His pirate team typically divvied up the loot this way: 20 percent for their bosses, 20 percent for future missions, 20 percent for the gunmen on the ship, and 20 percent for government officials.
-Somalia’s Pirates Flourish in a Lawless Nation
Friday, October 31, 2008
The business of pirates
-Somalia’s Pirates Flourish in a Lawless Nation
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Best Economics books
Stephen Kinsella thinks Heilbroner's Worldly Philosophers, is a great introductory book on economics.
Thomas Sowell thinks otherwise;
Thomas Sowell thinks otherwise;
“..its whole way of thinking leads the student away from economic analysis and away from intellectual development generally.” (p. 142, A Personal Odyssey ).
History podcast of the day
Simon Bolivar;
In 1804 a young man from Venezuela stood on a small hill in Rome and made a grand declaration. He said, “I swear before you, I swear before the God of my fathers, I swear by my fathers, I swear by my honour, I swear by my country that I will not rest, body or soul, until I have broken the chains with which Spanish power oppresses us.”
His name was Simón Bolívar and over the next 30 years he made good on his promise, so much so that his name is synonymous with the removal of Spanish rule from South America. He has become more icon than man, a romantic hero and revolutionary symbol, but what did he actually do to achieve such fame and was it the power of ideas that drove him to success or the fortune of events?
Budgets and weather
Quote of the Day;
-Add Some Zeros and Shake Well: A Recipe for a State in Crisis
"People like to talk about the weather so that they can avoid talking about what they need to tell you,” Mr. Paterson said at a news conference in Manhattan on Tuesday, as wind and cold rain battered the city. “Imagine outside, the conditions that exist today in New York City are a balmy sunny afternoon in Hawaii. Because that’s what it would compare to — how bad the budget is that I’m about to tell you.”
-Add Some Zeros and Shake Well: A Recipe for a State in Crisis
Monday, October 27, 2008
Monday, October 20, 2008
Photo of the Day
At Bretton Woods, N.H., in 1944, the United States Treasury secretary, Henry Morgenthau Jr., left, conferred with the British economist John Maynard Keynes about the rules for the postwar economic order
Related;
Keynes!
We Forgot Everything Keynes Taught Us
"The outstanding fact is the extreme precariousness of the basis of knowledge on which our estimates of prospective yield have to be made," Keynes wrote in his great book "The General Theory of Employment, Interest, and Money" in 1936. We disguise this uncertainty from ourselves by assuming that the future will be like the past, that existing opinion correctly sums up future prospects, and by copying what everyone else is doing. But any view of the future based on "so flimsy a foundation" is liable to "sudden and violent changes. The practice of calmness and immobility, of certainty and security suddenly breaks down. New fears and hopes will, without warning, take charge of human conduct . . . the market will be subject to waves of optimistic and pessimistic sentiment, which are unreasoning yet in a sense legitimate where no solid basis exists for a reasonable calculation." Keynes accused economics of being itself "one of these pretty, polite techniques which tries to deal with the present by abstracting from the fact that we know very little about the future."
Saturday, October 18, 2008
Friday, October 17, 2008
Podcasts
Another backgrounder on the financial crisis
Bloomberg's Torres Discusses Asset Bubbles, Monetary Policies
Princeton's Blinder Says Fed Rate Unlikely to Fall Below 1%
Goldman Says Housing Continues to `Erode' Financial System
Morgan Stanley's Roach Says Fed `Condoned' Asset Bubbles
Sachs of Columbia University Sees `Deep' U.S. Recession
DeLong Says Bank-Rescue Plan `Bailed All of Us Out'
Bloomberg's Torres Discusses Asset Bubbles, Monetary Policies
Princeton's Blinder Says Fed Rate Unlikely to Fall Below 1%
Goldman Says Housing Continues to `Erode' Financial System
Morgan Stanley's Roach Says Fed `Condoned' Asset Bubbles
Sachs of Columbia University Sees `Deep' U.S. Recession
DeLong Says Bank-Rescue Plan `Bailed All of Us Out'
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Monday, October 13, 2008
Congratulations, Paul Krugman
...Paul is "the best claimant to the mantle of John Maynard Keynes" that we have.
