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

Inflation, Deflation…

by cactus Inflation, Deflation… Where The Heck Are We Going? Some folks are telling we are going to have deflation, what with the economy contracting and the vast disappearance of tons of cash through the implosion in value of assets that weren’t really worth what Goldman, Welfare, Queen & Sachs and the rest of ’em […]

ANGRY BEAR’S ECONOMIC ROUNDUP

rdan (Posted a little late but for comment on the usefulness of such a post pinned to the top when I figure out how. Please comment on the potential and how you would add to the service. Much of the post would be below the fold is one thought, but is above this time for […]

Most generous welfare program in history

by cactus Bush, The View From 2004 In 2000, I ran the numbers and it was obvious to me GW’s economic plan was complete BS, so I assumed the rest of what he was telling us couldn’t work either. But I can understand why many people voted for him. 2004 is a bit harder for […]

Shorting state finances after being bailed…good for profits, but….???

rdan Hat tip ataxingmatter for the link to this matter in Bloomberg: Dec. 10 (Bloomberg) — Goldman Sachs Group Inc., one of the top five U.S. municipal bond underwriters, is angering politicians and public-finance officials in New Jersey, Wisconsin, California and Florida by recommending that investors purchase credit-default swaps to bet against 11 states’ debt. […]

Barter part 1

sort of an op-ed by rdan I have noticed from Yves Smith that the Baltic Dry Index is tanking*, and that letters of credit cost 3-4% to establish instead of the lower 1% or so. Trade has relied on ‘letters of credit’ to keep goods flowing. Correspondingly ‘sovereign bartering’ between governments is increasing as pricing […]

Down under observations

by reader OSO Summary: The two best examples of neoliberalism working are Australia and NewZealand. These two nations (of which I am a citizen of one) enactedmajor economic reforms in the early 1980s and have benefited since. The Washington Consensus, despite being out of fashion these days, is ablueprint that both Australia and New Zealand […]

Somebody’s gotta ask!

by cactus Questions About the Big 3, and Legacy Costs I keep hearing that the Big 3’s Problem is that it has all these legacy union retirees who are expensive as all heck to maintain and add tremendously to the cost of manufacturing cars. That raises a few questions: 1. How many years will it […]

WXYZ

Up to date coverage on Auto News can be found at WXYZ.com. Update: Link fixed. Update 2: Union contracts linked in comments, hat tip MG.

11 spending programs, 2 Trillion lent based on what…best guesses so far

rdan Exclusive report Bloomberg continues the quest for information on US lending of $2 Trillion. The Federal Reserve refused a request by Bloomberg News to disclose the recipients of more than $2 trillion of emergency loans from U.S. taxpayers and the assets the central bank is accepting as collateral. Bloomberg filed suit Nov. 7 under […]

Anything You Can Do I Can Do Better

rdan Marketwatch notes some kinks in our concepts of retirement security: The vast gulf in performance underscores a little-appreciated fact of target-date funds: They may focus on the same retirement year, but investment philosophy and the percentage of stocks, bonds and cash varies widely.“All retirement funds are not equal,” said John Markese, president of the […]