Archive for January, 2009
This Just In….
For what it’s worth…From Reuters: Geithner wins OK for Treasury, vows quick action Mon Jan 26, 2009 9:07pm ESTBy David Lawder and Glenn Somerville WASHINGTON (Reuters) Timothy Geithner won confirmation as U.S. Treasury secretary on Monday and vowed to act quickly to protect the U.S. economy from the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. ...Read more.
Don't See Evil?
From Sunday’s Observer: Google plans to make PCs historyIndustry critics warn of danger in giving internet leader more powerThe Observer, Sunday 25 January 2009David Smith, technology correspondent Google is to launch a service that would enable users to access their personal computer from any internet connection, according to industry reports. But campaigners warn that it ...Read more.
Monbiot on Government Corruption
As President Obama promises to crack down on lobbyists and their ilk, it’s perhaps instructive to read what George Monbiot has to say about a government that came to power making similar promises. From his regular Tuesday (it’s still Monday here in Boston) Guardian column: This lobbying scandal confirms it. The dying days of Labour ...Read more.
Food Crisis: Credit-Starved Turn To Barter
From The Financial Times: Nations turn to barter deals to secure foodBy Javier Blas in LondonPublished: January 26 2009 23:32 | Last updated: January 26 2009 23:32Countries struggling to secure credit have resorted to barter and secretive government-to-government deals to buy food, with some contracts worth hundreds of millions of dollars. In a striking example ...Read more.
70,000 Jobs Lost Worldwide Today
From Reuters: Caterpillar, others unveil massive job cutsMon Jan 26, 2009 1:48pm EST By Brian Moss NEW YORK (Reuters) A tidal wave of layoffs washed across the world on Monday, sending tens of thousands of workers into joblessness as the pain of the global recession worsened. Amid reports of tumbling corporate profits, dire outlooks and ...Read more.
Economists For the Stimulus
The Center for American Progress Action Fund and the Center for Economic and Policy Research are promoting a sign-on letter for economists in support of the proposed stimulus bill (the “Economic Recovery and Reinvestment Act”). We the undersigned encourage Congress to quickly pass the Economic Recovery and Reinvestment Act and stem the tide of rising ...Read more.
Banks That Got TARP $ Reduced Lending
From Yves Smith at naked capitalism; hat-tip to LP. I just realized that the name of the blog may be a reference to that famous quote from Warren Buffet about how you can’t tell who’s naked until the tide goes out (or however he phrased it). Is Yves suggesting that all the capitalists are naked? ...Read more.
The Current Recession vs. 1982 (M. Yates)
Excerpt from an interesting post from Michael Yates’s blog, Cheap Motels and a Hotplate: An Economist’s Travelogue. I had seen the article by David Leonhardt claiming that the current recession is not (yet) as bad as the 1982 recession. I wondered whether he was off the mark, and Mike gives us a nice answer to ...Read more.
Towns Sad to See Prisons Go (WSJ)
From today’s WSJ. In an earlier post we reported some people’s speculation that state and local fiscal problems will lead to a decline in the prison population. We’re not so sure; people have made similar claims in earlier downturns, but the prison boom keeps on booming. What’s stunning about this article is how open people ...Read more.
Obama Plans To Tighten Financial Rules
From The New York Times: January 25, 2009Obama Plans Fast Action to Tighten Financial RulesBy STEPHEN LABATONWASHINGTON The Obama administration plans to move quickly to tighten the nation’s financial regulatory system. Officials say they will make wide-ranging changes, including stricter federal rules for hedge funds, credit rating agencies and mortgage brokers, and greater oversight of ...Read more.
