A conversation with Richard Posner on Charlie Rose

Posner is touting his new book “A Failure of Capitalism: The Crisis of ’08 and the Descent into Depression.” This video with Charlie Rose runs just under 25 minutes

Six Flags: setting the record straight on bankruptcy

You probably saw the mention of Six Flags’ bankruptcy in the links over the weekend (here’s the original article).  It is a shame that the company has gone bankrupt.  However, I was contacted via e-mail by a Six Flags spokesperson informing me that bankruptcy does not equal liquidation.  The company’s theme parks are still open

The Great Depression II meme

Last night I wrote an article reminding you that downside risk remains in the global economy.  While I have been singing a more bullish tuneregarding the prospect of a technical recovery in 2009, I am concerned about a double dip as a likely outcome. And for the record, I have said I see a recovery

Links: 2009-06-15

The crucifixion of Latvia – Ambrose Evans-Pritchard, Telegraph“Contrary to revisionist talk, Argentina was not a basket case. Its imbalances were no worse than those of the Baltics, Balkans, Spain, or Greece, and arguably better. It ran a trade surplus in 1999 and 2000 until dollar revaluation against Brazil and Europe crushed exports. The economy shrank

Is 2009 tracking a 1930 Great Depression scenario?

With more and more major economists predicting recovery sometime later this year, many have forgotten that downside risks remain.  Berner, Roubini, Volcker, Krugman and Bernanke have all come out essentially saying they would not be surprised to see a ‘technical’ recovery at some point later this year.  Robert Gordon has gone as far as to

Links: 2009-06-14

Geithner’s Plan on Pay Falls Short – Yves SmithGeithner is not going to interfere in private companies’ ability to make executive contracts. What is the likely outcome for pay then? How can pay be reformed? What is Different this Time? – Rob Parteneau“Our beef with the equity market boils down to this: the widespread perception

Paul Krugman: Liquidity trap makes future ‘more or less speculation’

Will Hutton has a pretty good interview with Paul Krugman in the Guardian newspaper.  The exchange is quite long, so it gives you a fairly broad understanding of Krugman’s view on the global economy and specific country economies.  What I found especially interesting was Krugman’s admission that we are essentially flying blind. The Federal Reserve

Iran: Ahmadinejad wins, violence erupts on the streets

Low interest rates lead to overbuilding leads to demolition

The chain of events whereby easy money leads to malinvestment that impoverishes a society is now fully manifest in the United States.  You remember Victorville, CA where new homes were being demolished because it cost more to maintain them than to demolish them? (see post here)  Well, that same phenomenon is going to be at

Links: 2009-06-13

Leader Limbaugh: Chalk One Up to Obama, DNC – 538 Limbaugh tops the list–not only among Democrats, but Republicans and all national adults surveyed–as the figure identified as "the main person speaking for the Republican Party today." Reflektionen von Nassim N. Taleb und Daniel Kahneman zur Finanzkrise – Blick Log eine Podiumsdiskussion zwischen Taleb und

A conversation about the growing fiscal deficit on Charlie Rose

Alan Blinder, David Leonhardt, and Alan Auerbach talk about deficits.  Leonhardt had a well-regarded piece in the New York Times on the issue linked below. There are two basic truths about the enormous deficits that the federal government will run in the coming years. The first is that President Obama’s agenda, ambitious as it may

BRICS or CRIBS? – Meeting in Moscow to coordinate policy

Marc Chandler, Global Head of Currency Strategy at Brown Brothers Harriman has a good piece out today highlighting the differing economic policy agendas of the BRIC group (Brazil, Russia, India and China).  In it he suggests CRIBS is a more appropriate moniker for the group as it is China and Russia leading the way for