Tuesday Afternoon Reads
By Barry Ritholtz - February 15th, 2011, 4:30PM
• Great Inflation Debate: Big Week for Inflationistas (Marketbeat)
• Bubblemania: Is It Time to be Skeptical of the Skeptics? (Observer)
• The History of Too Big To Fail (Focus)
• Bernanke two-fer:
-Fed dictator Bernanke needs to be toppled (Marketwatch)
-The FOMC is Right to Stay the Course on QE2 (Jeff Frankels Weblog)
• Moody’s CMBS delinquency tracker tops 9% for first time (Housing Wire)
• The sabotaging of Iran (FT.com)
• “Crazy Eddie” Fraudster to return to crime, thanks to Anti-Regulators (DAGblog)
• The Untold Story of How My Dad Helped Invent the First Mac (Fast Co Design)
• Conan 2.0 (Fortune)
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February 15th, 2011 at 4:49 pm
I would think this deserves a place on your hit parade, Barry…Since you just might be a name on the Chamber’s hit list… =P
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/02/14/AR2011021406407.html
February 15th, 2011 at 4:49 pm
“Google CEO ‘Very Proud’ of Ghonim”
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704409004576146420160584418.html
No. He should not, as a businessman, be concerned about ANYTHING other than the bottom line. Google is creating a nation of political-change-obsessed nit wits who voted in that Kenyan Mulsim …now here’s a man who we should be listening to…
“Glenn Beck accuses Google of orchestrating all kinds of evil acts”
http://www.examiner.com/political-buzz-in-national/google-replaces-soros-as-glenn-beck-s-newest-evil-the-world-audio#ixzz1E4BEfKdx
Google isn’t a business, that Glenn beck usually loves, it’s an evil system of mind control. …Mr. Beck’s network, Fox News has a very clear perception of businessmen not working anything political, that’s not what businessmen should do….
“How to Handle Employee Activism: Google Tiptoes Around Cairo’s Hero”
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704132204576136323073589858.html
Listen to Glen Beck, before it’s too late, just don’t Google him.
February 15th, 2011 at 4:54 pm
…and the Grammy’s are a secret call to revolution
According To Glenn Beck The Grammys Were Secretly A Call For Revolution
Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/glenn-beck-grammy-winners-muse-revolution-2011-2#ixzz1E4DQHjIT
…Thank you Rupert Murdock! For telling businessmen not to stir up political aspirations, and leaving it to Glenn Beck, who we can tell from his gold commericals, ain’t no businessman.
February 15th, 2011 at 5:32 pm
largest sun flare in over 4 years yesterday. if you are in canada, good couple of nights to watch the northern lights. should be a show.
http://wattsupwiththat.com/2011/02/14/sunspot-group-1158-produces-and-x-class-solar-flare/
February 15th, 2011 at 5:49 pm
BR- as you must know- Paul Farrell (Marketwatch) is a notorious bomb thrower
re VennData’s 4:54 post:
Gold Chart
SPX Chart
hmmm . . .I guess all those gold “nuts” must have just got lucky. Also if you are going to use ain’t then “businessman” should read “bidnessman” . . .
February 15th, 2011 at 7:34 pm
so, who’s numbers can we believe in? existing home sales overstated by 15-20%…
http://www.calculatedriskblog.com/2011/02/corelogic-nars-2010-existing-home-sales.html
February 15th, 2011 at 8:30 pm
Here’s some numbers that are probably understated:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20110215/bs_afp/worldbankfoodpriceinflationpovertyg20
February 15th, 2011 at 9:11 pm
this should be worthwhile..to more people than would think so, at first blush..
Intelligent Search
ENTERPRISE SEARCH SUMMIT is a highly intense, in-depth, 2-day conference that covers how to develop, implement and enhance cutting-edge internal search capabilities. If you are an information manager or IT or search professional, ENTERPRISE SEARCH SUMMIT is where you will learn strategies and build the skill sets you need to make your organization’s content not only searchable but “findable” and actionable so that it delivers value to the bottom line.
We’ve all heard the age old adage, “Work smarter, not harder.” The good news is that search tools can help make that lofty goal a reality. ENTERPRISE SEARCH SUMMIT 2011 will focus on Intelligent Search. We will bring together the best and brightest minds in the industry to help attendees learn how to make the most of their content and knowledge assets and empower employees through the effective use of search tools and techniques….
http://www.enterprisesearchsummit.com/Spring2011/
this is a good rag..
http://www.kmworld.com/
LSS: “Wall Street” should get on top of ‘Search’ ..
might do well to start here:
Blog by
Sabrina I. Pacifici
Publishing Since August 2002
Sabrina Pacifici – Recipient of the Special Libraries Association Innovations in Technology Award 2008 (PDF)
beSpacific listed in The Top 100 Law and Lawyer Blogs from Criminal Justice Degrees Guide. beSpacific is one of the Top 10 General Legal Blogs.
LJ’s Movers & Shakers 2006 – Profile of Sabrina Pacifici
More Awards
http://www.bespacific.com/
February 15th, 2011 at 9:26 pm
MEH, I am assuming this is somewhat precipitated by the IBM Watson Jeopardy Challenge. What did you think of the match?
