From the inbox:
Tim and John,
Thank you for your posts on Environmental Economics about the ACES bill.
The Sierra Club has put together this YouTube video that thanks activists, staff and allies for their hard work getting ACES through the House and casts an eye towards the Senate. Please feel free to [...]
Earlier today, the FDIC voted to move forward a proposal that would place restrictions on private equity groups seeking to participate in restoring failed banks. The WSJ reports:
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s board of directors on Thursday voted to seek comment on a proposal that would set new limits [...]Don't you love the way the NYT reports all bad economic news under Obama? Somehow everything is oddly turned into good news.
The "most painful downturn since the Great Depression has yet to release its hold"--what did you expect buddy?--and yet it is not so bad since "the figures'" [...]
Rachel Howe and Frank Hill of the National Solar Observatory (NSO) in Tucson think they can explain why our sunspot minimum has been so long.
Unfortunately, they can’t explain why the cause is behaving the way it does: so the result isn’t very useful.
This is big news because [...]
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In the four-hour version of THE ASCENT OF MONEY, historian and author Niall Ferguson seeks to explain the financial history of the world, exploring how our complex system of global finance evolved over the centuries, how money has shaped the course of human affairs and how the mechanics of [...]
Here’s thinking of you poor bastards!
The rest of you have a relaxing — and safe — holiday.
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via the New Yorker
[...]
Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco President Janet Yellen spoke at the Commonwealth Club of California on Tuesday about the progress of economic recovery. There has been some speculation that she might succeed Ben Bernanke as Fed Chairman when his term ends next year. She expects a slow recovery, [...]
In two of his Forbes columns, NYU's Thomas Cooley challenges - with data - the widespread misunderstanding that America's middle-class is disappearing. Here, and then here.
(HT Greg Mankiw) The Terry Fitzgerald work that Cooley mentions was mentioned here at the Cafe a while back.
I raise, though, [...]
Not unique, but pretty awful
MANY people have complained during the recession that too much authority has been concentrated in the executive and the Federal Reserve. They have a point, but the problem seems to be that the legislative branch of government has become entirely dysfunctional. What's more, it [...]
Business Pundit will be a little different in July. I’m going to spend the next couple of weeks sitting on an inflated device one mile beneath the earth. This is otherwise known as rafting the Grand Canyon, a once-in-a-lifetime trip that I was lucky enough to land [...]
Gene Smolensky admonishes me for not having read Fool's Gold yet. "It's very good," he says, "But it doesn't have enough numbers."
' [...]In a town hall speech yesterday, the President made a pitch for his health care plan, arguing it makes economic sense. I am not a health care expert, but I do think about things in economic terms. The President may make an argument about universal health care as just. [...]
The best of the rest of the economics web
TODAY'S recommended economics writing: • How did the SEC miss Bernie Madoff's fraud? Some didn't. Still, Mr Madoff wasn't the biggest crook of this stock market cycle, says Dasan. • Facing deficits, some American states are cutting summer school, [...]
It's the realpolitik, stupid
PAUL KRUGMAN doesn't seem to be paying attention to the arguments opponents of carbon tariffs are actually making. It's much easier, I guess, to make up an opposing view to debate against. He writes:So the economics are right; it’s WTO-legal; and it would neutralize a [...]
A movement growing in that polite sort of way.
[...]Via MR commentator John Chilton, here is a link (JSTOR, but free pdf here) to the classic and excellent treatment by Lawrence Summers on mandated benefits. My view is that the main case for mandated benefits is simply to note that public provision is often worse and [...]
The celebration of the 4th of July as if it's a libertarian holiday is a bit much to bear. Secession from Britain was a mistake. It's easy enough to realize that the Constitution was not some libertarian achievement as conservatives and libertarians delude themselves [...]
Some items to read over the long holiday weekend:
• Fissures Appear at the New York Fed (WSJ)
• Matt Taibbi on Goldman’s Response to his Rolling Stone article (True Slant)
• Manhattan Apartment Prices Drop as Lehman Effect Hits Home (Bloomberg) See also 2Q 2009 Manhattan Market Overview [...]
I discovered a typo in Bailout Nation !
In trying to explain exactly how much a trillion was, I resorted to using time as an example — a 72 year life span is 2.2 billion seconds (On page 182).
To get to the definition of a trillion notes it is 31,546 [...]
Different times of the year can establish different ranges for mortgage rates. Most recently, the low of 5.03% observed on May 26 and the peak of 5.81% on June 11 have have established the extremes of the range we expect Conforming rates to remain in for quite some time.
At the [...]
The Sydney Morning Herald reports on a gang of German senior citizens who kidnapped and tortured their financial adviser:
A group of wealthy pensioners has been accused of kidnapping and torturing a financial adviser who lost about $4 million of their savings.
