Indian car factory faces ‘siege’ BBC
China Blocks Access to iTunes Store Wired.
China’s Olympic Sized Bust Michael Shedlock. Not surprising. The locals deserted LA and Sydney during the Olympics and the tourist influx was less than the exodus (although at least in Sydney, the natives who stayed partied).
Student study unmasks sushi scandal in New York PhysOrg
London 2012 faces dash for cash as top Olympic sponsors bow out Independent
U.S. and Global Economies Slipping in Unison New York Times and World must brace itself as the US banking sector ‘fesses up’ to losses Telegraph
In Defense of the Rating Agencies — III David Merkel
Do Cancelled and Overbooked Flights Reduce the Quality of Air Travel? Dean Baker. Baker joins Ritholtz on the notion of “dedonics” (without using his coinage).
Antidote du jour:
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That looks like me in the cuddle. But who’s the bloke in the sunglasses?
This is a very obvious reference/metaphor for Bernanke providing synthetic support to corrupt banks. The cute Bear represents a slap happy era long gone when innocence was assumed to be associated to morality, thus the hug is suggestive of embracing the good ol days, when a simple hand shake and a nod-nod-wink-wink were just playful fun, versus the collusion we see in the bedfellow-like intimacy where bankers are in bed with lobby groups that act as go-between money laundry operations for Fed policy makers.
I'd like to go on, but my back hurts and I need more ice…
Re: "Throughout the 12 months of the crisis, it is difficult to avoid the impression that the Fed is too close to the financial markets and leading financial institutions, and too responsive to their special pleadings, to make the right decisions for the economy as a whole," he wrote in a paper presented to the conference.
Critics like Buiter worry that the Fed's unprecedented actions — including financial backing for JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s takeover of Bear Stearns Cos. — are putting taxpayers on the hook for billions of dollars of potential losses. They also say it encourages "moral hazard," that is, allowing financial companies to gamble more recklessly in the future.
Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke, who spoke to the conference on Friday, defended the Fed's actions, saying they were "necessary and justified" to avert a meltdown of the entire financial system, which would have devastated the U.S. economy.