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

Pay your dues

Reader T-bone states the theory well: (lifted from comments cactus style) The bottom 50% are seeing no increase in real income while the dollar falls and their costs rise. Fiscal policy of low fed rates and heavy borrowing are being used to stimulate growth, and the negatives are being deemed an acceptable sacrifice. I believe […]

Whatever floats your boat

The NYT reports: Behind the numbers in the Accountability Office study, experts say, is a dynamic of mutually re-enforcing deficiencies: ever-changing Pentagon design requirements; unrealistic cost estimates and production schedules abetted by companies eager to win contracts, and a fondness for commercial technologies that often, as with the ferry concept, prove unsuitable for specialized military […]

Links 4/25/2008 New service for AB

Derivatives predict further increase Naked Capitalism Ambac on suspicious transactions Calculated Risk. Eurotrib, a good site to catch news and economy for and about the many facets of European Union countries. (This is the first site to be added to our international links section for information and points of view from our global neighbors. Seemed […]

Potent gases flame controversy

Spiegal Online International carries this article on Arctic research. I immediately thought of Global warming clearing house and methane production, with affection. Researchers have found alarming evidence that the frozen Arctic floor has started to thaw and release long-stored methane gas. The results could be a catastrophic warming of the earth, since methane is a […]

Whittle a beak series

Ilsm continues his whittle the beak series: Professor Theodore Postol, MIT, is a continuing and outspoken critic of Missile Defense Agency, Star Wars and numerous related components such as Patriot and newer science projects. He made news in 1992 pointing out that 37 of 38 disintegrating SCUD missiles fired by Iraq during Gulf War II […]

FOOD AND ENERGY CONSUMPTION

With all the discussion of food and energy it helps sometimes to look at the data and put things in perspective. One reason that the rise in food and energy is having a smaller impact than in the 1970s is that they now account for a much smaller share of consumption. Food and energy fell […]

A Note from Cactus

Cactus sends the following note: There are a lot of things happening in my life right now requiring big decisions and I need to take a break from less pressing needs for a while to sort them out. I don’t know when or if I’ll be back writing for Angry Bear. Its possible you may […]

More thought on China and Hutton

Reader Jeff writes: I’ve yet to read the book but the summary is promising — which is somewhat surprising given the lack of time the author has spent in China. It’s a fact that growth is vital in China’s “bicycle economy” (doesn’t do slow), and that the institutional underpinnings of growth are strained, where they […]

Some color for the Angry Bears

It has been great weather here in Riland, today included. In the spirit of celebrating growth renewing (as we count down the days to the election) I thought I would put up some pictures of the shop and add some color to the blog. Some of the none language kind of color that is. No, […]

Profits increase capital or finance spending today?

Michael Perelman at Econospeak continues his thoughts on captial spending and finacialization of US companies. Here is his post: 3 Takes on Investment in the United States: 3 Regarding the question savings glut versus investment scarcity, a week ago, I wrote to the Washington Post journalist, Steve Mufson, asking how long he thought that Exxon’s […]