U.S. office market continues to spiral down – Reuters
Vacancy rate is now 15.9%

Surprise drop in UK output hits recovery hopes – Guardian
Data in UK missing expectations now too.

Close Relationship Between Past Warming And Sea-level Rise
520,000 years of data

More Steve McNair Revelations And Fallout – Steve McNair murder
Rodney Peete better watch out.

Ricardian Equivalence makes comeback – [...]

Bank of NY Mellon sees writedowns, 2009 profit: report – Reuters
This is what I expect many banks to be saying later this quarter.

Is Obama Edging Towards Bush-Like Indefinite Detention? – Michael Scherer, Swampland
This is very disappointing. We now have some serious political compromises on finance, civil liberties, health care, and the war on terror. At [...]

What I was afraid of – Paul Krugman
As I also predicted, Obama’s stimulus package is now looking inadequate.

Volcker Gets Less Than He Wants in Curbing Wall Street Excesses – Bloomberg
The title says everything, doesn’t it?

Our Crisis of Regulation – Richard Posner
This op-ed is spot on in saying that the Obama reform agenda is premature. We [...]

After Pilot Dies, Jet Lands Safely in Newark – NY Times
EU sets basis for finance reform – BBC News
"EU ministers have agreed in principle on a framework for enhanced oversight of the financial sector, with the UK winning key concessions to the plans."

When it comes to global banks, size matters – Gillian Tett
The Swiss and [...]

This is the new Winston Churchill biopic hitting theatres. By the way, Churchill was of American descent by way of his mother (Wikipedia says he was the first foreigner made an honorary citizen of the U.S. as well).

For you Star Trek fans, here is a little weekend preview of what to see.  It’s Star Trek vs. Wolverine at the box office this weekend.  It might be a nice break from stress tests and employment reports.  Enjoy.

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I hope you all have a great weekend. Here is a clip from a new film you might want to take the kids to see.

Enjoy.

I saw this film at the weekend and thought it was brilliant.  I highly recommend seeing it.  And if you are in an especially ornery frame of mind because of AIG and the bailouts, the film does have a nice villanous corporate angle as well.
Here’s the video of Charlie Rose talking to Julia Roberts, Clive [...]

Right now I am trying to forget that we are back to 1997 levels on the market. So, I am posting this WSJ clip about the Oscars. Overall, I guessed 4 out of 7 of the big categories right.
It was the best show in years with “Slumdog Millionaire,” a brilliant film, winning Best Picture.

The link for the list of nominees for the 81st Academy Awards Ceremony is here.
Here are my picks:

Best Actress – Kate Winslet
Best Actor – Mickey Rourke
Best Supporting Actor – Heath Ledger
Best Supporting Actress – Penelope Cruz
Best Director – Gus Van Sant
Best Foreign Film – The Baader Meinhof Complex
Best Picture – Slumdog Millionaire

The show starts at [...]