Random Readings
By Barry Ritholtz - December 11th, 2009, 3:00PM
Some of the things that will be keeping me busy this weekend:
• Federal subsidy may change muni bond market for good (Economist)
• The Year in Ideas issue for 2009 (NYT Magazine)
• Being Wrong Vs. Being Early (Todd harrison)
• Hypocrisy in Senate Grilling of Bernanke? (Paul Kasriel, Northern Trust) see also Real Time Economics
• Uh oh: Many See the VAT Option as a Cure for Deficits (NYT)
• U.S. House poised to back financial rules overhaul (Reuters)
• More Easy Money for Wall Street (The Nation)
• Apple, Google Rivalry Heats Up (WSJ)
Well, what have you come across? What are you reading?
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December 11th, 2009 at 3:08 pm
banking crisis only in third inning, http://bit.ly/5Lb3xp
the unofficial function of social media, http://bit.ly/60BrMZ
wish i were back in school, http://bit.ly/7BexQQ
December 11th, 2009 at 3:11 pm
At Stanford, nanotubes + ink + paper = instant battery
Dip an ordinary piece of paper into ink infused with carbon nanotubes and silver nanowires, and it turns into a battery or supercapacitor. Crumple the piece of paper, and it still works. Stanford researcher Yi Cui sees many uses for this new way of storing electricity.
http://news.stanford.edu/news/2009/december7/nanotubes-ink-paper-120709.html
December 11th, 2009 at 3:26 pm
A solution for vacant land in Detroit?
http://www.detnews.com/article/20090723/OPINION03/907230340/1008/John-Hantz-envisions-vacant-Detroit-land-as-a-working-farm
December 11th, 2009 at 3:38 pm
maybe I missed the Memo, but when was the last time Steven Spielberg made a movie and ‘no one’ knew about it?
“Eagle Eye” http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1059786
~~
and this snippet: “…Roughly 250 protesters descended on Nytorv Square near the Copenhagen city courthouse at 10 a.m. — many apparently responding to a directive issued online earlier this month at notyourbusiness.hacklab.dk. Photocopies of a map detailing 15 potential targets, along with instructions, could be seen circulating among the gathered crowd…”
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/12/world/europe/12protest.html?_r=1
to seed ‘the dangers of “the internet”-meme’…”All the News, That’s Fit to Print.”
~~
re: VAT & Friends
“As soon as the financial top had opted for a lingering crisis, global managers were instructed to work in two major ways: first, to invent a myth about the danger of swine flu pandemic (in order to take control of the national healthcare systems and reorganize the World Health Organization (WHO) into a global healthcare ministry) and impose a threat of global warming to gain control of world natural resources and introduce a unified ‘green’ tax (alongside with creation of a new sub-national managing body- an international ministry of ecology)…”
http://globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=16494
December 11th, 2009 at 3:52 pm
What Does a Debt Slave Look Like?
http://www.crimeandfederalism.com/2009/12/what-does-a-debt-slave-look-like.html
December 11th, 2009 at 4:12 pm
well…at least it sounds good…
http://www.businessinsider.com/sec-vigorously-pursuing-charges-against-bank-of-america-2009-12
December 11th, 2009 at 4:22 pm
i watching a Trump interview a few months ago, shortly after his casinos filed BK, and the initial conversation was about the BK. it quickly turned to his other aspirations and the possibility of European acquisitions, which he stated he would soon make. somehow that BK word was still rolling around in my brain as he was talking about other purchases in nearly the same breath… oh, the irony.
http://www.cnbc.com/id/34381250
December 11th, 2009 at 4:29 pm
jack-
interesting article- that is visionary!
C & F-
the “debt slave article”- exactly!- I have been saying that exact thing on this forum for months and months- I hope at least some folks listened- especially in the non-recourse states- where the bank’s ONLY recouse is to take back the collateral
December 11th, 2009 at 4:34 pm
http://www.larepublica.pe/regionales/11/12/2009/primer-embarque-de-etanol-producido-en-piura-sera-exportado-holanda
Interesting news item on ethanol in Peru- the company ‘Caña Brava’ is a project of Dionisio Romero’s sons (he’s the old guy behind BCP- Banco de Crédito del Perú – BAP on the NYSE. The ethanol will be shipped out of Paita, a port where local dockworkers and citizens have been protesting the privatization of the port to some consortium.
