Wikio - Business Blogs

Larisa Alexandrovna: All the President's Nazis (real and imagined): An Open Letter to Bush (The Huffington Post)

Fri, 16 May 2008 01:10:50 GMT

Dear Mr. Bush, Your speech on the Knesset floor today was not only a disgrace; it was nothing short of treachery. Worse still, your exploitation of the Holocaust in a country carved out of the wounds of that very crime, in order to strike a low blow at American citizens whose politics differs from your own is unforgivable and unpardonable. Let me remind you, Mr. Bush, of your words today : "Some seem...

Source : The Huffington Post (subscribe)

Explore : George W. Bush, Government, US President

Substituting Physical and Human Capital (Greg Mankiw's Blog)

Fri, 16 May 2008 01:42:00 GMT

A student befriends me on facebook , leaving this message: Your econ textbook helped us out tremendously this year.....especially because our teacher has no clue what she's doing, and so we have to read the text to understand what's happening. This reminded me of a professor I know who once told me that he liked to assign the most confusing textbook he could find. By comparison, his lectures would...

Source : Greg Mankiw's Blog (subscribe)

McCain vs Obama: The Farm Bill (Greg Mankiw's Blog)

Fri, 16 May 2008 00:38:00 GMT

Obama supports the farm bill . Clinton scolds McCain for opposing it . Score one for McCain (for reasons spelled out in a previous post ).

Source : Greg Mankiw's Blog (subscribe)

Fedspeak Highlights: Mishkin on Bubbles (Real Time Economics)

Fri, 16 May 2008 00:19:43 GMT

In a speech Thursday night, Federal Reserve Governor Frederic Mishkin maintained the common central bank view against attempting to prick asset-price bubbles through monetary policy. His key reasons: bubbles can be hard to identify; using interest rates may not even restrain a bubble; and monetary policy, as a blunt intstrument, would likely likely hit [...]

Source : Real Time Economics (subscribe)

Explore : Economic Indicators

WSJ Report: Fannie Mae to Eliminate "declining market" Rules (Calculated Risk)

Fri, 16 May 2008 00:04:00 GMT

From the WSJ: Fannie Is Poised To Scrap Policy Over Down Payments (no link yet) Fannie Mae is expected to announce Friday that it is scrapping a policy requiring higher down payments on home mortgages in areas where house prices are falling. The change comes in response to protests from vital political allies of the government-sponsored provider of funding for mortgages, including the National Association...

Source : Calculated Risk (subscribe)

Explore : Fannie Mae, Mortgages, The Wall Street Journal

Fed's Mishkin: How Should We Respond to Asset Price Bubbles? (Calculated Risk)

Thu, 15 May 2008 23:42:00 GMT

From Fed Governor Frederic S. Mishkin: How Should We Respond to Asset Price Bubbles? Rex Nutting at MarketWatch has the story: Fed should deflate some bubbles, Mishkin says The Federal Reserve should try to aggressively deflate some types of asset bubbles before they can harm the economy, Fed Gov. Frederic Mishkin said Thursday. But raising interest rates isn't the way to prick a bubble, he said. And...

Source : Calculated Risk (subscribe)

Paul Rieckhoff: First Victory on GI Bill Today (The Huffington Post)

Thu, 15 May 2008 23:40:49 GMT

This afternoon, the House of Representatives made history. By an overwhelming margin , lawmakers passed the landmark new GI Bill which will make college affordable to the more than 1.6 million Iraq and Afghanistan veterans. As President Roosevelt said when he signed the original GI Bill for veterans of World War II, "[The GI Bill] gives emphatic notice to the men and women in our armed forces that...

Source : The Huffington Post (subscribe)

Explore : House of Representatives

Fed Loans to Banks Still Increasing (Calculated Risk)

Thu, 15 May 2008 22:30:00 GMT

From Bloomberg: Fed's Direct Loans to Banks Climb to Record Level The Federal Reserve's direct loans of cash to commercial banks climbed to the highest level on record in the past week, a sign of continued stress in financial markets that threatens to curtail credit for households and companies. Funds provided through the so-called discount window for banks rose by $2.8 billion to a daily average of...

Source : Calculated Risk (subscribe)

Reached At His Tanning Bed, Angelo Mozilo Said He Just Wanted To Know "How That Broad Got Her Hands On My Mission Statement?" (DealBreaker)

Thu, 15 May 2008 17:49:24 GMT

Rejecting the arguments of Countrywide executives and directors that they were unaware of lax loan operations that led to ballooning defaults, Judge Mariana R. Pfaelzer of Federal District Court in Los Angeles ruled Tuesday that she found confidential witness accounts in the shareholder complaint to be credible and that they suggested “a widespread company culture that encouraged employees to push...

