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

… And Whom Would President Romney Pay Off? Do Tell!

Car sales “are growing so fast that Detroit can barely keep up,” according to an AP report published this evening bearing a Detroit dateline.  “Three years after the U.S. auto industry nearly collapsed, sales of cars and trucks are surging. Sales could exceed 14 million this year, above last year’s 12.8 million.” The report says that as a […]

BREAKING NEWS: Bain Capital Wanted to Lend GM and Chrysler Money For Their Managed Bankruptcies!***

**This appears to be incorrect. It was based on a story that CNBC has now updated. It was “Bain Consulting,” not Bain & Co., that advised the government on re-financing the automobile companies. — klh Ah!  Mystery Solved! Yesterday,in my post, “Crony Capitalism On A Grand Scale“—the title of the post borrowed from an op-ed […]

Goldman Does Something Good

The lower the fee, the more money raised by the IPO that actually goes to pay back the taxpayer. Doesn’t change that Michael Moore’s analysis of GM is likely much more true than not (especially the likely reasons for the abrupt sidelining of Ed Whitacre), but every little bit helps. In related news, it’s Economists […]

Attention Republicans/Blue Dog Democrates: Tax cuts as stimulus work against your goal

by Divorced one like Bush I think it’s time to reread the World Bank report on what creates wealth because it seems that the arguments against the stimulus are from a mind-set of very narrow thinking about what creates wealth. They all seem focused on what the World Bank report calls “Produced Capital”. Unfortunately, focusing […]

CEO Math

by divorced one like Bush Honda has done some math, Honda Motor Co. now expects 185 billion yen ($2.06 billion) in group net profit for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2009 — less than a third of the 600 billion yen it earned last fiscal year.For every yen the dollar declines, Honda loses about […]

Good Summary, with Expanded Notes

Ken Houghton Pulled from comments (to the Librarian post at Eschaton): [W]ithout economic knowledge, DFHs don’t understand why the bailout of banks so that they would keep credit flowing is critical, while the bailout of the auto industry caused by the fact that the banks spent the money on acquisitions and executive pay instead of […]

Was GM et al asking for Central Planning (as in communism)?

by: Divorced one like Bush Ok, the auto CEO’s are all lined up. They get asked the populist setup question: Are you going to sell your jets? And they just sat there, as dumb looking as could be. They didn’t say a word. Not a word! To me, that proved they were the wrong people […]