You won’t hear a lot about this in the media, but the secret of the past few years’ worth of congressional gridlock and partisan bickering is that it’s actually working (when combined with the actions of the Fed). That big, scary budget deficit that had you racing for the sidelines or under a rock is…

Cartoon by Steve Greenberg

If your career demands that you must pretend to have definite answers that you cannot possibly have, you may want to consider doing something else. Sarah Palin came rushing to the defense of the Duck Dynasty patriarch without even bothering to read about what he said. All she needed to hear was that a celebrity…

“The virtuous cycle continues. The decline of corporate failure leads to a decline in consumer failure, which, in turn, leads to a decline in financial-institution failure.” Dan Gross at the Daily Beast explains that the secret ingredient of the economic recovery, beneath all the layers of QE, is actually the fact that there is less…

  Some assorted links I’ve picked up throughout the week, Happy New Year gang… Barry and Dr. Daniel Crosby annihilate the 2014 predictions game.  (TBP) and (InvestmentNews) Scott Krisiloff makes some predictions anyway and they seem reasonable.  (Avondale) Burton Malkiel: How to overhaul your portfolio for 2014.  (WSJ) 7 huge tech trends to expect in…

As you set out for Ithaka
hope the voyage is a long one