Thursday, September 24, 2009
Cheap Food — National Geographic Magazine
Cheap Food — National Geographic Magazine: "Our beef comes from Iowa, fed by Nebraska corn. Our grapes come from Chile, our bananas from Honduras, our olive oil from Sicily, our apple juice—not from Washington State but all the way from China. Modern society has relieved us of the burden of growing, harvesting, even preparing our daily bread, in exchange for the burden of simply paying for it. Only when prices rise do we take notice. And the consequences of our inattention are profound."
Monday, September 21, 2009
OpenSecrets | Bundlers for McCain, Obama Are Among Wall Street's Tumblers - Capital Eye
OpenSecrets |
Bundlers for McCain, Obama Are Among Wall Street's Tumblers - Capital Eye: "How did Wall Street's largest firms also become some of the largest donors to John McCain and Barack Obama's presidential campaigns? Take a look at the candidates' rosters of bundlers on OpenSecrets.org, and it becomes clear."
Bundlers for McCain, Obama Are Among Wall Street's Tumblers - Capital Eye: "How did Wall Street's largest firms also become some of the largest donors to John McCain and Barack Obama's presidential campaigns? Take a look at the candidates' rosters of bundlers on OpenSecrets.org, and it becomes clear."
Sunday, September 20, 2009
CERA: News: Recent Articles: Oil has reached a turning point
CERA: News: Recent Articles: Oil has reached a turning point: "If “Ethanol” was a country, it would have been ranked number five last year among countries in terms of production growth.
The break point is already here. Oil is in the process of losing its almost total domination in ground transport. It is not going to fade away soon – such is the scale of its use and convenience, it will retain a dominant position for many years. But it will share the transport market with other sources as never before, reinforced by a new drive for fuel efficiency."
The break point is already here. Oil is in the process of losing its almost total domination in ground transport. It is not going to fade away soon – such is the scale of its use and convenience, it will retain a dominant position for many years. But it will share the transport market with other sources as never before, reinforced by a new drive for fuel efficiency."
Saturday, September 19, 2009
WRAPUP 1-Harvard and Yale endowments suffer heavy losses
WRAPUP 1-Harvard and Yale endowments suffer heavy losses: "Harvard and Yale, America's two richest universities, said on Thursday their endowments lost roughly 30 percent of their value last year, showing how severely the financial crisis battered even the world's best managers.
Both schools, long admired for delivering top-notch returns for years, warned about the declines late last year when their presidents told students, faculty and alumni about upcoming heavy cutbacks.
Harvard, located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, said its endowment dropped 27.3 percent, or $11 billion, to $26 billion in the year that ended on June 30. Despite the loss, the endowment has still returned an average of 8.9 percent every year for the last decade while the average comparable fund has risen 3.2 percent, according to research and consulting firm Wilshire Associates."
Both schools, long admired for delivering top-notch returns for years, warned about the declines late last year when their presidents told students, faculty and alumni about upcoming heavy cutbacks.
Harvard, located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, said its endowment dropped 27.3 percent, or $11 billion, to $26 billion in the year that ended on June 30. Despite the loss, the endowment has still returned an average of 8.9 percent every year for the last decade while the average comparable fund has risen 3.2 percent, according to research and consulting firm Wilshire Associates."
Crossroads - The Future of Global Finance - Series - NYTimes.com
Crossroads - The Future of Global Finance - Series - NYTimes.com: "It has long been recognized that the global financial structure — built as it is around the dollar as the world’s reserve currency — has a fundamental design flaw that makes it inherently unstable."
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Credit card crisis to grip Britain, IMF warns - Telegraph
Credit card crisis to grip Britain, IMF warns - Telegraph: "The IMF said the crisis would echo the problems already felt in the United States, where it expects 14 per cent of the country’s 1.16bn credit card debt to go unpaid this year, the Financial Times reported."
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
FT.com | Economists' Forum | US foreign policy and the global financial crisis
FT.com | Economists' Forum | US foreign policy and the global financial crisis: "Not only did the global financial system seize up at the end of last year, but the Asian Development Bank has reported that the total loss of worldwide market wealth is $50 trillion, close to a year’s world output. The loss of stock market wealth alone is $25 trillion. Demand for manufactures, world manufactured output and world trade in manufactures fell off a cliff at the end of last year: Germany’s industrial output was down 19.2 per cent year-on-year in January, South Korea is down 25.6 per cent and Japan is down 30.8 per cent."
Monday, September 14, 2009
The Year of Living Hopelessly | The Big Money
The Year of Living Hopelessly | The Big Money: "As damaging as Lehman's collapse was here, it was worse overseas."
The Year of Living Hopelessly | The Big Money
The Year of Living Hopelessly | The Big Money: "As damaging as Lehman's collapse was here, it was worse overseas."
