May 2009

Last night I received an advance copy of a new book by Wall Street Journal reporter Kate Kelly that gives us a peek inside the last seventy-two hours at Bear Stearns in March 2008.  If you are interested in finance, “Street Fighters” is…

You may have noticed that the news cycle has turned down: U.K. manufacturing down, bank stocks down, Chinese inflation and exports down. All of this points to the underlying weakness in the global economy. I should also point out that a…

Below is a video of Meredith Whitney talking to Maria Bartiromo earlier today on CNBC (hat tip Calculated Risk).  In the video she suggests that banks might be able to beat earnings estimates for another one or two quarters before the…

I do think that we have seen a robust response to Swine Flu, sometimes bordering on panic.  Much of this seems like overkill.  However, first analyses of the H1N1 virus suggest this response is entirely warranted: H1N1 swine flu is…

The following is an excerpt from Murray Rothbard’s excellent book, “A History of Money and Banking in the United States.”  The passage outlines how the gold standard prevented governments from using inflation as a device to manipulate…

I forgot to add this to my links.  Very funny Saturday Night Live clip spoofing Timothy Geithner. 

This comes from Marc Chandler, head of the Brown Brothers Harriman Currency Strategy team (emphasis added): After today there is an important US economic report every day this week. Tomorrow's report on the March trade balance and Wed…

The Agony Continues - Latvian GDP Falls By 18% - Edward Hugh "Latvia’s economy shrank by nearly a fifth (year on year) in the first quarter, according to the latest flash estimate from the national statistics office. Obviously this is a…

I just finished watching this show called Celebrity Apprentice hosed by Donald Trump.  Why I did is a question for a psychologist. You may be familiar with the show.  It pits two teams of individuals against one another in random tasks,…

The American Press on Suicide Watch - Frank Rich - NY Times The Next Supreme Court Justice - 538 Bush May Haunt Republicans for Generations - 538 Great graphs on Dem/Repub affiliation by generation. The "Apparent…