Links: 2009-05-22
- Kevin Phillips: The New Politics of Inflation: Asian and Monetary
“As of 2009, from Turkey and the Persian Gulf east to Indonesia, China and Siberia, it’s Asia’s turn to make the waves, rock the global financial boat and set a new international course . Think of this upheaval as the Second Price Revolution. The United States will be a major participant, but more importantly a principal loser.”
- Inflation ‘Cure’ Exposed When In-Laws Move In: Caroline Baum
“It’s hard to know exactly what Rogoff was thinking when he suggested Bernanke fan the inflation flames. (He didn’t respond to multiple interview requests.) I would have asked him: If 6 percent is good, is 10 percent better? The idea was given short shrift in the blogosphere, especially by those whose economics is decidedly Austrian. The Mises Economic Blog calls Rogoff’s and Mankiw’s descent into madness the “Zimbabwe Solution.” Kevin Depew, executive editor of Minyanville, chides the economists for peddling snake oil, which is what inflation is.”
- Is Nouriel Roubini lucky or just good? – The New Republic
- FT.com – Ford hits out at German loan for GM unit
Ford Motor on Thursday cried foul over Germany’s €1.5bn (£1.3bn) government-backed bridge financing for General Motors’ Opel arm, warning that it could tilt the playing field in favour of its struggling US competitor.
- Mayfair Eviction Fight Pits Credit Suisse Against Investor
hat tip Cassandra. This is a laughable anecdote from the global housing bubble and its attendant absurdity.
- The Economics of CAFE; The Baseline Scenario
A good articulation of why higher CAFE standards are not a net negative for auto industry employment.
- William Poole, FT.com – A market solution to secure banks’ future
Bill Poole has a good libertarian solution to this crisis. It involves the mandatory issuance of subordinated notes in proportion to outstandingliabilities. Well worth a look.
- Jesse Jackson Jr. Pays Campaign Funds to Chicago Alderman Wife – Bloomberg
“Representative Jesse Jackson Jr.’s congressional campaign organization has paid his wife at least $247,500 since 2001, including at least $95,000 after Sandra Jackson joined the Chicago City Council two years ago, according to federal election records”
- Regions, Fifth Third selling stock to add capital
“Regions, a Birmingham, Alabama lender operating mainly in the southeast, said it sold $1.85 billion of common stock and preferred shares convertible into common stock. It also said it will exchange 112 million common shares for other preferred securities, less than it previously expected. Fifth Third, a Cincinnati lender operating in the midwest and southeast, said it plans to sell $750 million of common stock and proposed to exchange common stock and cash for existing convertible preferred shares.”
- S&P cuts UK’s rating outlook to negative
“Ratings agency Standard & Poor’s lowered its outlook on Britain to negative on Thursday, citing government debt that would be hard to rein in and political uncertainty about the policy response with an election looming. The agency affirmed Britain’s ‘AAA’ long-term and ‘A-1+’ short-term sovereign credit ratings.”
- China banks ‘take excess risks’
“Chinese banks’ surge in lending to support the government’s stimulus package is leading to excessive risk taking, said the Fitch ratings agency.”
- Mexico hit hard by US recession
Mexico’s economy shrank by 8.2% in the first three months of this year compared with a year earlier, as the global downturn hit demand for exports.
- Break Google’s Monopoly on Your Data: Switch to Yahoo Search – Lifehacker
“Don’t get me wrong; I accept the privacy-for-convenience tradeoff. I hand over my personal information to enjoy the data-centric conveniences of the modern world every day. I don’t think one internet company is less or more evil than another; and I already store plenty of personal information at Yahoo (like photographs of my friends and family on Flickr). Still, it’s nice to spread the love around so no one company has a monopoly on 90% of what I do on the web every day.”
- FT.com – California voters strike down tax measures
The election defeat increases the likelihood that California will have to slash spending on essential public services. Thousands of teaching jobs are under threat, while the state is also looking at cutting the number of fire fighters it employs.
- FT.com – Japan’s economy shrinks record 4%
The decline in gross domestic product – equivalent to a extraordinary 15.2 per cent fall on an annualised basis – highlighted the woes facing the world’s second largest economy, which has now contracted for a record four quarters in a row.
- FT.com – Dimon rails against foreign worker rules
“Mr Dimon told his company’s annual shareholder meeting that the provisions, which apply to lenders in receipt of government aid, had forced JPMorgan’s executives to “look 40 or 50 overseas [graduates] in the eye” and tell them their job offers had been rescinded.”
- Share sale helps Bank of America
Bank of America has raised $13.5bn (£8.7bn) through selling new shares as it looks to strengthen its financial position during the economic downturn.
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