The pensioners, nicknamed the “Geritol Gang” by German [...]
[...] [...] Guest blog from Economics Editor Peter Coy
Ouch. Merrill Lynch didn't pick the best time to upgrade its outlook for the U.S. economy. The research note on the upgrade hit my email inbox at 8:12 a.m.--minutes before the Labor Dept. announced a worse-than-expected decline of 467,000 jobs in June.
To be fair,' [...]
Krishna Guha to the orange courtesy phone, please.
The headline over your article is:
Romer Upbeat on US Economy
The quotes from the Hon. Christina D. Romer are:
We do not want to repeat the mistake Japan made in the 1990s, when the moment things started to improve they tightened policy...
[Stimulus spending [...]
Regular readers of this blog are certainly familiar with the young city of Sandy Springs, Georgia, which seceded from Fulton County in late 2005 and, rather than creating a traditional city government, hired a contractor to manage all of the city's administrative functions and perform all of the hands-on, non-safety-related [...]
The Mercatus Working Paper series now includes the following, co-authored with Gene Callahan: "The Role of Ideal Types in Austrian Business Cycle Theory." An earlier version was presented at the SEA meetings last November, as well as at the Wirth Institute Conference in October. Gene and I thank a [...]
In the UAE slander is broadly defined and taken seriously. Abu Dhabi has reached out to help Dubai weather the worldwide economic downturn. One wonders whether a disagreement over the publication of horse doping story could harm that relationship. [...] How many of you use this function?
Here's a search on Karl Malden and Ben Gordon (now a Piston). Besides entering your own name, what are the best methods for getting quality information out of Twitter? Is there a successful hybrid blog/Twitter format, where the blogger pairs with [...]
What we buy when times are hard
TIME'S Cheapskate blog is collecting a list of goods that have enjoyed an increase in demand through the current recession. Time political writer Michael Scherer helpfully summarises (with links):Seeds, Condoms, Romance Novels, Donuts, Silly Movies, Smartphones, Yoga, Lotteries...The theme would appear to [...]
I have the lead quote in the this page one NYT Business section article on the Markets — which came out prior to this NFP:
“Less-worse isn’t the same as better,” said Barry Ritholtz, chief executive of FusionIQ, a research firm. “We want to see ‘good.’ In order to grow profits, [...]
The Economist's free exchange:
Fifty little Hoovers, hoovering up stimulus: MATTHEW YGLESIAS makes a good point:
Reading Harold Meyerson’s column on the looming devastation of California public services was yet another reminder of the remarkable extent to which the terrible continuing economic situation has bizarrely dropped off the [...]
Susan Davis retypes a statement issued by John Boehner's office:
Republicans Blame Obama Policies for Job Losses.
Retyping Republican press releases is not a sustainable business model for anyone save Matt Drudge...
Why oh why can't we have a better press corps?
' [...]I can never get enough of these sorts of articles:
Loonie weakens as jobless data spooks investors: Canada's currency weakened after a U.S. government report showed employers cut more jobs in June than economists forecast, diminishing prospects for the country's economic recovery."A worse number is going to be bad for risk appetite," said [...]
Novavax, Inc. announced today that it plans to license its vaccine technology to Spanish pharmaceutical company ROVI, who will use it to develop pandemic and seasonal flu vaccines (including one for novel H1N1). ROVI will also establish Spain’s only in-border vaccine production facility. This 60 million-euro program [...]
Guest blogger Peter Coy will be filling in for me for the next two weeks while I am taking a vacation (at home and in Scotland). You may know Peter as the writer of many of BW's economics cover stories and as a main contributor to the Hot Property blog. [...]
Are you about to head out for the long 4th of July weekend? Be sure to bring along some extra cash to cover the tourist taxes you'll probably encounter.
That's right. It's not being widely broadcast by state and local convention and visitors bureaus, but out-of-towners are the new hot revenue [...]
A new study published in The Columbia Science and Technology Law Review challenges the traditional view that patents foster innovation, suggesting instead that patents may harm new technology, economic activity, and societal wealth. [...]
Jake at Econompic points us to this chart of U3 versus U6:
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And here is an update of the chart we first ran back in February of this year (here, and here)
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via Calculated Risk
[...]The pundits are shocked, shocked to learn that jobs are still being lost. But there's really nothing surprising in today's jobs report for June, released this morning by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Recessions have a habit of doing that, and for longer than the crowd expects. Disappointing and [...]
Whenever I write a blog entry advocating more and/or better regulation, the laissez-faire types, like Vincent Fernando, have a tendency to come out of the woodwork:
I believe we need to keep holding people responsible for their decisions and personal management…
While overdraft fees are quite high, at the same [...]
