The silly war between the financial blogger community and CNBC’s Dennis Kneale was just decided tonight, with very little bombast I might add. Kneale, the former magazine* editor-turned-pundit lost, and he probably doesn’t know it yet. (* Kids reading this in college, I’ll explain what a magazine is/ was later) Karl Denninger, who is good…
July 2009
The Tragedy of Robot Unemployment
From the New York Times: Japan’s legions of robots, the world’s largest fleet of mechanized workers, are being idled as the country suffers its deepest recession in more than a generation as consumers worldwide cut spending on cars and gadgets. At a large Yaskawa Electric factory, where robots once churned out more robots, a lone…
Breakfast Links: Reason #267 that Soccer Rules
[vodpod id=Groupvideo.2939270&w=425&h=350&fv=%26rel%3D0%26border%3D0%26] Stuff I’m Reading this Morning… The wonks think that Ben Bernanke‘s job will be safe when his term expires in January. (MarketWatch) Simon Johnson wonders who OUR Upton Sinclair will be…where’s a good muckraker when you need one? (Baseline Scenario) Business people and investors bug out as China locks up four Rio Tinto…
More Hot Links: Algo Trading, Rentals and the SheBair
More Hot Links for Weekend Reading… JPMorgan‘s head of algorithmic trading calls high frequency program trading a form of parasitic market making…omg. (ZeroHedge) Everything you ever wanted to know about Sheila Bair but forgot you cared enough to ask. (The New Yorker) David Merkel on his current asset allocation strategy and some thoughts on where…
Are You Paying a Hidden Tax to the High Frequency Traders
This is a developing story, but one which has all the potential to explode if the right people hear about it. I don’t have a strong opinion on this stuff yet, but I thought I’d put John Mauldin‘s take on the table and let everyone make up their own minds. From Thoughts From the Frontline:…
Hot Links: Chairman Mao, Larry Summers & Lenny Dykstra
Hot Links for Weekend Reading… How did Chariman Mao deal with unwanted “Green Shoots” amongst capitalist-leaning peasants in the Chinese countryside? (Mises.org) Bernie Madoff can still afford a prison consultant, so that’s a green shoot for sure! (LOLFed) David Merkel puts up the 1000th post on his excellent Aleph Blog…start reading him if you haven’t…
The Man Who Crashed the World in Vanity Fair
As we’ve discussed before, AIG‘s little hidden hedge fund, Financial Products Group, not only took down the world’s largest insurance company, it had a huge hand in the global meltdown last fall. While some of AIG’s counter-parties came out pretty unscathed (Goldman Sachs), the rest of the financial complex surely did not. While there were…
Breakfast Links: Rollerbabies!
[vodpod id=Groupvideo.2919954&w=425&h=350&fv=%26rel%3D0%26border%3D0%26] Stuff I’m Reading this Morning… First off, couldn’t resist posting the above video…rollerskating babies and old school hip hop, not the worst way to start your day. Not only does Smithfield Foods sell a ton of pork, it turns out that it’s ex-CEO turned million-bucks-per-year-consultant is quite a pig in his own right. …
Mirror Mirror on the Wall…
Which retailer sucks most of all? EconomPic puts it in picture form for the month of June 2009. Warning: This graph is violently depressing and is intended for mature audiences only! I suppose the answer would be Abercrombie and Fitch…20 someodd percent teenage unemployment, go figure! Be sure to visit EconomPic for more delicious chart candy.
Red Flags in the Sky
“He that voluntarily continues in ignorance, is guilty of all the crimes which ignorance produces” – Samuel Johnson If Bernie Madoff was the Harlem Globetrotters of stock fraud (undefeated for decades), then Ross Mandell and his Sky Capital crew are the Washington Generals. Mandell has been in trouble with regulators and officials on and off…
