Friday Readings
Whenever I travel, I always accumulate a list of things to read. Its good for airplane entertainment, and is the reason I will likely get an iPad (but I will wait for 2.0 version).
Anyhow, before I trek back to the conference to see Mark Faber speak, here are the items that have caught my eye.
• Congress, HMOs, Big Business Rank Last in Confidence in Institutions (Gallup)
• Feinberg Faults Banks for $1.6 Billion in Bonuses; 80% of Bank Comp is excessive (NYT Dealbook)
• The latest Big Mac index suggests the euro is still overvalued (Economist)
• What $1 Trillion Would Pay For . . . (Kiplingers)
• Chris Whalen: EU stress tests: who knows, who cares? (Reuters)
• Goldman Sachs Hands Clients Losses in ‘Top Trades’ (Bloomberg); see also Learning to Live With Conflicts of Interest (Bucks)
• Are Banks Withholding Highend Repossessions From the Market? (Real Estate Channel)
• The Brewing Coup Against Microsoft CEO (Daily Beast)
• Gold Coin Sellers Angered by New Tax Law (ABC)
• As U.S. suspends deep-water oil drilling, other nations move ahead (Washington Post)
• “We are What We Choose” — Remarks by Jeff Bezos, delivered to Princeton Class of 2010 Baccalaureate (Princeton University)
• Taibbi: The Steinbrenner Slobituary (Rolling Stones)
• The best use of twitter ever: Shakespalin
• God Hinting At Retirement (The Onion)
What are you reading?
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July 23rd, 2010 at 4:21 pm
What Would $1 Trillion Pay For? A couple $100 Billion in marked-to-market MBS, if your name is B .S.Bernanke.
July 23rd, 2010 at 4:37 pm
http://shine.yahoo.com/event/loveyourbody/why-you-cant-lose-those-last-10-pounds-1964849/
July 23rd, 2010 at 5:03 pm
More about that “mosque” –
http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/closeread/2010/07/live-from-ground-zero.html#ixzz0uXbKnlyH
July 23rd, 2010 at 5:06 pm
What would $1 Trillion pay for? Well a little more than that plus tens of thousands of lives and loads of destruction could get you a couple of completely worthless, ongoing wars. Oh wait, it already did.
July 23rd, 2010 at 5:13 pm
I’m watching Hardball with Chris Matthews (actually hosted by Chuck Todd today), and rolling on the floor laughing! Todd echoed the idea that the $2 trillion in cash sitting on companies’ balance sheets is business’ way of voting against the Obama admin (ie they’re unhappy with the policies coming out of the White House and sitting on their hands to punish him).
Of course, I recalled Barry’s chart showing that companies have been stacking their loot…I mean profits!…at obscene levels since the 1980s, giving lie to the conservative/supply side idea that tax cuts stimulate job creation. Tax cuts simply create larger slush funds for corporate fat-cats. Keynes is still the one true god–only demand matters.
July 23rd, 2010 at 5:23 pm
This Taibbi guy just gets better and better. Big George was a racist, a corporate welfare queen, and all around egomaniac. What’s not to like?
July 23rd, 2010 at 6:05 pm
Barry,
Maybe you can find an airport bar and suck down a couple of these:
http://blogs.chron.com/beertx/2010/07/brewdogs_latest_worlds_stronge.html
July 23rd, 2010 at 6:16 pm
@BR
Damn BR – You closed the comment section on the “global warming” thread before I had a chance to chime in…
I was only wondering what the CLICK THROUGH rate to the NET JETS sponsored ads there were as result of that thread…
I’m pretty sure I can pencil in “Franklin411″ as one, because his lecture services, I’m sure, are in high demand around the globe… I’ve heard he brings his bicycle along with him to offset the carbon emissions…
You know… the LAST MILE thingy…
You… Being the traveler and all, must do the same thing…
Can a scientist tell me if more carbon is released by flying around, or by signing books with a #2 pencil? Someone can surely help… There seem to be a lot of EXPERTS around…
July 23rd, 2010 at 6:26 pm
franklin411 Says:
“I’m watching Hardball with Chris Matthews actually hosted by Chuck Todd today.”
_____________
Chuck Todd blundered into his position as a right wing pundit. The first time I ever saw him, he was on C-SPAN, and held fairly middle of the road views. I believe he was the editor of the National Journal at that time. Ol’ Chuckie must have smelled money coming from the right wing media machine, because the next time I saw him, he was shilling dumb-ass, vapid Republican talking points.
What a dick.
July 23rd, 2010 at 6:35 pm
BTW, re: my comment, above:
Other than Eleanor Clift is there any such a thing as a left-wing pundit?
