One not-widely-reported element of this credit mess is the sub rosa role that various organizations have played in shoring up some of the weakened players. Case in point: the Federal Home Loan banks, which during the acute phase of the credit crunch stood in for commercial paper buyers. From an earlier Bloomberg story: The FHLBs […]
Read more...It looks like I am in the process of being proven wrong, but even if I am wrong, it is because I underestimated the stupidity of policymakers and the short-sightedness of the mortgage industry. In September, Shiela Bair, chairman of the FDIC, had called on mortgage servicers to freeze teaser loans at their introductory rates. […]
Read more...Joseph Stiglitz, who was chief economist of the World Bank during the emerging markets crisis a decade ago, discusses in a Project Syndicate article (hat tip Mark Thoma) how the US is now unwilling to take the harsh medicine it prescribed back then. While this may be a revelation to some US readers, this inconsistency […]
Read more...The fourth and final installment of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s fourth, summary report is to be released later today. As with earlier versions, certain elements have already been passed on to the press, but there seems to be far less anticipatory chatter than with the previous installments. I hope this isn’t a sign […]
Read more...America is getting more support in its efforts to pressure China to let the yuan appreciate. Bloomberg reports than the Bank of England’s governor Mervyn King is lining up with Jean-Claude Trichet and Hank Paulson: Bank of England Governor Mervyn King is joining Jean-Claude Trichet and Henry Paulson to demand that China allow the yuan […]
Read more...The Chinese have demonstrated, convincingly, that their military technology is superior to America’s, via having a cloaked sub slip, undetected, within striking distance of a US aircraft carrier during war games. This has to rate as one of the most important news stories of the year, yet it has been reported (in English, anyhow) only […]
Read more...It is scary what a slick and captivating piece of progaganda this is. Rather than try to hide the big reason not to join the National Guard, namely, that you will go to Iraq, this video instead glamorizes the war and links it (among other things) to the National Guard acting as militia in the […]
Read more...I managed to miss this very good post, “Exchange Rates: There is a Better Way,” by Thomas Palley last week (it was also picked up by the Guardian) but since it does not appear to have been discussed in the usual suspect economics blogs, I though I would call readers’ attention to it. Before you […]
Read more...The BBC conducted a large-scale survey of 22,000 people in 21 countries and found widespread support for curtailing lifestyle in to fight global warming. Note that this survey was conducted before the news of the extraordinary Arctic summer ice melt, which could have shifted opinion further in the direction of taking action. Of course, the […]
Read more...A guy whose nickname is “the Hammer” might not seem a great fit with public service, where finesse generally goes further than brute force. So it isn’t a complete surprise that a Bloomberg article, “Paulson’s Focus on `Excesses’ Shows Goldman Gorged” by Mark Pittman, contains some harsh criticisms of the Treasury secretary. We’ve commented before […]
Read more...Today’s dose of dealism comes from Willem Buiter, professor of European Political Economy at the London School of Economics, in his post, “Immigration as a Human Right.” As an aspiring and ultimately unsuccessful immigrant, having gotten prized and rare four-year Australian visa, but unable to pass the hurdles needed to obtain permanent residence, I am […]
Read more...The IRS is turning up the spotlight on hedge funds and private equity firms. It appears that some may have been taken what might politely be called overly aggressive tax positions. It’s going to be pretty hard for these captains of capitalism to convince the public that they need to keep their favorable tax treatment […]
Read more...Robert Rubin spoke out against policies that weaken dollar, from the commonsense perspective that a cheap dollar lowers the US standard of living. That’s a bit simplistic, since the impact of a weak currency on citizens depends on how dependent a country is on imports, and critically, to what degree domestic goods could substitute for […]
Read more...Whoever wrote the headline to former Treasury Secretary, now Harvard professor Larry Summers’ latest comment in the Financial Times did him a disservice. The lead-in, “How American must handle the falling dollar,” implies that Summers has a specific, hard-headed program. Instead, the piece offers a succinct and subtle analysis of what is wrong with our […]
Read more...The inner and even not-so-inner workings of the Beltway frequently escape me. Nevertheless, a complaint made by Charles Schumer, chairman of the Joint Economic Committee, in an interview with the Financial Times, seems truly bizarre. Schumer moans that Paulson isn’t doing enough to help with the subprime crisis because his hands have been tied by […]
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