Honoring Paul Krugman
Paul Krugman, Guilty Pleasure
Paul Krugman wins the Nobel Prize
What is New Trade Theory?
Ryding, Shiller, Mayer on Inter-bank Lending, Krugman's Nobel
Saturday, October 11, 2008
IMF Seminar on Financial Turmoil
An interesting and timely seminar from IMF;
Do the unprecedented events in financial markets and the policy responses seen recently signal a turning point towards restoring global financial stability? If not, what would be appropriate responses? Are more joint effort efforts the international level required?
How long will the growth slowdown persist and will it worsen as a consequence of recent events in financial markets? What policies or forces will drive the recovery, and what form will it take? Will commodity prices escalate as soon as a recovery begins?
Emerging markets have been affected by the transmission of financial market turmoil in the U.S. and have also faced increased inflation pressures. What additional steps might be required to minimize additional spillover effects?
Looking ahead, how is the global financial services industry likely to be re-shaped? Is the era of financial engineering and disintermediation of banks over? What should be the future objectives of financial regulation and how should regulatory frameworks change? Should the concept of national versus multilateral regulation be rethought given financial globalization? If so, how?
Friday, October 10, 2008
Assorted Podcasts
Do schoolchildren and students know how to research?
Population control
Are you worried about the future of the environment, or war, or hordes of refugees? The solution is not to manipulate population growth. Past results have been tragic, and ineffectual. Historian Professor Matthew Connelly of Columbia University proposes some alternatives.
Cloud computing
Remittances - flying money
1929 Revisited
Carbon Emission Trading: A way forward or the Emperor's new clothes?
A future for Belgium?
Since national elections fifteen months ago, Belgium has been in the grip of a profound political crisis, prompting speculation that the country might split. What has caused this political stalemate and what lies ahead for this deeply divided country?
Inside the minds of murderers and sex offenders
Pius XII, Hitler, and the Jews
The reading brain
The 2008 Presidential Election: Can the State Polls be Trusted?
Nudge: improving decisions about wealth, health and happiness
Commodity Prices, Capital Flows and the Financing of Investment
China`s reform as an indigenous institutional innovation
Skills, Rights and Resources in the East Asian Path to Development
The War for Wealth: The True Story of Globalization
Dixit's New Book Advocates Game Theory in Finance
Author Levitt Says Game-Theory Relates to Everyday Life
Schelling Says U.S. Should Encourage Investor Confidence
Morgan's Greenlaw Sees Increased Treasury Bond Supply
Skeptics on skeptical thinking
Good bugs gone bad
Science journalist Dr Peter Lavelle from ABC Health Online looks at the history of disease and some of the terrible epidemics that have swept through societies throughout history.
Paracetamol plus ibuprofen for treating fever in children
Population control
Are you worried about the future of the environment, or war, or hordes of refugees? The solution is not to manipulate population growth. Past results have been tragic, and ineffectual. Historian Professor Matthew Connelly of Columbia University proposes some alternatives.
Cloud computing
Remittances - flying money
1929 Revisited
Carbon Emission Trading: A way forward or the Emperor's new clothes?
A future for Belgium?
Since national elections fifteen months ago, Belgium has been in the grip of a profound political crisis, prompting speculation that the country might split. What has caused this political stalemate and what lies ahead for this deeply divided country?
Inside the minds of murderers and sex offenders
Pius XII, Hitler, and the Jews
The reading brain
The 2008 Presidential Election: Can the State Polls be Trusted?
Nudge: improving decisions about wealth, health and happiness
Commodity Prices, Capital Flows and the Financing of Investment
China`s reform as an indigenous institutional innovation
Skills, Rights and Resources in the East Asian Path to Development
The War for Wealth: The True Story of Globalization
Dixit's New Book Advocates Game Theory in Finance
Author Levitt Says Game-Theory Relates to Everyday Life
Schelling Says U.S. Should Encourage Investor Confidence
Morgan's Greenlaw Sees Increased Treasury Bond Supply
Skeptics on skeptical thinking
Good bugs gone bad
Science journalist Dr Peter Lavelle from ABC Health Online looks at the history of disease and some of the terrible epidemics that have swept through societies throughout history.