Source : DealBreaker (subscribe)

Write-Offs: 05.15.08 (DealBreaker)

Thu, 15 May 2008 21:41:56 GMT

$$$ How to Burst the Rice Bubble [Portfolio] $$$ Blackstone : Blame the Accountants [DealBook] $$$ Priceline.com Inc. (PCLN) [WallStrip]

Source : DealBreaker (subscribe)

Four at Four: The Rich Are Different (MarketBeat)

Thu, 15 May 2008 21:33:15 GMT

A modern-art masterpiece goes for lots. Gas prices may be soaring, but baubles in turquoise boxes and minimalist art are apparently still part of some budgets. As a result, Thursday was a red-letter day for stocks generally considered bellwethers for spending habits of the ultra-wealthy. Shares of Tiffany & Co. gained 4.8% in trading Thursday after [...]

Source : MarketBeat (subscribe)

Explore : Energy and Water, Tiffany

Layoffs Watch '08: UBS's War On Wharton (DealBreaker)

Thu, 15 May 2008 21:32:57 GMT

I don't want to upset you right before the weekend, but apparently "three-quarters of the Penn grads employed by UBS (1-3 years) have been laid off." Not really that surprising considering the Swiss bank's history but deeply disturbing nonetheless.

Source : DealBreaker (subscribe)

Kasriel: In the Eye of the Hurricane (Calculated Risk)

Thu, 15 May 2008 21:17:00 GMT

From Paul Kasriel and Asha Bangalore at Northern Trust: In the Eye of the Economic Hurricane There seems to be sentiment developing that the U.S. has weathered the worst of the current cyclical economic storm and blue skies are ahead. We disagree. Any blue skies you see are likely to be short lived. The economy is in the relative calm of the eye of the business-cycle hurricane. The mortgage credit...

Source : Calculated Risk (subscribe)

Donald Trump Thinks America Is About To Fail (DealBreaker)

Thu, 15 May 2008 20:12:15 GMT

When Donald Trump launched a mortgage company a couple of years back it was a sure sign that the mortgage business was heading for serious trouble. Now that he says that America is doomed by $125 oil , we're thinking that's a powerful contrary indicator. Maybe the worst really is behind us? (By the way, our nerds IT folks were moving around some wires this afternoon, and comments got disabled. Should...

Source : DealBreaker (subscribe)

Explore : Business, Donald Trump, Entrepreneurs

Fake Writer's Take On Banking (DealBreaker)

Thu, 15 May 2008 20:12:15 GMT

James Frey has a new (legitimately fictional) book out called Bright Shining Morning . At a reading last night, when asked by an audience member if he ever found it difficult to come up with material, he responded, "Writer's block is for chumps. To me this is a job, like being a banker, or a teacher. You never hear of banker's block." Setting aside the notion that Frey really isn't in a position to...

Source : DealBreaker (subscribe)

Rick Hasen: Did the California Supreme Court Just Do John McCain an Inadvertent Favor? (The Huffington Post)

Thu, 15 May 2008 19:57:00 GMT

Today's 4-3 decision of the California Supreme Court striking down under the California Constitution a California statute limiting "marriage" to opposite-sex couples could help John McCain in the fall. (More coverage of the opinion itself at How Appealing .) The decision is based upon the California Constitution, which can be changed by the voters. And, according to this story in the S.F. Chronicle...

Source : The Huffington Post (subscribe)

Explore : California, John McCain

A Sale by the Dow’s Oldest Member (MarketBeat)

Thu, 15 May 2008 19:48:01 GMT

Investors ultimately haven't been happy to see the news that General Electric Co. is considering off-loading its century-old appliance unit, which is as much responsible for the company's reputation as the ubiquitous light bulbs the conglomerate sells. Perhaps investors believe GE isn't doing quite enough to prune its holdings after a surprisingly poor first-quarter earnings release. [...]

Source : MarketBeat (subscribe)

Explore : Conglomerates, General Electric

Demand Slackens for Fed's Treasury Swap (Real Time Economics)

Thu, 15 May 2008 19:45:23 GMT

The New York Federal Reserve’s latest $25 billion exchange of Treasurys securities for high-quality agency and mortgage-backed debt drew just $7.24 billion of bids from its primary dealer audience Thursday. All bids were accepted, at an interest rate of just 0.1%, in line with the minimum fee set by the central bank. This was the eighth round [...]

Source : Real Time Economics (subscribe)

Explore : Cities and Towns, New York, New York City

New Guestbook Entry by Malcolm Riddell (China Financial Markets)

Thu, 15 May 2008 19:05:48 GMT

Hi Michael, Just found your blog. Terrific! I'll give you an email next time I get to Beijing. Look forward to seeing again. All the best, Malcolm See all guestbook entries .

Source : China Financial Markets (subscribe)

Explore : Beijing

Glenn Greenwald: Tom Friedman's Latest Declaration of War (The Huffington Post)

Thu, 15 May 2008 18:56:05 GMT

Yesterday was a very exciting day in America. Our nation's most serious foreign policy expert, the "brilliant" Thomas Friedman of The New York Times , declared our latest new war: The next American president will inherit many foreign policy challenges, but surely one of the biggest will be the cold war. Yes, the next president is going to be a cold-war president -- but this cold war is with Iran. So...

Source : The Huffington Post (subscribe)