March 2009
72 posts
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Financial Institutions, Market Cap, 1999-2009
Just look at those flags.
via The Big Picture
insomnambulance:
Fuck prices. That’s not the reason to buy a house right now. The reason to buy a house right now is interest rates.
We’re in the middle of a rate-suppressing Treasury bubble. Once that bubble ends, I predict vastly higher costs to carry a home given the constrained liquidity at major banks. This is because of a concerted effort from Congress and investors to buy those...
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Congress Passes Wide-Ranging Bill Easing Bank Laws →
The New York Times, November 5, 1999, on the Gramm-Leach-Bliley which repealed the Glass-Steagall Act of 1933:
”Today Congress voted to update the rules that have governed financial services since the Great Depression and replace them with a system for the 21st century,” Treasury Secretary Lawrence H. Summers said. ”This historic legislation will better enable American companies...
“Cars are over. Cheap energy is over. Cheap food is over. We have a choice,...”
– insomnambulance: Lies : No, Really, Your Lifestyle is Coming to an End I especially liked this part but you should read the whole thing. Why are we trying to go back to the way things were? The way things were got us here. Obama’s new “Director of Recovery for Auto Communities...
“Now is the time to confront our problems head on.”
– President Obama, just now in speech about the automakers
Why now instead of months ago?
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“This legislation would ensure that the U.S. dollar remains the currency of the...”
– Minnesota Rep. Michelle Bachmann’s spokesman Her press release about the bill is headlined “Bachmann Demands Truth: Will Obama Administration Abandon Dollar for a Multi-National Currency?” Is she in some kind of ignorance competition with Maxine Waters? I think Bachmann’s winning.
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Comparing the U.S. to Russia and Argentina →
Desmond Lachman:
If we insist on improvising and not facing our real problems, we might soon lose our status as a country to be emulated and join the ranks of those nations we have patronized for so long.
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Where are tax revenues going?
mikehudack:
squashed:
I spent a few minutes looking over past Federal spending—and the results illustrate pretty clearly how “cutting the pork” isn’t going to meaningfully reduce the deficit. Here’s where some of the federal spending:
24.8% - Defense, mostly for the Department of Defense.
22.5% - Healthcare, mostly in medicare and medicaid
22.3% - Social Security and pensions
8.2% -...
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“At one point yesterday the dollar index dropped precipitously (more than 1.5% in...”
– Chris Gaffney Fascinating.
How long will it take before congestion pricing is back on the table?
Weighting For The Bus
frangry:
Fitness First, “The world’s largest health club operator” with 550 locations worldwide, has placed quite possibly the most invasive advert in history at a bus stop in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. That’s right: you sit on the seat, and your weight is projected to the entire world. And there’s no warning on or near the seat letting you know about your impending embarrassment. (via Animal...
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About 45 percent of the nearly 23,000 condo units... →
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“It looks like the intention of the Geithner scheme is to try to restore the...”
– Doug Henwood (via azspot)
“The Environmental Protection Agency has sent a proposal to the White House that...”
– E.P.A. Proposal Calls Greenhouse Gases a Danger to the Public
JetBlue hack
They charge $100 to change a flight but only $50 to cancel a flight. When you cancel, they credit your “TrueBlue” account with the original fare minus $50 so it’s automatically applied when you book another flight on their website. You should never change a flight instead of canceling.
“Whom should you pick as your champion? You want to look for teams with a...”
– How To Win Your NCAA Pool
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“[T]he excitement of investors last week about Citigroup posting an operating...”
– John Hussman
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“Has everybody gone completely insane, or is it simply not clear that the sum...”
– John Hussman. I think everyone has gone completely insane.
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“[T]o help improve conditions in private credit markets the Committee decided to...”
– U.S. Federal Open Market Committee March 18 Statement. Brave New World.
WatchSuperNews! Twouble with Twitters // Current
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The Browser: the world in a window →
Best new site I’ve seen in some time. It’s like the Real Clear sites but more extensive, with more detailed sections. GiveMeSomethingToRead on steroids. A+. via MR.
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“The principle behind it is that everyone would get bonus dollars and instead of...”
– Simon Johnson, former chief economist at the IMF quoted in the Telegraph: IMF poised to print billions of dollars in ‘global quantitative easing’ via GregorMacdonald
The Kindle Revolution →
Tyler Cowen says this is the best piece on the economics of the Kindle (i.e., its effects on the book business from authors to publishers) so far.
WatchPattie Maes demos the Sixth Sense The future is amazing.
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“Whatever their reasons, the Swiss have opened Pandora’s box. Do Senators...”
– John Mauldin
“Every investor can have absolute confidence in the soundness of investments in...”
– Barack Obama Has a hegemonic power’s leader ever made a similar statement?
“When someone demands to know how we are going to replace newspapers, they are...”
– Clay Shirky (via azspot)
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The attention that Jim Cramer is getting is really annoying. He’s not worth paying attention to.
“Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke’s taped interview with CBS’...”
– Steve Liesman
Can You Keep A Secret?
boutofcontext:
Neither can Switzerland, anymore.
Attributable to embarrassing international disputes over tax cheats and growing pressure from other sovereign nations facing declining tax receipts in the financial downturn - Switzerland, Luxembourg and Austria now plan to “comply with the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s rules for combating tax offenses to avoid landing...
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“We have lent a huge amount of money to the United States. Of course we are...”
– Premier Wen Jiabao It sure feels like the frequency of these statements and the authority of those making them are increasing.
“They’re gonna need cabs to get from one end of the court to the other.”
– Bill Raftery during the fifth (ongoing) overtime in the Syracuse - UConn Big East tournament quarterfinal game.
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Proxy War →
insomnambulance:
Does CNBC err on the side of bullishness? Yes. Pathologically, even. But that isn’t the only perspective the network presents, and Jon Stewart’s critique is ultimately a cherry-picked attention grab. CNBC isn’t offering balanced coverage, but that’s not what would best serve its audience or viewers. Wall Street isn’t in advice - it’s in...
If you’ve recently moved in/to NYC, how did you find your apt? I have 1 week to decide whether or not to renew and hate CL.
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