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More links are available in the news feed (also available as an RSS feed).
Feature Link: A New Tax on Banks and Bankers? – NYTimes.com
Simon Johnson, Bert Ely, Judy Samuelson and I each gave our view on a proposed banker tax for the Editors at the New York Times’ Room for Debate. Bert and I are [...]

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From cuddly teddy bear, to growling starving bear, here is your bear market index, courtesy of FallStreet.com. Hat tip Scott.
 

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Welcome to the working week, new decade version! Me? Still thinking it’s 2009, though. Just changed the date to 2010.

Seesmic acquires Ping.fm – The Next Web
Yahoo Can Relax a Little (But Just a Little)–This Year’s BoomTown Obsession Might Have to Be AT&T | Kara Swisher | AllThingsD (A friend says of the attached video [...]

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I almost wrote the date as 2009 yet again. Sheesh. For those of you who took it easy over the weekend and haven’t read any CW material yet, welcome to the next decade. See the 160-story tower that awaits you in Dubai below.
Must read
A dark privatised social security story: Astarra, the missing money and how [...]

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Which states are facing the worst budget deficits in 2010? / The Christian Science Monitor – CSMonitor.com (Hat tip Yves Smith)
The Twelve Most Tarnished Brands in Tech|Technologizer
Harsh lessons we may need to learn again – Joseph Stiglitz (Hat tip Mark Thoma)
Macroeconomic effects of Chinese mercantilism – Paul Krugman Blog – NYTimes.com
Distinguishing [...]

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Happy New Year to everyone. Welcome to 2010. Let’s keep dancing!
When the music stops, in terms of liquidity, things will be complicated. But as long as the music is playing, you’ve got to get up and dance. We’re still dancing.
-Chuck Prince, Citigroup CEO, Jul 2007

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Holiday people, as we head into the new year, I’d like to get the pulse of Credit Writedowns readers on the state of the economy.  Last night, I started a poll asking how long the recovery will last.

I am not sure whether the poll questions are readable in the feed or newsletter, but the answers [...]

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Finance
Business Spectator – Was the GFC a mathematical error? – Blog – Steve Keen (hat tip Rolfe Winkler)
Keep a "Clean" Credit Card to Dig Out of Debt – Debt – Lifehacker
GM ups discounts to sell Pontiac, Saturn inventory| Reuters
FT.com – US to tax Chinese steel grating imports
On Goldman’s (and Now Morgan [...]

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42 year-old banker fired for being too old wins age discrimination case – Telegraph
FT.com – Obama under fire on national security  (This charade only helps beat the drum for further foreign wars. Dems are always beaten up for being weak on national security)
Deep South calls in Iran to cure its health blues – Times [...]

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FT.com / Columnists / Clive Crook – The real missed opportunity in Obama’s first year
“Top Ten Reasons to Kill the Senate Health Care Bill” – Yves Smith
Extinction Countdown: Man convicted for killing and eating China’s last Indochinese tiger
FT.com / Europe – Sarkozy cool on relationship with Obama
Android 2 may hit T-Mobile G1 devices soon
The Best [...]