Stephen Roach thinks that long-term interest rates in the US are nearly as low as they will get, primarily because everyone in the US seems to be borrowing rather than saving: [T]he US saving outlook has just taken a worrisome turn for the worse. That wouldn’t be so bad if America started from a position […]

I must confess that I’ve spent relatively little time thinking about or paying attention to the Roberts confirmation process. I think that’s probably largely a function of the fact that there’s almost no suspense; unless it comes out that Roberts eats puppy dogs for breakfast, or maybe masterminded an identity-theft operation for the mob, there’s […]

The short term supply of gasoline remains tenuous. The NYTimes reports today: ‘… four major refineries … are either flooded or without power, and are likely to be out of commission for several weeks, perhaps months. Together, these refine 880,000 barrels a day, or 5 percent of domestic capacity.’ And, according to the Lundberg Survey, […]

In his comments to this post, Jeffrey Miller points us to an excellent discussion from Roger Lowenstein: But as Alan Greenspan and Warren Buffett have observed, they aren’t “free” in an economic sense. Like other forms of compensation, options bear a cost to the corporation. But what is that cost? … Academics have been devising […]

It seems if one has White House connections, one may receive reconstruction contracts: WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Companies with ties to the Bush White House and the former head of FEMA are clinching some of the administration’s first disaster relief and reconstruction contracts in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. At least two major corporate clients of […]

More proof that the only thing the National Review cares about is excusing the failures of the current Administration comes from Fuzzcharts (OK, I’m now stealing Mark Thoma’s phrases): Let’s call it Bowyer’s Law: The emphasis that the mainstream media give to unemployment while a Republican is in the White House is directly proportional to […]

This seems to be the message from John Tamny: Majority Leader Bill Frist (R., Tenn.) has promised to hold a vote on the estate tax as soon as possible. Those presently suffering in Louisiana and Mississippi should hope he does, and that the Republicans also have the courage to make permanent the 2003 Bush tax […]

The SEC has rejected an approach to value employee stock options (ESO) proposed by Cisco Systems: Securities and Exchange Commission Chief Accountant Donald Nicolaisen is expected to reject Cisco’s Systems … The option valuation question is pressing because large U.S.-listed companies, under a new accounting rule, in fiscal years begun after June 15 had to […]

This from Kos… and just too funny for me to pass up. Jon Stewart: The president has vowed to personally lead the investigation into the government’s failed response to Katrina? Isn’t that a job perhaps someone else should be doing? Samantha Bee: No, not at all, Jon. To truly find out what went wrong, it’s […]

The Economist has noted for a couple of years now that the surge in house prices in the US is not a national phenomenon, but rather an international one. In fact, several countries started a dramatic run-up in house prices before the US, and rose further and faster. In particular, Great Britain, Ireland, Australia, New […]