Dubai Ports World is active in Callao.
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN0541587620091105
gstream- If I read up on trade filings for Ventana Gold, will I be find something about 63X Master fund?
December 11th, 2009 at 4:59 pm
loop holes…in the new financial regulations
http://baselinescenario.com/2009/12/11/yet-another-loophole/
December 11th, 2009 at 5:00 pm
re the VAT article-
well if everyone wants USG services- they have to be paid for somehow- either scrap heathcare and cut entitlements- or raise taxes to pay for them- end of story-
MEH-
following up on another post of yours a while back- re “no logo” clothing and shoes- as a counter insurgency against corporate branding- sold by the same dude who brings us Adbuster by the way- a worthwhile project in itself-
the problem though- with having a line of clothing and shoes called “no logo” is that- it then becomes a “brand” that is worn to show your dissatisfaction w/ branding-
ironic- but unavoidable- the only way to avoid those kind of distinctions is to make your own shows and clothing-
and that’s not going to happen- so branding- as revolting as it is in many ways- is how people make a statement about themsleves- even if it is “no logo” clothing/shoes-
sometimes I lie awake in bed at night and try to decide what sort of dining room set defines me as a person…”- Chuck Palahniuk- “Fight Club”
December 11th, 2009 at 5:01 pm
Stop Usury Now…..(new movement even has Wall St. supporters)
Comment
By William Greider
December 10, 2009
The Democratic party brushed aside the question of usury last spring when Congress decided not to impose any limits on the ruinous interest rates charged by major banks and other lenders. But usury is now back on the table, put in play by Metro IAF, an alliance of two dozen faith-based community organizations affiliated nationwide with the Industrial Areas Foundation. These politically savvy community groups draw their members from diverse religions and across the usual divisions of race and class. They are staging face-to-face “actions” to confront bankers and politicians around the country with a blunt moral message. Usury is a sin, Judaism, Christianity and Islam agree, and must be stopped.
This demand is expressed in their slogan: “Ten Percent Is Enough.” The campaign seeks a legal ceiling of ten percent imposed on the interest rates for credit cards and predatory practices like “payday loans.” Ten percent approximates the old ceiling on interest rates before 1980, when deregulation repealed the federal law against usury. Ten percent is also the tithe religious adherents give to their churches. As one IAF campaigner put it, “If 10 percent is good enough for God, it should be enough for the bankers.”
The anti-usury initiative was launched in mid-summer, from Boston to North Carolina, from New York City to the Midwest, and has already produced some startling results. In Massachusetts, the leading candidate for Ted Kennedy’s old Senate seat, Attorney General Martha Coakley, answered “yes, yes, yes, yes” to the demands expressed by the Greater Boston Interfaith Organization, when 800 of its members turned out to address the candidates.
-snip-
The most startling development for the anti-usury campaign is the endorsement from the CEO of Citigroup, Vikram Pandit. Like other leading banks, Citi has been kicking up its credit-card rates as high as 30 percent, even as Citi is kept afloat with billions from the taxpayers. Nonetheless, Pandit told editorial writers at the Boston Globe he would support a legal ceiling on interest rates if it is applied industry-wide. “We’re completely in support of having a rational rate structure.” Pandit said.
http://www.thenation.com/doc/20091221/greider2/print
December 11th, 2009 at 5:15 pm
Re: Debt Slave article
‘Morality can exist only between humans. Banks are not humans.’
I would say it is NOT immoral to walk since the basic tenet of an honest deal is gone.
We are not operating within an honest system.
