by Stormy(lifted from e-mail to me and MG) Whether there is or is not a near peak in either of these two metals (copper and gold), weshould expect to see prices inexorably climb. The reason? The enormousappetite of China for raw materials. However we look at it, China’sponderous entry onto the world stage has been […]
Twenty best independent financial blogs 24/7 Wall St reports March 31, 2010: The Angry Bear www.angrybearblog.com. Half a dozen professionals, including a tax law expert, a historian, PhDs in economics, business consultants and financial professionals provide perspectives on the financial world. Despite their expansive coverage of economic issues, their articles are as deep as their […]
by Linda Beale Maybe at this juncture, when Congress is beginning to talk about what to do about the sunsetting Bush tax provisions, it’s an appropriate time to remind ourselves about our historic commitment to progressivity in our tax system. A good source for thinking about this is an article by Tom Piketty and Emmanuel […]
by Rebecca Wilder Today I digress from my recent Eurozone obsessions to compare the U.S. Consumer Confidence report (released today) to the PMI production surveys, a “soft” comparison of supply and demand. According to the Conference Board today: The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index, which had decreased in February, rebounded in March. The Index now […]
by Linda Beale Banks, repos and transparency in accounting A repo transaction is essentially a collateralized financing. For tax purposes, everybody knows that it will be treated as a loan, no matter that it is called a “sale” with an agreement for a repurchase later. For accounting purposes, though, some repo transactions have been able […]
by cactus Last week I wrote A Simple Explanation of How The Use of Derivatives Created The Great Recession. I want to clarify things with an analogy that at first glance may seem unrelated. Let’s talk about poker. Its a game that seems to have grown in popularity in the last decade, especially with the […]
by Rebecca Wilder This is a post about my confusion, rather than my reporting, of the Eurozone saga. Here are some pieces worth reading if you want to catch up: The NY Times (the basics); Ed Harrison (via Naked Capitalism); From the billy blog; The Financial Times (Martin Wolf, a must read); The Economist (will […]
by Reader Jack From the NY Times yesterday:“Social Security to See Payout Exceed Pay-In This Year” That’s the headline. The interesting parts are buried deep. In the print edition one has to go not just below the fold, but to the inside pages to find the meat of the story. Superficially it would appear the […]
by Linda Beale why taxes are important from ataxingmatter When I started this blog several years ago, I wrote in my inaugural post that I thought it was important for people to be informed about taxes–how they work, who pays them, and why we need a tax system to support our governmental programs. I thought […]