Flashman Letters

An unrelated clipping below ( thanks iPad) but he is just so smart. Charlie Rose - Arminio Fraga, Gavea Investments

Getting up in the morning and driving to work (which the president doesn't have to do anyway) is no measure of the ability to get a job done, and often impairs it. One thing the president certainly doesn't do on a regular basis is hold news conferences. He doesn't go home and see his constituents either, or rather when he does it's in a jumbo jet only to campaign and fund-raise, for which they pick up a good part of the tab. Patrons of public broadcasting shouldn't have to pay for this kind of propaganda as well.

via www.charlierose.com

First, Blame the Lenders

I’ve noticed something intriguing about the debate regarding the Greek default/restructuring/bailout: There is a familiar odor to the “Blame the profligate Greeks” meme now circulating. It is little more than a brilliant marketing ploy. This distraction ignores the simple reality that lending to insolvent people, institutions and countries is first and foremost the fault of the lenders.

via www.ritholtz.com

Christie Loses 2nd Term Support as Residents Oppose Cuts - Bloomberg

More than half of New Jersey residents say they wouldn’t back Governor Chris Christie for a second term, disapproving of his choices on a range of policy and personal issues, from killing a commuter tunnel to using a state-police helicopter to attend his son’s baseball game.

via www.bloomberg.com

Christie Loses 2nd Term Support as Residents Oppose Cuts - Bloomberg

More than half of New Jersey residents say they wouldn’t back Governor Chris Christie for a second term, disapproving of his choices on a range of policy and personal issues, from killing a commuter tunnel to using a state-police helicopter to attend his son’s baseball game.

via www.bloomberg.com

Why austerity alone risks a disaster - FT.com

Enjoy the coming slump. That is not what the Bank for International Settlements says to the US and other overindebted economies. But it is what its latest annual report implies. I admired the warnings of monetary and financial excesses that the BIS gave under its former economic adviser, William White. I respect Stephen Cecchetti, his successor. But I disagree with the thrust of this report. It understates the obstacles to across-the-board austerity.

via www.ft.com

The ‘strong-dollar’ policy of the US policy

The strong-dollar policy is a US government policy based on the assumption that a strong exchange rate of the dollar is both in the US national interest and in the interest of the rest of the world. The policy was first enunciated by the then-Secretary of the Treasury Robert E Rubin, shortly after he succeeded Lloyd Bentsen as US Secretary of the Treasury on 11 January 1995. It followed a sharp rise in Treasury bond yields at the end of 1994 and the weakness of the dollar early in 1995, especially vis-à-vis the deutschmark and the yen — at the time the two major currencies after the dollar. The dollar hit 80.63 yen on 18 April 1995, which was its post-war low until 16 and 17 March 2011.

via www.voxeu.org

Quantifying history: Two thousand years in one chart | The Economist

An alternative timeline for the past two millennia

via www.economist.com

Daniel W. Drezner - the worst paragraph of the day

The United States certainly needs to get its fiscal house in order. But any serious analysis of the benefits of defense cuts needs to consider the potential costs of walking away from countries like Afghanistan and Iraq. If radical Islamism is a declining force around the world, I hadn’t noticed.

A few thoughts: 

1)  Psst... Niall.... just because you haven't noticed does not mean that radical Islamist movements haven't declined.  Last I checked, groups like Al Qaeda were waning in popularity among Muslim populations (to the point where Osama bin Laden mused about renaming Al Qaeda).  Oh, and if you failed to notice, you should know that Osama bin Laden is still dead. 

I understand that not every assertion can be backed up in an 800 word column.  Really, I get that.  It's perfectly fine to assert  "the U.S. economy is weak" or "China is rising"  or "

via drezner.foreignpolicy.com

The Baseline Scenario - click to read - thanks iPad

By James Kwak

via baselinescenario.com

The Paulson Sino Forest loss - very thoughtful - click for full story

General disclaimer

via brontecapital.blogspot.com