As we prepare to celebrate the 233rd anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence we should recall why the American colonists made their decision to break away from the British Empire. The Declaration, in the enumerated grievances against the British Crown, makes it crystal clear that the [...]
Europe's foolish immigration policies
MY COLLEAGUE wrote about European attitudes to immigration a couple of days ago, and pointed to this news story about Spain paying immigrants to return to their countries of origin. It seems that's only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to things rich [...]
Crain’s Chicago Business has a sweet story about a potential Ferrara Pan Candy Co./Kraft Foods chocolate war:
Feeling betrayed by Kraft Foods Inc. after the nation’s largest foodmaker killed a partnership with his family’s Ferrara Pan Candy Co., Mr. Ferrara plans to hit back. This fall, [...]
Unemployment picked up sharply in June from May. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 467,000 nonfarm jobs were lost last month and the unemployment rate rose to 9.5%.
The fact that layoffs increased by 145,000 from May to June, after falling by 197,000 from April to May, has many [...]
A few more graphs based on the (un)employment report ...OK! Magazine’s latest issue shows a post-heart attack Michael Jackson on the cover. Tabloid rags are always pushing past the fringes of decency to grab reader attention, but this goes too far. It would have been acceptable if Michael Jackson had survived. But please, OK! Mag, remember the man as [...]
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Be sure to see the terrific commentary over the past 24 hours in the Think Tank from David Rosenberg, Jack McHugh, and Bill King.
And if you are not reading Peter Boockvar’s MacroNotes, you are missing out on outstanding real time analysis of economic releases . [...]
Heidi Moore has 1,200 words on bank bonuses in The Big Money. But it being a holiday weekend and all, I know you can't be bothered to read the whole thing. So here's the shorter version:
All those bonuses can't be coming from banking. But it turns out that [...]
1. Ezra Klein's new food column.
2. Washington Post markets in everything? The paper has yet to respond, so do be aware there may be another side to this story.
4. 1959.
5. The Kissing Experiment (2009).
6. The end of free banking in contemporary China.
7. [...]
On GMO patent infestation, Kent Hastings comments on my IP views and those of J. Neil Schulman. Schulman responded:
My article "Informational Property: Logorights" begins by specifically disclaiming any state grants of monopoly. The concept stands or falls on its natural-property-rights arguments. Neither Samuel Edward Konkin [...]
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The WSJ: Wall Street Pay Approaches 2007’s Records Will Ben, Hank, Little Timmy and Congressional leaders explain to the American people how it is possible for Wall Street to have near record remuneration AFTER the US taxpayers were put on the hook for about $12 trillion [...]
Marginal product is the additional "output," however measured, when some input is added to the production process, holding all other inputs constant in their usage. "Uncle John" at Tigerboard has a post that indicates he understands the meaning of marginal product in team sports:
I have to say this about the Bird [...]Ps vs Qs in Green Inc:
If the nation’s goal is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and promote the development of clean energy, is it easier to do this by managing the price of emissions and renewables, or by fixing the amount by which they are to be reduced (emissions) and produced (renewables)? [...]
Unemployment stubbornly rising
THE American labour market has apparently stalled out while trying to pull out of its early year dive. There was clear improvement in the rate of decline through late spring, but that progress appears to have ended, and labour market data shows an economy that continues [...]
From the Energy Collective:
Tune in Thursday, July 2 at 12:00 EST
All who remember Animal House can recall the scene at the end in which the band is trying to walk through the wall at the end of the alley, having been led there by one of the pranksters from Delta House. Obviously this moment is an absurdity, but nonetheless [...]
After this morning's report, here are four unfortunate facts about the job market.
1) Manufacturing jobs are falling at their fastest rate since 1946, down -12.2% over the past year.
2) Private sector jobs outside of manufacturing are also falling at their fastest rate since 1946, down -4.0% over the past [...]
What is the point of jailing him? He is no direct threat to anyone. Society would not safer with him in the slammer. He is not going to rob people or beat people up. He might write a book and donate the funds to charity or make some restitution [...]
By SpencerWriting in today's New York Times, Nicholas Kristof argues that we're not as frightened of climate change as science counsels that we should be, and that our fear's inadequacy is rooted in our evolutionary past. We are, Kristof correctly says, evolved to fear immediate, visible threats and not so much those threats -' [...]
Initial Jobless Claims totaled 614k, 1k less than expected but the prior month was revised up by 3k to 630k. Continuing Claims fell by 53k from last week and was 38k less than expected. There has been a big discussion of late over the expiration of unemployment insurance and how [...]
Note: earlier Employment post: Employment Report: 467K Jobs Lost, 9.5% Unemployment Rate. The earlier post includes a comparison to previous recessions.
