German Homeschooling Family Seeks Asylum.
An update on the disease that threatens the worlds wheat crop.
Something for auto workers to do (read till the end)? I don’t know how well these things will really work. But it is important to remember that when you keep companies from going broke you often make it harder to shift resources to where they will do some real good.
The Pension Benefit Guaranty Board decided to invest in an asset class that was guaranteed to be worth less just when they need the money the most.
Banks walking away from homes, but only after kicking people out.
Mr. Silver, the powerful and cagey Assembly speaker, achieved what he wanted in the budget that emerged from the shadows of the statehouse this weekend, cementing his newfound role as the capital’s center of gravity.
He won the policy fight, forcing Gov. David A. Paterson to raise taxes on the wealthiest New Yorkers, an idea that the governor decried as potentially disastrous three weeks ago. The $131.8 billion budget, which could hardly be called austere, is largely a reflection of the liberal tilt of Mr. Silver, and the Assembly’s predilection for big spending on social programs, no matter the economic climate.
Mr. Silver also dictated the process, turning back the clock to the most secretive budget negotiations the capital has seen in years, casting aside the open government that Mr. Paterson and other Democrats once said would follow the party’s sweeping victories in recent state elections. He argued that technicalities in recently passed budget reform legislation allowed the Legislature to circumvent requirements for open meetings among those negotiating the spending plan.
And the speaker preserved the Legislature’s cherished spending on pet projects, pushing successfully for $170 million for members to dole out in district spending, leaving that pool of money essentially untouched, despite the fiscal crisis.
When the New York Times says that your budget could hardly be called austere, it means you are spending like a drunken sailor. This budget is criminal.
A lot of people think that the market can’t go anywhere but up. This chart from Calculated Risk should interject some realism into their perceptions. Markets can stay 50% down (roughly where this market is at) for a long time.
On a related note, this article from the Economist points out that the market is still not cheap by historical measures.
When I wrote here more frequently, one of my inspirations was watching the interaction between management and workers. My first work for hire was alongside workers, and the cultural background of my family would have a blue collar if it wore collared shirts at all. But I have always favored ideas that look neat on Click Here to continue reading.
Half a year after the government seized Freddie Mac, confusion about its role is stoking tensions between the company and its regulator, including a dispute this month over how much the mortgage giant should reveal to private investors about its financial troubles.
Federal officials who took over Freddie Mac stopped short of nationalizing the company, leaving it partly in private hands. This means Freddie still has to answer to investors and file financial disclosures.
But when Freddie Mac’s executives concluded a few weeks ago that they had to disclose that the government’s management of the McLean company was undermining its profitability and would cost it tens of billions of dollars, the firm’s regulator urged it not to do so, according to several sources familiar with the matter.
Freddie Mac executives refused to bend. The clash grew so severe that they threatened to go to the Securities and Exchange Commission, which oversees corporate disclosures, to secure a ruling that the regulator’s request was out of line. The company’s regulator backed down, the sources said.
This is why government involvement in the economy is bad news.
An auction of government-guaranteed bonds failed for the first time in seven years today.
The Debt Management Office (DMO) – which sells gilts to raise money on behalf of the Government – said it had attracted bids worth only £1.63 billion for a tranche of gilts worth £1.75 billion.
The Treasury gilts are due to mature in 2049.
But the Treasury moved quickly to dismiss claims that the appetite for Government bonds was falling amid concerns about public debt and worries that the Government may be forced to step up the number of gilts it issues.
Edit: This too….
March 25 (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks retreated after a Treasury auction of five-year notes drew a higher-than-forecast yield, spurring concern government attempts to lower interest rates will fail amid record sales of bonds.
A conspiracy theory I can believe. Especially since not just any old investor can participate in this program. They have to be certified by the government before they can even bid.
Pity the poor for they are always the ones who suffer the most when society breaks down. The rich can buy guns.
Japan’s elderly are going to have are really hard time funding their retirement.
