Hot Links: Buffett & The Bikers

Stuff I’m Reading this Morning… Whistleblower Harry Markopolos says Credit Default Swap fraud will top the Madoff ponzi.  (Clusterstock) Warren Buffett‘s latest op-ed just went up, it’s called The Greenback Effect.  (NYT) Don’t look up, private equity firms are about to drop some REIT IPO’s on us.  Sold to you.  (DealBook) Chinese pig farmers speculating…

Pick Your Favorite Recovery Shape!

Cindy Perman of CNBC’s Pony Blog has a great post up today that asks what shape the economic recovery may take.  The choices range from the typical U, V, and W-shaped recoveries to some more, umm, unconventional ideas, like the lighning bolt, bath tub, square root or my personal contribution to the piece, the fabled Mickey Mouse-shaped recovery….

For New Yorkers, Neighborhoods Are Worth Protecting

I’m not normally a fan of any doctrine or restriction that stifles competition.  I’m also not an ideologue and I am not interested in watching the world burn in the name of unfettered free markets.  I think there’s nothing wrong with striving for some sort of balance in business for the benefit of everyone, even…

…You Might Be a Gold Bug.

Gold bugs have been around for over 100 years, lurking at the fringes of the investment community and singing the praises of the yellow metal to anyone who will listen. As a result of the plunging US dollar, apocalyptic drops in asset prices and the commodity’s eight year bull market, gold has attracted a huge…

Hot Links: Ugly Dolls, Trillionaires & The Plant That Eats Rats

Stuff I’m Reading this Morning… The LOLFed kids require that you pay them only in stacks of Zimbabwe Dollars.  (LOLFed) Felix Salmon on who’s winning between the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal…in his vestibule.  (Reuters) One of the coolest small business stories I’ve heard in awhile: How Ugly Doll became a company. …

Ultimi Barbarorum Exposes the Cisco Buyback Game

People dislike share buybacks because they often feel as though there are more productive uses for the company’s cash or they would prefer their capital back in the form of a dividend.  This is an argument that is open to debate as their are proponents on either side (cash payouts versus shrinking the float) with…

Forecasters See Recovery… Jobless Recovery

This came out from the Philly Fed on Friday night… The Third Quarter 2009 Survey of Professional Forecasters got a smaller response than normal (only 34 economists participated) but the results are interesting nonetheless. By no means do I endorse the reliability of what this group has to say.  On the panel, you have some…

Hot Links: Dentists, Wheat Crops & the E*Trade Baby

Stuff I’m Reading this Morning… World Index down 1.5% as of mid-day trading in London…does the pullback start today?  (Bloomberg) Dentists feeling the pain of recession as people stop taking care of their teeth.  (Knowledge@Wharton) Stepchild E*Trade being used as fodder for Citadel‘s high frequency trading ops, Ken Griffin adopting that cute baby from the…

Hewlett-Packard Printer Choreography

[vodpod id=Groupvideo.3211254&w=425&h=350&fv=] That was sick. Neatorama gives us the details of what we just saw: Who knows how much is paper and how much is special effects in this ad made in response to a challenge from Hewlett-Packard. The finished product, named “Invent” is impressive! Created by Matt Robinson and Tom Wrigglesworth. Music by Round…