Monthly Archives: January 2010

Mauldin: This Time Is Different – (11pp pdf) When does a potential crisis become an actual crisis, and how and why does it happen? Why did most everyone believe there were no problems in the US (or Japanese or European or … Continue reading →

  Quote In tough economic times, shoppers take haggling to new heights A recent Consumer Reports study found that 66 percent of American consumers had haggled at least once in the preceding six months, with an 88 percent ka-ching rate … Continue reading →

The Fed’s Exit Strategy – Allan Meltzer had an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal the other day in which he argued that the Fed’s exit strategy will fail. Meltzer and I likely disagree on when the exit strategy needs to … Continue reading →

  Quote Florida bankers move to dramatically speed up the foreclosure process – St. Petersburg Times If bankers get their way, Floridians facing foreclosure could be kicked out of their homes in as little as three months. The Florida Bankers … Continue reading →

Will Illinois Go Bankrupt Because of Scott Brown? – A sharp reader offers the following hypothesis: Illinois is fundamentally bankrupt. It has less than $1 million in cash, pays vendors net 90, and owes its state university $450 million that it … Continue reading →

China beats U.S. in gov. Smart Grid funding with $7.3B – The Chinese government will be sinking $7.3 billion into the creation of a cleaner, more energy efficient Smart Grid in 2010, actually beating out the U.S.’s investment in the same … Continue reading →

  Quote CalPERS, CalSTRS funding levels plunge – A decade ago, when the stock market was booming, the funding levels of CalPERS and CalSTRS were both over 100 percent, a projection that assets would be more than enough to meet pension costs … Continue reading →