December 11th, 2009 at 5:17 pm
Harmonix, maker of The Beatles: Rock Band video game just let go 13% of their work force:
http://www.boston.com/business/ticker/2009/12/beatles_videoga.html
December 11th, 2009 at 5:19 pm
Avatar reviews:
http://www.mrqe.com/movies/m100046222
December 11th, 2009 at 5:20 pm
geez Barry-
i just made a comment about VAT and comented to MEH about a post from a day or two ago- and alas- my post didn’t post-
just checked your spam queue and there are 7 posts there- if you get a chance- could you please set my post free-
thanks
December 11th, 2009 at 5:21 pm
deficit hawks from 2004 ?? really???
http://baselinescenario.com/2009/12/11/a-partisan-post-you-have-been-warned/#more-5693
December 11th, 2009 at 6:04 pm
ahab,
w/this: “the problem though- with having a line of clothing and shoes called “no logo” is that- it then becomes a “brand” that is worn to show your dissatisfaction w/ branding-”
no kidding, that’s inane–the ‘no logo’-Brand
~~
“well, if everyone wants USG services..”
ahab,
We have to understand that We don’t even realize/know the Cost of those ‘services’ that we ‘want’ the USG to provision..
peep are a tremendously resourceful bunch..give them a way to ‘swindle futurity’ by rationalizing(away) the costs of USG deficits, they’ll find it..and they have.
Our price structure is, so, fundamentally skewed/flawed, you’d have a hard time convincing me that People even know why they want, what they ‘say’ they want..
Try it this way, unfunded USG ‘promises’ are approaching U$D ~90 Tr (for ease of division by 300MM)
send an Amortization schedule for 300K to each and every of the 300MM, then, ask them: “Now, what, exactly, do you want the USG to do doing?”
nothing spends like OPM..
December 11th, 2009 at 6:16 pm
BR, this is a “View” rather than a “READ”…but given your views on Glass-Steagall…I figure you or your readers would like seeing this on Video. It’s really worth the watch.
—–
Rep. Peter DeFazio is trying to bring back Glass-Steagall
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k5QLc_njFnQ&feature=player_embedded
December 11th, 2009 at 6:19 pm
Willid3: thanks for the Baseline Scenario link. Enjoyed it.
December 11th, 2009 at 6:46 pm
ahab,
missing post
http://www.ritholtz.com/blog/2009/12/random-readings/comment-page-1/#comment-241254
in re: yours, 241237
December 11th, 2009 at 8:01 pm
@ ahab
Scrap healthcare yes. It’s original intent was to create a public option to drive down medical costs and that I don’t think its going to have one.
Cut entitlements no. People getting Social Security right now are only getting half of what they would be post-Clinton (Boskin).
I’ve got no problem with a VAT tax though. However, it should have an income threshold. Capital gain tax exclusions worked out by Bush should be allowed to expire.
And as to current Social Security recipients and future recipients; means test their eligibility.
December 11th, 2009 at 9:13 pm
Well worth a weekend read, a peak into one San Francisco real estate dynasty that toppled in the RE bubble:
http://www.sanfranmag.com/story/war-of-values
The business strategy? – aggressively overbid on rent-controlled apartment buildings all over the city, then find nefarious ways to get rid of old (sub-market rent) tenants & replace them with market-rate tenants. The banks just loved it! ….until they didn’t, and one local bank was left holding the worst of it:
http://www.sanfranmag.com/story/citiapartments-update
December 11th, 2009 at 10:25 pm
Raise your hand if you agree with this assessment:
“I see in the near future a crisis approaching that unnerves me and causes me to tremble for the safety of my country. Corporations have been enthroned, an era of corruption in high places will follow, and the money-power of the country will endeavor to prolong it’s reign by working upon the prejudices of the people until the wealth is aggregated in a few hands and the Republic is destroyed.”
– U.S. President Abraham Lincoln, Nov. 21, 1864
(letter to Col. William F. Elkins)
Ref: The Lincoln Encyclopedia, Archer H. Shaw (Macmillan, 1950, NY)
December 12th, 2009 at 7:02 am
uhhhhh….
House panel passes college football playoff bill
C’mon. Even *I* have more important things to do with my flippin’ life!!
December 12th, 2009 at 7:54 am
Goldman’s call to arms: Bankers seeking gun permits ahead of bonus season
Yahoo Issues Takedown Notice for Spying Price List
Yahoo isn’t happy that a detailed menu of the spying services it provides law enforcement agencies has leaked onto the web.
Shortly after Threat Level reported this week that Yahoo had blocked the FOIA release of its law enforcement and intelligence price list, someone provided a copy of the company’s spying guide to the whistleblower site Cryptome.
