Because I am going to be out pretty much all day, I am posting the links early. There will be no blogging from my side today after this.
Interest Rates and Monetary Aggregates During the Lesser Depression – Part 1 | PRAGMATIC CAPITALISM
interesting piece on monetary and fiscal policy, qe and endogenous money. This is pretty wonkish but the gist here is that Krugman likes to talk about how he wrote a paper about what you need to do and why. But if you look at the details, his paper is pretty monetarist at heart in its roots. And a lot of the theory is incorrect.
“Yahoo says ‘withholding information breeds mistrust’ and asks to be allowed to publish its number of received data requests”
“Poll shows fastest rise since late 2006 peak, with Rics saying Osborne schemes risk pushing prices to unaffordable levels”
Two things: one, this is good for security in that the encryption internet companies use is not the real problem. It is the way that encryption is employed, particularly by end users with ad passwords. Second, this is also a great way for government to get biometric data if it is able to somehow steal that data from end users.
“People familiar with the matter said last week that Apple will include a fingerprint scanner on the more expensive of two iPhones it is expected to unveil Tuesday at an event at its Cupertino, Calif., headquarters.”
“Outbrain, the biggest of the content engines that help publishers serve suggested stories and ads, will reportedly seek $200 million from Wall Street in 2014. “
“The judges hearing the lawsuit filed by Verizon against the FCC’s network neutrality rules seem inclined to let ISPs charge providers for delivering premium content– effectively creating a fast lane for the web and gutting network neutrality. “
Two things: this is in addition to the bond deal. SO t tells you that this is a very debt-financed transaction. Two, universal banks are much better at these deals because they can provide bridge loans using their enormous balance sheets. This is why the stand-alone investment banking model is out and why we see a lot more universal baking – something to think about vis-a-vis Glass-Steagall
This is a huge undertaking. Verizon is really loading up on debt to finance this transaction. I would not be surprised if we see ratings action here.
“Just looking at it, there’s no correlation. In fact, it almost appears to be slightly negative.
I think there are a few important takeaways. The first is that the stock market is not the economy.”
“O’Grady acknowledged “the gray areas” between the constitutional right to discuss the techniques and the crime of teaching someone to lie while undergoing a government polygraph. “There’s nothing unlawful about maybe 95 percent of the business he conducted,” the judge said.
However, O’Grady added that “a sentence of incarceration is absolutely necessary to deter others.””
“Reports that the United States spied on Brazilian oil company Petrobras, if proven, would be tantamount to industrial espionage and have no security justification, Brazil’s President Dilma Rousseff said on Monday.”
“The lack of specifics in the article makes it hard identify the iOS bug, but it sure sounds like the one a pair of researchers reported in April 2011. It allowed anyone with physical access to an iPhone or iPad, or potentially a data backup of the device, to reconstruct a detailed account of the user’s comings and goings, often down to the second, over an extended period of time. The geolocation data was stored in an easy-to-read file that was updated in real time, putting users at increased risk should their devices, computers, or backups ever fall into the hands of a hacker or government snoop who knew about the undocumented behavior.”
“The US intelligence agency NSA has been taking advantage of the smartphone boom. It has developed the ability to hack into iPhones, android devices and even the BlackBerry, previously believed to be particularly secure.”
My thoughts here go to the outsourcing of national security. This is a big liability for national security irrespective of whether contractors have clearance. The level of loyalty and trust is just not the same.
“Open source router software, different encryption tools, legislative, judicial and media pressure are all necessary to pushback on backdoors access to technology and networks that help with surveillance state, says PGP inventor Phil Zimmermann in a conversation. He has a thoughtful take on recent encryption revelations.”
“Was basic academic freedom on the line? Had the request even come initially from Johns Hopkins or from outside the school—perhaps someone at the NSA headquarters just up the road from Baltimore?”
“The State Department said Monday it would take a “hard look” at a proposal for Syria to surrender its chemical weapons to international control to avoid a military strike, but voiced skepticism that Syria would carry out such a plan.”
Here’s the Problem: How do we know that the government isn’t getting that fingerprint data on you from Apple? We don’t. I see biometric data as a big problem as opposed to a solution. Let’s see where this leads.
“Apple’s move is likely to bring fingerprint readers into the mainstream. But all applications are not equal. It’s fine if your fingers unlock your phone. It’s a different matter entirely if your fingerprint is used to authenticate your iCloud account. The centralized database required for that application would create an enormous security risk.”
Here’s the problem with this analysis: it says low rates were a good panacea but now they need to be normalized when doing so would crater the recovery. I don’t believe for a second that the UK recovery is self-sustaining. The right approach would have been to support the fallout of deleveraging via fiscal. But everyone wants monetary ease, so they lowered rates and now you have to live with the consequences. Raising rates now or anytime soon would be disastrous and it won’t happen. That’s my view.
“Rock-bottom interest rates were a nasty but necessary medicine when the financial crisis threatened to become a depression in 2009.
Four years later, each day appears to bring fresh evidence that we have not only escaped depression but are doing all right. Possibly better than all right. As a result the ultra-low Bank Rate – the emergency drip to which we are still attached – is triggering unwelcome side effects. The medicine is turning toxic.
Some of the symptoms are worryingly familiar”
“Scientists say potential damage from naturally occurring fructose in apparently healthy drinks is being overlooked”
“Jim Ratcliffe may not be a household name. But it’s hard to find another British industrialist who, in 15 whirlwind years, has built a business from scratch into a global $43bn (£27.5bn) sales machine. “