Relevant and even prescient commentary on news, politics and the economy.

Johan Goldberg on Serious Scholars at NRO

Johan Goldberg’s latest over at National Review Online had one line I just could not resist: By my very rough guess, since 9/11 National Review Online and National Review have run probably 500 articles from serious scholars to folks like me … The topic was Peter Beinart’s A Fighting Faith, which has received various reviews […]

More on House Prices

Stephen Roach is apparently unconvinced by those who argue that there is no housing bubble. From today’s Financial Times (subscription required): Five years after the bursting of the equity bubble, America has done it again. This time, it is the housing bubble. But this speculative excess may be the cruellest bubble of all – and […]

OPEC’s Decision

OPEC has decided to cut back on production. OPEC’s official price target is $22-$28 per barrel, yet this decision to cut back production when the price of oil is still above $40 indicates that they actually seem to prefer prices far higher than this official price target. As The Economist puts it, OPEC seems to […]

Producer Price Inflation

The November PPI report was released today. It came in a bit above expectations: The Producer Price Index for Finished Goods advanced 0.5 percent in November, seasonally adjusted, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. This increase followed a 1.7-percent gain in October and a 0.1-percent rise in September… […]

The Apprentice

Not to turn this into a TV blog, but seriously, in what sense is Jenn more capable than Kevin? (And no, being on the cover of Maxim does not count.) AB

Inside the Army on Humvee Protective Plates

The company that produces Humvee Protective Plates has on its webcite this press release dated August 30, 2004, which noted: Some in Congress have accused the military of being lax in its provision of adequate protection equipment. During an April House Armed Services Committee hearing, Chairman Duncan Hunter (RCA) rebuked Army officials for not moving […]

The Onion on Social Security Reform

So Bush is looking for a plan to squander our Social Security retirement funds? The Onion has a plan that the fans of the Seattle Seahawks might rejoice as is not squandered on another tax cut for Bill Gates. OK, the Hawks are a game behind the Packers and the Vikings and tied from the […]

Rumsfeld Redefines Full Capacity

We noted yesterday where Secretary Rumsfeld claimed the DoD was producing as fast as it can and supply is dictated by “a matter of physics, not a matter of money.” Via Julia at American Street comes this Bloomberg story: Armor Holdings Inc., the sole supplier of protective plates for the Humvee military vehicles used in […]

Housing Market Optimism

Jonathan McCarthy and Richard W. Peach of the New York Fed paint a relatively optimistic picture of the US’s housing market. From “Are Home Prices the Next Bubble?” FRBNY Economic Policy Review, Dec 2004: Home prices have been rising strongly since the mid-1990s, prompting concerns that a bubble exists in this asset class and that […]

Lost

Anyone else think that having Jack revive Charlie was pretty much the low point of the show so far? AB