November 2009

These past few days saw some light posting. As December hits, I hope to be back up-to-speed with more posts. In the meantime, here are today’s links. How President Obama Can Take Back His Presidency -- New York Magazine Cristiano…

If you want to get a leading indicator of how retailers are doing, going online is definitely the best way to get up-to-the-minute data. Not only is the data coming out of online retailers much more real-time, there has also been a huge…

This post from November 2009 is a reminder of how things looked in the sovereign debt crisis just a few months ago.

Mark Pittman, Reporter Who Foresaw Subprime Crisis, Dies at 52 - Bloomberg.com (R.I.P.) Audit would hurt economic prospects: Bernanke | Reuters (I doubt many believe this) London Luxury Home Prices Increase for First Time in 17…

A lot has been made of the most recent FDIC quarterly report, especially the large increase in problem banks to 550 – at least in the blogospehere; some media outlets seem to be burying this news.  Underneath this news are the specific…

By now you have heard that Dubai World, the investment company, has asked its creditors for a six-month delay in repaying its debt (see articles in links).  This is what is commonly referred to as default. Now many are wondering if…

Dubai's dramatic boom over the last decade in pictures - Telegraph BBC NEWS | Americas | Facing a sixth trial for the same crime BBC NEWS | Middle East | Views from Dubai: 'The end of the dream' Dubai debt delays revive fear…

Geithner’s Disgrace - Eliot Spitzer FT Alphaville - FDIC’s insurance in the red, ‘problem banks’ hit 16-year high Should America worry about its deficit? | The Economist House prices 'must drop radically' to lure investors -…

Benchmark Currencies: 16 Dec 2008 Nearly one year later and the U.S. dollar is looking very weak – and not just against the Euro, but also against Sterling and Swissy, and especially against the Loonie and the Aussie Dollar.  Even…

Unemployment claims dropped dramatically to 466,000 this past week. This is the best data on the unemployment front we have seen in a long time. The prior week’s claims were also downwardly revised for the first time in a while. These…