Links: 2009-07-16

Finance and Economics

  • US group calls Fed ‘tarnished,’ demands risk monitor – Reuters

    Donaldson and Levitt don’t want the Fed as SiRR.

  • Securitization Group Wants Greater Risk Disclosure by Lenders – HousingWire
  • What Wall Street owes you – Janet Tavakoli

    Interesting take on Goldman’s monster quarter

  • Paulson admits bank merger threat – BBC News

    Bernanke did not ask him. This clears Bernanke and sets him up better for re-appointment.

  • Goldman’s Back, and Why We Should Be Worried – Robert Reich

    Is it business as usual on Wall Street again?

  • Trichet on the ECB’s rubbish assets – FT Alphaville

    The ECB is also loaded with riskier assets. Where next?

  • CIT saga raises securitization concerns

    Canada is concerned that the ABCP market is now dead

  • How Bad Is CIT’s Loan Portfolio? Bad. – Deal Journal – WSJ

    Why is the Fed propping up this company?

  • The roguest debt agency of them all – FT Alphaville

    Austrian government as sub-prime investor.

  • Chinese GDP a case of ‘fake it ‘til you make it’ – Telegraph

    "But the GDP growth rate in China is too important a number politically to be reliable. From the bottom to the top of the data chain, everyone has a reason to report numbers that look politically correct. As economist Charles Goodhart pointed out, when leaders turn a measurement into a target, it stops being a good measurement."

  • Deficits saved the world – Paul Krugman Blog – NYTimes.com

    Interesting piece on fiscal policy.

  • Goldman Sachs caves in to critical blogger – Telegraph

    This is the right decision, especially given the recent media attention around Goldman.

  • Sinopec chairman gets suspended death sentence for bribery – Telegraph
  • Bair and Bernanke Back Size Disincentives For Banks – Yves Smith

    Is this Glass-Steagall 2.0 and is it likely to work?

  • Trouble in Latvia, again – Izabella Kaminska, FT Alphaville

    And remember, the Swedish bank bailout assumes this money is coming. Latvian taxpayers are not going to be happy.

  • Ex-GM CEO Wagoner retires with reduced benefits – Reuters
  • Qatar to pump €5bn into Porsche – FT

    Cap in hand, weakened by debt.

  • China’s foreign reserves top $2tn – BBC News

    A rise of almost 18% in the last year. Unsustainable.

  • Record rise in UK jobless total – BBC News

    Now 2.38 million out of work

  • Love beats the recession in Japan – BBC News

    "Japan’s love hotels are attracting interest from more than just couples looking for a place to spend a few private hours. Investors are also interested"

     

    Politics and Society

  • The Dark Side: Jane Mayer – FORA

    Interesting book on the torture scandals and civil liberties

  • Obama’s Approval Ratings Argue for Rapid Action on Health Care – Matthew Yglesias

    I would also add in the spent capital on bank bailouts as a factor here. Hat tip James Pethokoukis.

  • Palin: All Tail, No Head – 538

    Palin has grass roots appeal for GOP. Romney, not so much.

  • Brown backs Blair for EU president – FT

  • China’s false monoculture – The Japan Times Online

    You know India is all over this because of the rivalry there.

  • Us magazine posts video of Michael Jackson’s hair on fire – CNN.com

    This video is kind of graphic. Be forewarned.

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    Sotomayor stuff

  • Video – Intriguing Twist On Sotomayor’s Wise Latina Remark – WSJ.com

    "Judge Sonia Sotomayor had a moment worthy of a Woody Allen movie as she explained her "wise Latina" comment at her confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill, WSJ’s Jess Bravin and Naftali Bendavid report."

  • Sotomayor Surprises Sessions – Washington Wire – WSJ

    I posted the video version of this. Very interesting.

  • Revisiting the Judges of Yore With Republican Senators – Matthew Yglesias

    "I still in an honest-to-God, no-joking way don’t understand why conservatives who want to vote “no” don’t just say something normal like “I thought Justice Souter voted the wrong way on a number of important cases, I think Judge Sotomayor is likely to vote in a similar way to Souter; I would prefer a judge who votes like Justice Roberts or Justice Scalia; therefore, I’ll vote no.” That’s not insane, it’s not offensive, it’s not foolish, it’s not bizarre—it’s something you’d have to respect."

    Technology

  • ‘Apple to Palm Pre: Sorry, No More iTunes Syncing – Mashable

    I see this as clearly anti-competitive behavior.

  • In Our Inbox: Hundreds Of Confidential Twitter Documents

    More on the huge twitter security breach

  • Twitter’s Security Meltdown – Mashable

    "Security Swiss cheese" This is not good in the least.

     

    Distraction of the Day: Origins of the Moonwalk (Hat tip Kelly)

     

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