2011

I was on the BBC this morning talking about the Obama FY 2012 budget proposal. Here's what I said and what I think about the proposal so far (If I get the video, I will post). This post will be more about the political tactics and…

By Rick Bookstaber In the Ming Dynasty, (1368 – 1644), China established an examination system as a merit-based approach for appointments to government office. There were three levels to the exams, with the final cut then coming through an…

Highlights The US dollar is little changed since Friday but stronger against the euro, which is largely a sign of euro weakness as opposed to dollar strength. The euro is susceptible to event risk this week, after hitting recent highs,…

By Claus Vistesen One of the main investment and trading themes crystallised during Q4-10 was the move out of emerging markets and into developed markets. As with all themes, it started as a contrarian misfit moving against the truck loads…

Just like in the Quantitative Easing Explained video, this one on the bank bailouts gets down to brass tacks. It strips away all the government propaganda that taxpayers profited from the bailouts by revealing some of the many backdoor…

Here is a good video from Bill Black on the origins of the Savings & Loan crisis in the U.S. The roots of the crisis go back to the stagflation of the 1970s when interest rates spiked under Paul Volcker. As S&L's borrowed short and…

If you saw the last round of data for the burgeoning mobile market, you would understand exactly why Nokia and Microsoft are banding together. These two companies are also rans in a market that has shifted away from voice communication to…

By Michael Pettis Because of the lunar New Year festivities when I wrote my newsletter little had happened in China besides the 25 bp interest rate hike on Tuesday, not counting of course the never-ending stream of fireworks and the…

By William K. Black Freddie Mac made a terse announcement Wednesday in a securities filing about the resignation of its chief operating officer, Bruce Witherell. Freddie said that Witherell resigned "for personal reasons."…

This morning, the U.S. Department of Labor reported a surprisingly low 383,000 first time claims for unemployment insurance. This number, which is the lowest we have seen in two-and-a-half years in the U.S., was well below expectations. It…