Paracetamol plus ibuprofen for treating fever in children
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Assorted Financial Crisis Podcasts
Bill Poole Calls Fed Move to Buy Commercial Paper `Positive'
Michael Mussa Says Panic in Markets `Is the Clear Problem'
Stanford's Hall Calls U.S. Slowdown `Modern Recession'
Lazear Says U.S. Taking `Aggressive' Approach to Crisis
Brookings's Baily Says Crisis Will Take `Several Years' to Pass
Paul Krugman Sees U.S. Economy's Downturn `Accelerating'
Brandeis's Mann Says U.S. Needs to Recapitalize Banks
Varvares Says NABE Sees Better Housing Market in 2009
Skidelsky Says Governments Must Lead in Market Crisis
Roubini Sees `Silent' Run on Banks, Urges `Triage'
Central banks ‘key’ to stop recession
Crisis on Wall St.
A panel of Princeton economists chaired by Hyun Shin, Professor of Economics and associate chair of the Department of Economics. Panelists: Markus Brunnermeier, Professor of Economics; Harrison Hong, Professor in Finance; Paul Krugman, professor of economics and international affairs; Alan Blinder, Professor of Economics and Public Affairs and co‐director of the Center for Economic Policy Studies.
Michael Mussa Says Panic in Markets `Is the Clear Problem'
Stanford's Hall Calls U.S. Slowdown `Modern Recession'
Lazear Says U.S. Taking `Aggressive' Approach to Crisis
Brookings's Baily Says Crisis Will Take `Several Years' to Pass
Paul Krugman Sees U.S. Economy's Downturn `Accelerating'
Brandeis's Mann Says U.S. Needs to Recapitalize Banks
Varvares Says NABE Sees Better Housing Market in 2009
Skidelsky Says Governments Must Lead in Market Crisis
Roubini Sees `Silent' Run on Banks, Urges `Triage'
Central banks ‘key’ to stop recession
Crisis on Wall St.
A panel of Princeton economists chaired by Hyun Shin, Professor of Economics and associate chair of the Department of Economics. Panelists: Markus Brunnermeier, Professor of Economics; Harrison Hong, Professor in Finance; Paul Krugman, professor of economics and international affairs; Alan Blinder, Professor of Economics and Public Affairs and co‐director of the Center for Economic Policy Studies.
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
More on Fair Value Accounting
In light of the uncertainties about valuation highlighted by the 2007–08 market turbulence, this chapter provides an empirical examination of the potential procyclicality that fair value accounting (FVA) methods could introduce in bank balance sheets. The chapter finds that, while weaknesses in the FVA methodology may introduce unintended volatility and procyclicality, thus requiring some enhancements, it is still the preferred accounting framework for financial institutions. It concludes that capital buffers, forward-looking provisioning, and more refined disclosures can help to mitigate the procyclicality of FVA. The analysis presented does not preclude that there are other dimensions to FVA that are relevant and that, after further scrutiny, may indicate the need for additional refinements to the FVA methodology. Going forward, the valuation approaches for accounting, prudential measures, and risk management need to be reconciled and will require adjustments on the part of all parties.
-Fair Value Accounting and Procyclicality, Global Financial Stability Report
Monday, October 6, 2008
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Tech Tips you need
- You can use Google to do math for you. Just type the equation, like 23*7+15/3=, and hit Enter.
- The number of megapixels does not determine a camera’s picture quality; that’s a marketing myth. The sensor size is far more important. (Use Google to find it. For example, search for “sensor size Nikon D90.”)
- When someone sends you some shocking e-mail and suggests that you pass it on, don’t. At least not until you’ve first confirmed its truth at snopes.com, the Internet’s authority on e-mailed myths. This includes get-rich schemes, Microsoft/AOL cash giveaways, and–especially lately–nutty scare-tactic messages about our Presidential candidates
- Google is also a units-of-measurement and currency converter. Type “teaspoons in 1.3 gallons,” for example, or “euros in 17 dollars.” Click Search to see the answer.
See the full list.
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