February 15th, 2011 at 9:31 pm
The Conan O’Brian article was really fascinating. Thanks for that BR.
February 15th, 2011 at 9:38 pm
Today’s quote :
“What lies ahead is the accelerating exit of foreign investors from the US markets. That will be bad enough. But if what lies ahead dawns upon a growing number of Americans, and if they too all decide to exit in ever growing numbers, then there is no possible economic salvation for the USA in any form at all.” —Bill Buckler
demonstrates another reason a vast gap in wealth between rich and poor is such de-stablizing force. The handful of wealthy can much more easily deplete a country of liquidity than can a large, decently-paid middle class.
February 15th, 2011 at 10:13 pm
DiggityD,
no, not really, ESS sent me a notice in the mail, arrived Today..
though, that trick IBM pulled, w/Watson, is pretty nifty..
it should be used as, but, one, ex. to disprove the “innovation is Slowing”-crowd..
exemplified, here http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2011/feb/13/will-hutton-innovation-must-be-encouraged
February 15th, 2011 at 10:51 pm
DiggidyD,
but, past that, through this facet http://www.salon.com/news/opinion/glenn_greenwald/2011/02/15/palantir/index.html
and,
“Palantir Technologies, Inc. Wins $9,125,264 Firm-Fixed-Price Contract
12/26/2010
Palantir Technologies, Inc., Palo Alto, Calif., was awarded on Dec. 21 a $9,125,264 firm-fixed-price contract. This award will provide for an integrated fusion and analysis platform capability in Afghanistan. Work will be performed in Palo Alto, Calif., and Afghanistan, with an estimated completion date of June 15, 2012. Three bids were solicited with one bid received. The U.S. Army Research, Development and Engineering Command, Adelphi Contracting Center, Adelphi, Md., is the contracting activity (W911QX-11-F-0007).
Capgemini Partners with Palantir Technologies to Offer Enterprise Intelligence Infrastructure to Public Security Agencies
10/18/2010
Capgemini has combined forces with Palantir Technologies. Palantir Technologies’ analytical platform is already in use throughout multiple public sector agencies in the US. It provides a powerful platform in the battle against terrorism, crime, fraud as well as the protection of civil liberties. This alliance will seek to bring an effective and user friendly data analysis platform to public sector organizations worldwide. Capgemini’s experience in security strategy and technology integration, combined with Palantir’s data analysis infrastructure, has already allowed public security agencies in the US and Europe to manage ever-increasing volumes of data. It has enabled the conversion of data into real, actionable intelligence while maintaining the protection of civil liberties. The development of additional applications in the areas of public security, defence, intelligence and fraud detection will continue at Capgemini’s Centre of Excellence in the Netherlands. Capgemini and Palantir are currently working together to deliver a pilot which intends to help the UK Border Agency to better manage and analyze data in order to reduce and prevent illegal immigration.
Thomson Reuters and Palantir Technologies Announces an Exclusive Agreement to Create Next-Generation Financial Analysis Platform, QA Studio
04/12/2010
Thomson Reuters and Palantir Technologies announced an exclusive agreement to create a next-generation financial analysis platform, QA Studio. QA Studio is an innovative new addition to Thomson Reuters suite of quantitative driven products and extends Palantir’s sophisticated intelligence software into the financial markets. QA Studio enables analysts to explore data, construct model portfolios, easily identify hidden patterns within data, test alpha strategies and collaborate with other users. The user interface is extremely intuitive and based on a collection of modular applications and documents that can be shared. Plus, users who are comfortable writing code can create custom metrics and strategies in a java-based language. QA Studio is based on similar platforms broadly deployed by Palantir Technologies in the intelligence, defense and law enforcement communities.”
http://investing.businessweek.com/businessweek/research/stocks/private/snapshot.asp?privcapId=43580005
we can see ‘other applications’ of ‘Search’, to begin with..
remember, the Name of the 21st C.’s ‘Bull Market’ is “168. Track n’ Trace”..
February 15th, 2011 at 11:15 pm
Unbelievable! I found this crook perfectly believable:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/16/business/madoff-prison-interview.html?_r=1&hp
At least this part:
NEW YORK (AP) — Disgraced Wall Street financier Bernard Madoff (MAY’-dawf) tells a newspaper that banks and hedge funds were “complicit” in his scheme to fleece victims out of billions of dollars.
Madoff told The New York Times in his first interview for publication since his 2008 arrest the financial institutions “were complicit in one form or another.” He didn’t name any institutions.
A court-appointed trustee seeking to recover money on behalf of Madoff’s victims has filed a lawsuit against his primary banker, JPMorgan Chase. The bank denies any wrongdoing.
February 15th, 2011 at 11:27 pm
Speaking of Palantir, that name comes up in a fascinating series of articles over on Ars Technica showing the good guys winning for a change. Starts with the story of HBGary Federal, an alleged security firm, on the make trying to put together business deals for The Chamber and others to spy on people.
