an admirable takedown of a “CEOs [sic] Deficit Manifesto” in the Wall Street Journal. It’s yet another entry in the long-running, dishonest campaign funded by billionaire Pete Peterson to pretend that all right thinking people (and of course CEOs believe they have the right to think for everybody else) should be all in favor of trashing the middle class and the economy through misguided deficit cutting.
Read more...Latest Obama Headfake: Threat to Replace Favorite Housing Scapegoat, FHFA’s Ed DeMarco
The October surprises are now coming fast and furious as Obama’s lead is slipping in most polls and on Intrade. So empty gestures to boost turnout in his heretofore spurned Democratic party base are the order of the day.
I’m a day behind on this item, but nevertheless thought it was so cynical as to merit special notice.
Read more...We Speak About High Frequency Trading and Goldman’s Greg Smith on BNN
I always enjoy speaking on BNN because the interviewers are well informed and, mirabile dictu, allow guests to answer questions. And they like getting into the weeds.
Read more...Wolf Richter: Competitiveness Cacophony – Attack On France’s Sacred Cow
The French government has been flailing about to counter economic trends that started while Nicolas Sarkozy was still president. And one of the most bandied-about catchwords these days is “competitiveness”—entailing the cherished and untouchable 35-hour workweek, equally untouchable wages, and sky-high employer-paid payroll taxes and social security charges. An explosive mix.
Read more...Links 10/25/12
We Discuss Wall Street Ethics (More Accurately, the Lack Thereof) on Aljazeera
This is more of a mainstream presentation than most NC readers are accustomed to seeing. But this was also my first time on Aljazeera, so it’s good to be exposed to a new audience.
Read more...Propaganda on the Rise on the Health Care Policy Front
Reader Paul Tioxon sent the following sighting by e-mail.
Read more...Ocean Power: The Ignored Alternative
Call it the joy of engineering.
Ocean power is an engineer’s dream, where seemingly all things are possible.
Read more...Links 10/24/12
What Ex-Goldmanite Greg Smith Didn’t Say, and Some Guesses as to Why
Greg Smith’s book on his time at Goldman has generated a hailstorm of criticism, aptly summed up by Jesse:
Read more...But the absolute trashing and personal attacks on Greg Smith in the past week that were orchestrated by Goldman and supported, heavily, by the US financial networks got my attention. Generally ad hominem attacks are used by those who consider the facts of the case to be dangerous ground, and wish to do anything that they can to avoid discussing them.
Philip Pilkington: Why “Free Markets” Accommodate Speculation and Lead to Disequilibrium
Philip Pilkington is an Irish writer and journalist living in London. You can follow him on Twitter @pilkingtonphil
Perhaps the most effective myth that mainstream economists have propagated over the course of the last century is the idea that the majority of prices in an advanced capitalist economy are set by the interaction of supply and demand in a market for scarce resources. Perhaps the second most effective myth they have spread is that this interaction tends toward equilibrium and stability.
Read more...Neil Barofsky on Pandit and Obama Administration Bankster Friendliness on Bill Moyers
Bill Moyers was taken enough with his chat with former SIGTARP chief Neil Barofsky that he’s having two segments with him.
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