Category Archives: Media watch

Attacking Science to Defend Beliefs

One of the odd things I observe is the way some posts or issues regularly elicit heated reactions. For instance, early in the days of euro wobbliness, some readers in Europe would go a bit off the deep end at the suggestion that the Eurozone has serious structural weaknesses. It wasn’t so much that these […]

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New Obama Administration Propaganda Tactic: Revisionist History

Wow, the Obama Administration is less than a year and a half old, and it’s already twiddling with the record. I was gobsmacked to see this section in a post by Felix Salmon today, on a new book by Jonathan Alter and a New York Magazine cover story by John Heilemann: Both Alter and Heilemann […]

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Is Germany Going to Trigger a Lisbon Treaty Renegotiation?

It’s hard to tell whether the story at the Guardian, based on a memo apparently leaked by Germany’s finance ministry, is overstating the situation in contending that changes Germany will demand for the euro regime could require a Lisbon treaty negotiation. From the article: Following Greece’s debt emergency and with the euro in the throes […]

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Herd Leading, Undisclosed Conflicts, and the Euro Crisis

Just because you are paranoid does not mean they are not out to get you. And just because skepticism of Eurozone salvage operations is warranted does not mean that all of the criticisms should be taken at face value. Andrew Dittmer pointed out a speech he correctly deemed to be “surprising” by Lorenzo Bini Smaghi, […]

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The Emperors Strike Back

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 […]

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The “L” Word Reappears With A Vengeance at the New York Times

I’m not certain what to make of an article at the New York Times this evening, “Senate Liberals Move to Toughen Bill Regulating Wall Street.” Liberals? That is a word that has almost disappeared from polite conversation. “Liberal” is a term used by those of the conservative persuasion to discredit anyone to the left of […]

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Would You Buy a Used Car From the Fed? (Maiden Lane Edition)

Would you believe the chairman of a financial firm who told you that he was going to be able to pay off his loans to you when: 1. The company was showing a not-negative net worth ONLY because it had marked down its loans on its accounting statements by 7.5%, even when the loan agreement […]

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Incentives, Complexity, and the Blame Game

But opacity, leverage, and moral hazard are not accidental byproducts of otherwise salutary innovations; they are the direct intent of the innovations. No one at the major capital markets firms was celebrated for creating markets to connect borrowers and savers transparently and with low risk. After all, efficient markets produce minimal profits. They were instead […]

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New Goldman PR Disaster: Execs Celebrated Subprime Implosion

It’s ironic how the “Goldman was so smart to have shorted subprime” meme is now being turned on its head in the MSM as Goldman’s conduct in the run-up to the crisis is begin re-examined in a new light. The underlying premise of the Goldman defenders is that it is fine for the firm to […]

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Links 4/10/10

Yves Smith Watch: These two posts are MUST reads for anyone concerned about derivatives, systemic risk and regulation. And Yves is mentioned in both! Brooksley Born Raises an Important Question, But Answers are Weak FireDogLake (hat tip Beverly) The Magnetar Trade: How One Hedge Fund Helped Keep the Bubble Going ProPublica (hat tip John) Debt […]

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Have Bloggers “Won”? And Is That a Bad Thing?

The Roosevelt Institute sponsored a conference at the Columbia School of International and Public Affairs, “Facing the Fracture: Media & Economic Understanding,” which focused on the reporting challenge posed by the global financial crisis, particularly given the continuing economic pressures on news organizations. I’ve seen the difficulties faced by the MSM in conventional terms, and […]

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