Well, the BP disaster, in particular the intense press coverage of this week, appears to have provided the Administration with some very useful air cover, by diverting public attention from the final rounds in the battle to reform Wall Street. One of the common arguments against the need to create mechanisms to moderate corporate and […]
Read more...Brad DeLong points out that Ronald Reagan was far more concerned about unemployment than Team Obama (or Washington generally) is, and also took far more aggressive measures to combat it. From The Week (hat tip reader Marshall): By the start of 1983, labor unions were frantically giving back previously-promised wage increases and offering wage cuts […]
Read more...The geyser of oil and less than cheery news on the Gulf oil spill continues unabated. The news updates of the day include: Reports from a Congressional briefing that suggest, as many have speculated, that the mud was removed despite heavy gas output, a warning sign, with BP admitting its workers may have made a […]
Read more...The first part of this two part series proved to be very popular among blog readers, given the level of comments, so I thought I’d feature the second part, which was posted by Real News Networks on Monday. Enjoy!
Read more...Tom Ferguson, professor of political science professor at the University of Massachusetts, Boston, is in fine form here. Enjoy!
Read more...The defenders of the economic orthodoxy have gotten much more shrill of late. In a perverse way, this is probably a positive sign: they might be feeling a tad worried that they are starting to lose their hold over consensus reality. But given how quick various media outlets are to pick up and amplify their […]
Read more...By Satyajit Das, a risk consultant and author of Traders, Guns & Money: Knowns and Unknowns in the Dazzling World of Derivatives Zygmunt Bauman (2007) Liquid Times: Living in an Age of Uncertainty; Polity Press, Cambridge Zygmunt Bauman (2010) Living on Borrowed Times; Polity Press, Cambridge Alex Preda (2009) Framing Finance: The Boundaries of Markets […]
Read more...Goldman has just issued an eight page letter to shareholders, in which it tries to defend itself against its critics, particularly regarding its conduct vis-a-vis AIG, with how it got short the residential mortgage market, and its compensation. To be more terse than usual: the AIG argument is generally plausible (and not inconsistent with what […]
Read more...The Kraft acquisition of Cadbury provides a vivid illustration of why the US model of screwing workers to preserve executive bonuses does not go over well abroad. Brief synopsis: Kraft acquires the 200 year old British confection-maker Cadbury after a heated battle. The chairwoman and CEO Irene Rosenfeld (already not a good sign, best practice […]
Read more...This came via e-mail from a savvy past client with the sign off, “Frustrated on a plane.” I like all his suggestions, and I particularly call readers’ attention to his recommendation regarding compensation reform. One thing that is striking is that the media (and pretty much everyone in DC) has fallen in with the industry-flattering […]
Read more...From the Independent: Chief executives from the world’s banks discussed the plans at a secret dinner held at Claridge’s, the London hotel, last October, at which several leading British bankers are said to have suggested that the sector should take greater responsibility for its part in the crash, and do more to reduce the vast […]
Read more...A very good article in The Nation by Sebastian Jones, “The Media-Lobbying Complex,” (hat tip Tom F) has gone peculiarly unnoticed in the blogosphere, which is a real shame. It does some good, old-fashioned reporting to identify 75 individuals who were regularly presented on TV as experts, and by implication independent, when in fact they […]
Read more...Readers may recall that I solicited their comments on an FDIC Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on its proposal to link deposit premiums to executive compensation programs (the high concept is to charge higher premiums to banks that reward executives for undue risk-taking. Now admittedly, a program like this would take some thought to make […]
Read more...Upon occasion, I’ve asked readers to contact their Senators or Representatives about pending legislation. Many of you have taken action, even though that takes a bit of effort (actually composing and making the call or e-mail). Some readers have also commented, cynically, “Why bother, Congress will do what it corporate constituents want to happen.” Today’s […]
Read more...Hhhm. Even though the UK 50% bonus “supertax” was deemed to be a bit of a failure (the banks just grossed up bonuses to compensate for the levy), Senators Barbara Boxer and James Webb have proposed a similar measure, and one wonders how it might fend off the sort of gaming that plagued the UK […]
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