Aaron Barr showed off his skills scraping social media to find info on people. In a fatal misstep, he tried to make his bones by exposing the identities of Anonymous, hoping to attract the attention of the likes of B of A. Instead, his company is now dead, or should be, as Anonymous showed him who was the master: defacing the website, stealing all it’s emails, usernames, it’s databases and breaking into connected sites for good measure.
The articles are all on this page: http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/
A couple of summaries are here:
http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2011/02/anonymous-to-security-firm-working-with-fbi-youve-angered-the-hive.ars
http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2011/02/how-one-security-firm-tracked-anonymousand-paid-a-heavy-price.ars
Details of the wheeling and dealing is here. Probably much of it extracted from the stolen documents and emails:
http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2011/02/the-ridiculous-plan-to-attack-wikileaks.ars
The crowning touch is where Anonymous explains how they broke into the sites, taking advantage of extermely amateurish security practices by people claiming a lot of expertise.
http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2011/02/anonymous-speaks-the-inside-story-of-the-hbgary-hack.ars
February 16th, 2011 at 12:22 am
US bond markets begin their fast decline.
http://dawnwires.com/investment-news/china-russia-join-pimco-in-selling-us-treasury-this-is-fearsome-sight/
February 16th, 2011 at 12:25 am
• The History of Too Big To Fail (Focus) — In addition to the TBTF examples list here, “The Creature from Jekyll Island” reviews the myriad bailouts orchestrated by banks/big business/FED. The pattern of bailouts is disgusting and outrageous. Maybe the size and scope of the recent financial crisis will keep the pressure on breaking the pattern.
February 16th, 2011 at 1:21 am
Metals Demand in India May Double on Transport, Power Projects
Metals demand in India, Asia’s second-fastest growing major economy, may double in five years and remain robust for a decade, fueled by rising car sales and higher spending on infrastructure projects, analysts said.
Growth in demand for base metals may jump 10 percent to 15 percent this year, said Sumit Verma, an analyst at broker Geojit Comtrade Ltd. That compares with an average annual increase of 6 percent for aluminum and copper, and 4.3 percent for zinc between 1972 and 2009, Barclays Capital said in November, predicting demand to jump 80 percent by 2015.
“Steel demand may double in the next five years and I will not be surprised if demand for non-ferrous metals such as copper and aluminum grow at twice the pace,” said Kunal Shah, head of commodity research with Nirmal Bang Securities Pvt. in Mumbai.
more…..
via http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-02-16/metals-demand-in-india-forecast-to-double-on-transport-and-power-projects.html
February 16th, 2011 at 9:47 am
Jeff Indy
NAR is a laughable group but providing bogus inflated sales numbers really raises the stakes from just providing misleading headlines in news releases. How a group that represents commissioned salesmen ever achieved a veneer of respectability is an accomplishment in itself.
Todays US report on new housing shows most jan stats were off about 10%, new home completions however were off 22% from a year ago. NAR will of course blame the weather – which has been bad for about 5 years now LOL
http://www.census.gov/const/newresconst.pdf
February 16th, 2011 at 10:47 am
gse reform?
http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2011/02/our-response-to-the-center-for-american-progress-objection-to-our-post-on-its-gse-reform-proposal.html
February 16th, 2011 at 11:03 am
I’m surprised you have been quiet about the G.Greenwald/wikileaks story:
http://www.dylanratigan.com/2011/02/15/glenn-greenwald-on-radio-free-dylan-3/
Maybe you did and I missed it.
I like the Guardian story about the Iraqi fantasy war games:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/feb/15/curveball-iraqi-fantasist-cia-saddam
although I don’t believe for a second they were duped.
February 16th, 2011 at 11:10 am
propaganda from the TBTF banks and their wall street partners in crime?
http://baselinescenario.com/2011/02/14/misleading-research-from-the-chamber-of-commerce/
February 16th, 2011 at 11:11 am
has the stock market made itself irrelevant to main street and regular people?
http://blogs.reuters.com/felix-salmon/2011/02/14/why-the-stock-market-is-increasingly-irrelevant/
February 16th, 2011 at 11:18 am
more on what the stock market means. or not to retirees
http://blogs.reuters.com/felix-salmon/2011/02/15/what-the-decline-of-stocks-means-for-you/
February 16th, 2011 at 11:45 am
rktbrkr; agreed. i left behind 18 yrs of residential mtg banking, existing and new construction, about a year ago and maintain my contacts. the NAR numbers v. what i was getting from my friends weren’t even close.
February 16th, 2011 at 1:03 pm
Teenager tries to hire a hitman via Facebook, fails
http://www.zdnet.com/blog/facebook/teenager-tries-to-hire-a-hitman-via-facebook-fails/129?tag=mantle_skin;content
This could come back to haunt him when applying for a position with the US State Department.
February 16th, 2011 at 1:55 pm
@ venndata—yeah, but at least he’s at the top of the CIA’s list.
February 16th, 2011 at 5:05 pm
BR, have you seen cotton lately? It’s up almost 1% per day YTD, approaching +100% since September.
February 17th, 2011 at 8:41 am
re: the Soft Stuff..
http://finviz.com/futures_charts.ashx?t=CT
204.20/lb.
(Cotton/Cotone/Algodon)