Archive for August, 2009
Doug Henwood on Teddy Kennedy
From Doug Henwood’s blog, LBO News. De mortuis: Teddy Kennedy and deregulation According to just about everybody, Teddy Kennedy represented the “soul” of the Democratic party, which presumably refers to his long-professed concern the poor and the weak. Now that that soul is safely buried, the Dems can move on to the important stuff, like ...Read more.
On the Usefulness of Economics In Tough Times
This Washington Post article speaks for itself. Note that Alan Greenspan apprears to be a devotee. Needless to say, perhaps, I found it on Marginal Revolution, a veritable treasure-trove for those enthralled by the trivial. Blue Chip, White Cotton: What Underwear Says About the Economy By Ylan Q. MuiWashington Post Staff Writer Monday, August 31, ...Read more.
On the Profitability of the TARP
Two views. First, Daniel Gross. Then, Yves Smith. I’m with Smith. Even if *some* pecuniary benefit eventually accrues to the government’s balace sheet, huge losses still loom, and the system remains dependent on us bailing out those responsible for the crisis, in effect enabling them to screw us again.
One Forgotten Indicator: Restaurant Sales
Calculated Risk discusses the 23rd consecutive month of depression for restaurant sales. Restaurant sales performed heroically during the bubble, and became a leading source of job-creation during that period. Both capacities have now crashed to earth, and with more and more displaced workers competing for restaurant jobs they would ordinarilly turn their noses up at, ...Read more.
E-books, Content, Advertising and Hardware
Emerging relations between, and implications for big media, discussed in this Financial Times article. E-book advocates highlight content evolutionBy Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson in New York Financial TimesPublished: August 31 2009 03:00 | Last updated: August 31 2009 03:00Steve Haber, president of Sony’s digital reading division, stood in the New York Public Library last week with a ...Read more.
Weekly Indicator Outlook/Monday's Indicators
First, setting the tone for market performance as the week starts is a Shanghai stockmarket loss of no less than 6.7% on Monday, which has led Asian and European (but not British, as of 10.30 am EST–3.30 pm GMT) stocks lower. Japanese Industrial production rose 1.9% in July, raising the string of consecutive rises to ...Read more.
4 Years after Hurricane Katrina
Grand Casino, Biloxi, MS, five months after Hurricane Katrina made landfall in Mississippi. On August 29, 2005, the eye of Hurricane Katrina made landfall in Waveland, Mississippi, and the western side of the storm grazed New Orleans. Five months after the storm, I visited the Mississippi Gulf Coast. According to a National Hurricane Center report ...Read more.
US Personal Consumption/GDP NOT 70% GDP
Or so Michael Mandel insists. From his Economics Unbound/World Economy Blog: Economics UnboundGet It Straight: Consumer Spending is *not* 70% of GDPPosted by: Michael Mandel on August 29 Ok, now I’m getting aggravated. On the front page of the NYT this morning, Peter Goodman wrote Given that consumer spending has in recent years accounted for ...Read more.
Elections in the Other Ueber-Exporter: Germany
Germany, too holds a general election very soon. The ruling center-right Christian Democrats, under chancellor Angela Merkel, have been expected to win big enough to possibly form a coalition with their right-wing soul mates, the Free Democrats (they rule in a grand coalition with the center-left Social Democrats now). But yesterday’s county elections in two ...Read more.
US Second Quarter Earnings Roundup
From the New York Times’ Site: U.S. Second-Quarter Earnings Tough to BeatBy REUTERSPublished: August 30, 2009 NEW YORK (Reuters) For corporate America and Wall Street, the second quarter may be a tough act to follow. Just as investors were closing the book on second-quarter earnings, Dell Inc (DELL.O) drew them back in by accidentally releasing ...Read more.
