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

EconTalk Jumps the Shark

Russ Roberts could at least pretend that Amity Shlaes (B.A., English Literature) had written a book related to economics, no matter how badly contrived and poorly researched it was. But what’s his excuse for this (B.A., English Literature, Penn; MBA Chicago)? Sadly, it appears he has stopped even pretending to be interested in economics, and […]

PSA: Worth Reading

While Henry and Brad DeLong noted some more silly prattling from a brain-dead economist, AB readers and those wanting to maintain their sanity* will prefer The New Decembrists, and new blog from The Epicurean Dealmaker and, presumably, others. Worth it for TED’s Reformist Manifesto alone. *I do not necessarily assume that either of these sets […]

Too efficient NOT to consolidate

Cross-posted at News N Economics blog, by Rebecca Here’s yet another historical record broken in 2009: “Only three insured institutions were chartered in the [third] quarter, the smallest quarterly total since World War II.” This fact is from the FDIC’s latest Quarterly Banking Profile. There are probably non-economic reasons for this, i.e., the application process […]