The 17-page guide describes Yahoo’s data retention policies and the surveillance capabilities it can provide law enforcement, with a pricing list for these services. Cryptome also published lawful data-interception guides for Cox Communications, SBC, Cingular, Nextel, GTE and other telecoms and service providers.
December 12th, 2009 at 11:32 am
HTCMSI,
nice post~ though, why do think, after we went through the post-’84 Ma Bell breakup, and the scattershot development of ‘Cell Phone’ and ‘Cable TV’ territories, (to say nothing of dial-up BBS/ISP)the USG allowed the roll-up of those industries, without, hardly, an FTC review, into massive behemoths2.0?
gives new meaning to “One-Stop Shopping”, no?
on the flip side, People should wonder why “Identity Theft” is, seriously, still possible..
there’s so much data collected about our activities, and able to be collated, “Identity Theft” should be, if these ‘Institutions’, actually, gave a s***, be a thing of the past..
but, they will sell you all the “Credit Guard”/”IdentSecur” Insurances/Services you’re willing to buy, so we’ve that going for us..
Mooo~
December 12th, 2009 at 11:53 am
We may be nearing a reversal soon.
“We remain locked in a slow death march – reminds me of those those doomed German soldiers in 1943 getting bogged down by Mother Russia’s unrelenting winter”.
Scroll down to …”See, Speak, Hear No Evil”
http://evilspeculator.com/
December 12th, 2009 at 12:04 pm
Oh, and here is what the “Big Picture” may look like.
http://evilspeculator.com/?page_id=3152
December 12th, 2009 at 12:31 pm
MEH i think identity theft is so rampant because finance companies have no real incentive to stop. until now. and because we added the CRAPA (credit reporting protection act). while it may have helped get credit going, it also made it so nobody cared about keeping records straight. they have no incentive to do that
December 12th, 2009 at 1:37 pm
willid3,
I hear you, though, in the context of the, now, ubiquitous (Data Mining/Data Warehousing)-Data Collection, it is a pathetic state of affairs that this: “nobody cared about keeping records straight. they have no incentive to do that” can be used to excuse the “finance companies” from their breach of Fiduciary Responsibility, at the minimum.
LSS: it’s a total sham. when ‘they need’ to find the data, see the Yahoo! story for, but one facet, Choicepoint, for another, they have no problem coming up with it, but, using the same resources to ‘protect’ their customers, as part of their business routine? not so much..
“finance companies have no real incentive to stop.” b/c we keep dealing with them..
in a different context, a sheep may ask for ‘a little off the top’, how often do you think that wish is granted?
December 13th, 2009 at 11:30 am
Huxley’s Brave New World is here.
http://theburningplatform.com/economy/brave-new-world-2009
December 13th, 2009 at 2:29 pm
MEH willid3,
I hear you, though, in the context of the, now, ubiquitous (Data Mining/Data Warehousing)-Data Collection, it is a pathetic state of affairs that this: “nobody cared about keeping records straight. they have no incentive to do that” can be used to excuse the “finance companies” from their breach of Fiduciary Responsibility, at the minimum.,
i think its wrong too. but the incentives i was speaking of are economic. as they get a fraud alert (if you added it to your bureau) at the time they do a credit check (data mining is nice but its after the fact), but for a very long time most lenders never even checked for that flag. and that was explained because it would slow down sales (new contracts) and raise costs (a human would have to intervene. and some one would have to change the programs to alert the humans. all of which added cost). and unless you were at a bank branch doing the loan paperwork, the lender generally had no one present to do the verification any way. so what most of them did was put those who were present (car dealers/furniture store/ETC) on the hook for those contracts that came back as being fraudulent.
and then there is how a credit bureau connects you your contracts. you would think it would be by SSN right? nope. thats only one of many things they will use to do that. and its not the most important either.
December 13th, 2009 at 4:03 pm
“Many See the VAT Option as a Cure for Deficits”
Why would we want yet ANOTHER regressive tax on those that didn’t create or benefit from the federal budget deficits, instead of a wealth tax on those that did create and benefit from the federal budget deficits ?
December 13th, 2009 at 6:20 pm
The beer shop
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EpphYGU1yqU