July 23rd, 2010 at 6:42 pm
@f411
Is that where you go to get your daily ra-rah on things?
MSNBC or FOX?
Pathetic
July 23rd, 2010 at 7:46 pm
Sorry Onion but Nietzsche says God is post retirement.
July 23rd, 2010 at 8:07 pm
Has someone made a porno with this term as a title yet?
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-reform-whistleblower-20100723,0,6099636.story
And speaking of stories with a buncha p*ssies…
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0710/40081.html
July 23rd, 2010 at 8:09 pm
BTW, I meant pornos were stories about a buncha p*ssies, not the LA Times piece.
I’m sure poor, frightened Mort would disagree.
July 23rd, 2010 at 8:36 pm
You can read about the carbonated, caramel colored, fructose laden drink your having on the plane,
http://www.physorg.com/news196347682.html
or listen to some tunes:
http://www.acousticlongisland.com/
July 23rd, 2010 at 9:40 pm
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/07/23/AR2010072302515.html?hpid=topnews Blue screens of death, malfunctioning oil rig alarms disabled so crews could sleep.
July 24th, 2010 at 6:23 am
Chinese police beat official’s wife by mistake
Chinese commentators have called for better treatment of petitioners after police beat the wife of a high-ranking law enforcement official, reportedly mistaking her for a complainant.
According to Chinese media, the party chief of the local police bureau told her afterwards: “This incident is a total misunderstanding. Our police officers never realised that they beat the wife of a senior leader.”
The comment sparked outrage, with one person reportedly responding: “Does it mean the police are not supposed to beat leaders’ wives, but that the ordinary people can be battered?”
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/jul/22/china-police-beat-wife-official
This has to be some sort of paperwork error. They better get this system working properly before they start rolling it out in the western nations
July 24th, 2010 at 6:28 am
Can anybody name the three branches of the US government?
The Oil industry
The Pharmaceutical industry
and
The Financial industry
:)
July 24th, 2010 at 7:35 am
How the Common Man Sees It wrote:
Wall Street, Hollywood and the Military.
July 24th, 2010 at 8:22 am
It was fascinating to learn, from the Bloomberg article, that Goldman actually employs a spokeswoman named “Gia Moron”.
July 24th, 2010 at 8:41 am
I believe that is pronounced ” Gee, a Moron”
July 24th, 2010 at 8:58 am
I found the Onion article insulting. Good thing is wasn’t about Islam or you would be hunted down with a bounty. Fortunately Christians respect free speech, even if it is ignorant and insulting of the One they worship.
July 24th, 2010 at 11:06 am
Barry,
Why limit yourself to “readings”? How about “Friday Viewpoints”? This way, you could include occasional videos along with your “Readings”. For example, this You Tube video of Bezos’ Princeton Graduation Speech is much more compelling than the transcript since it conveys his overflowing emotion near the end of his speech when he says:
“Will you be clever at the hands of others? Or will you choose to be kind?”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vBmavNoChZc
Happy Viewing,
Jeff
July 24th, 2010 at 11:07 am
Chinese philanthropist donates it all
Eccentric developer from humble roots shocks nation by leaving offspring nothing
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/chinese-philanthropist-donates-it-all/article1650447/
July 24th, 2010 at 11:41 am
GS forecasts: http://www.scribd.com/doc/34636654/Second-Half-Slowdown
July 24th, 2010 at 1:37 pm
Why we need a 3rd Party
http://theburningplatform.com/blog/2010/07/22/why-we-need-a-3rd-party-in-2012/
July 24th, 2010 at 8:22 pm
re: the now-called “Climate Change”
this, from BookTV:
http://www.booktv.org/Program/11775/2010+Eagle+Forum+Collegians+Summit+Chris+Horner+Power+Grab+How+Obamas+Green+Policies+Will+Steal+Your+Freedom+and+Bankrupt+America.aspx
w/that, I’d really like to understand how He, Horner, is mistaken..
It’ll ‘air’, again, @ 03:30, 25 July, could be DVR’d..
and, although the Presenter is less engaging, here: http://www.booktv.org/Program/11776/2010+Eagle+Forum+Collegians+Summit+David+Kupelian+How+Evil+Works+Understanding+and+Overcoming+the+Destructive+Forces+That+Are+Transforming+America.aspx same Q:
@ 04:00, 25 July ..
July 25th, 2010 at 12:44 am
How The Common Man Sees It: “This has to be some sort of paperwork error. They better get this system working properly before they start rolling it out in the western nations”
The movie Brazil (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088846) demonstrates how this sort of thing can happen.