The Big Picture

Are We There Yet? July 30, 2010 By John Mauldin > Are We There Yet? Driving with No Spare A Muddle Through Economy Absent a Policy Mistake Maine and Turks, Etc. > “… has been brought about by policies which the majority of economists recommended and even urged governments to pursue. We have indeed at the moment little cause...
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(Invictus here, kids.  Don’t go bashing BR.) I learned two interesting things last week: Erick Erickson told me the following (bold font is mine, bold claim is Erickson’s): Likewise, after the 2003 tax cuts, the unemployment rate fell to the lowest level since World War II. Let me repeat that: the Bush economic program created the lowest...
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Here is the follow up to Climate Change: The Scientific Debate: 4. Climate Change — Gore vs. Durkin This video, the fourth in my Climate Change series, looks at urban myths spawned by two iconic films — An Inconvenient Truth and The Great Global Warming Swindle. Whatever you “believe” about climate change, there is no...
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Quite fascinating: “Over the past couple years, millions of Americans have reneged on their debts — because they lost their jobs, because they took on more than they could handle, or both. For many, those defaults have brought immediate financial relief, leaving more cash to spend on other things. Now, though, they’ll also have to...
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I had an interesting discussion with a music buddy about some of the least popular, best discs of the past few decades. The challenge: Name 5 outstanding Rock and Roll albums that 90% of the music buying/downloading public are unfamiliar with. 3 rules: 1. Rock and Roll (including Pop)!  No jazz, classical or world music 2. Obscure: Not...
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Nice interactive graphic from the FT on reforming the financial system >The financial centers covered in the graphic are: US, European Union, UK, Germany, Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan.
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Goldman Sachs addresses the systematic problem within its culture by announcing a zero-tolerance policy for profanity in employee e-mails.The Daily Show With Jon Stewart Mon – Thurs 11p / 10c
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I honestly have no idea what this means, but jeez, how is this for some cliff diving: >Chart via St. Louis Fed > This is what the BOG reports on the G.19. The footnotes on g.19 state the following: -Outstanding balances of pools upon which securities have been issued; these balances are no longer carried on the balance...
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The final July UoM confidence # was slightly better than expected at 67.8 vs the forecast of 67 and is up from the preliminary reading of 66.5 out a few weeks ago but still remains well below the 76 level in June. Economic conditions were down almost 10 pts from June and the Outlook...
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Over the past few years, I have increasingly taken to referring us humans as “Slightly smarter, pants wearing primates.” (here, here and here). When I discussed it in an Forbes interview (Ritholtz’s Monkey Theory)  it generated a ton of email: What is the greatest financial lesson you’ve ever learned? You’re a monkey. It all comes down...
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