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Food Wars - Monthly Review
Food Wars - Monthly Review: "For some countries, the food crisis was the proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back. Some thirty countries experienced violent popular actions against rising prices in 2007 and 2008, among them Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cote d’Ivoire, Egypt, Guinea, India, Indonesia, Mauretania, Mexico, Morocco, Mozambique, Senegal, Somalia, Uzbekistan, and Yemen. Across the continents, people came out in the thousands against uncontrolled rises in the price of staple goods that their countries had to import owing to insufficient production. Scores of people died in these demonstrations of popular anger."
BBC NEWS | Special Reports | The cost of food: Facts and figures
BBC NEWS | Special Reports | The cost of food: Facts and figures: "Explore the facts and figures behind the fluctuating price of food across the globe."
CGIAR: Story of the Month - May 2009
CGIAR: Story of the Month - May 2009: "At the peak of the food crisis, the international prices of wheat and maize reached levels three times those in 2005, while the price of rice grew fivefold over the same period."
Walden Bello - The global food price crisis - a critique of orthodox perspectives - Transnational Institute
Walden Bello - The global food price crisis - a critique of orthodox perspectives - Transnational Institute: "
Walden Bello critiques the orthodox views of economist Paul Collier on the global food price crisis. Collier argues that not enough food was produced to meet increased demand from Asia, thanks to a failure to promote commercial farming in Africa, the European Union ban against GMOs and the diversion of American grain to biofuels production.
Bello counters that a globalised system of production has 'created severe strains on the environment', 'marginalised large numbers of people from the market, and contributed to greater poverty and greater income disparities within countries and globally'. Defenders of peasant agriculture, says Bello, blame 'capitalist industrial agriculture, with its wrenching destabilisation and transformation of land, nature, and social relations' for today's food crises, with 'rates of profit determining where investment will be allocated' rather than the desire to satisfy 'the real needs of the global majority'.
Walden Bello critiques the orthodox views of economist Paul Collier on the global food price crisis. Collier argues that not enough food was produced to meet increased demand from Asia, thanks to a failure to promote commercial farming in Africa, the European Union ban against GMOs and the diversion of American grain to biofuels production.
Bello counters that a globalised system of production has 'created severe strains on the environment', 'marginalised large numbers of people from the market, and contributed to greater poverty and greater income disparities within countries and globally'. Defenders of peasant agriculture, says Bello, blame 'capitalist industrial agriculture, with its wrenching destabilisation and transformation of land, nature, and social relations' for today's food crises, with 'rates of profit determining where investment will be allocated' rather than the desire to satisfy 'the real needs of the global majority'.
Sunday, September 6, 2009
Matt Taibbi - Taibblog – The real price of Goldman’s giganto-profits - True/Slant
Matt Taibbi - Taibblog – The real price of Goldman’s giganto-profits - True/Slant: "So what’s wrong with Goldman posting $3.44 billion in second-quarter profits, what’s wrong with the company so far earmarking $11.4 billion in compensation for its employees? What’s wrong is that this is not free-market earnings but an almost pure state subsidy."
Donation Record as Colin Powell Endorses Obama - NYTimes.com
Donation Record as Colin Powell Endorses Obama - NYTimes.com: "Because Mr. Obama has raised more than $600 million, Mr. McCain said, the “dam has broken” for future presidential campaigns. Mr. McCain, who accepted public financing and received an $84 million allotment from the treasury, suggested he may well be the last presidential candidate to run under the current rules established at the end of the Watergate era."
Is Goldman Sachs Evil? Or Just Too Good? -- New York Magazine
Is Goldman Sachs Evil? Or Just Too Good? -- New York Magazine: "“If you didn’t like the policy,” he says of the decision to bail out AIG and pay off its debts to Goldman, “one avenue for pursuing your own interests was to attack Goldman Sachs.”
It’s a sore spot for good reason. The AIG rescue is the incident from which all other Goldman conspiracy theories spring—the original sin, in a sense, of Goldman’s current public tarring. It’s the act that first made the average man on the street sit up and say, “Hey, wait a minute. The secretary of the Treasury, who used to be the Goldman CEO, just spent $85 billion to buy a failing insurance giant that happened to owe his former firm a lot of money. Does that smell right to you?” It also seems to have the legs of a potential scandal, with Neil Barofsky, the inspector general overseeing the Troubled Asset Relief Program, conducting an audit of the buyout.
Then again, if you’ve just posted $3.44 billion in second-quarter profits in an environment where, say, Morgan Stanley just reported a $1.26 billion loss, what does it matter what people say? The answer lies in another of Whitehead’s principles: Reputation must be closely guarded, because it is “the most difficult to regain.”"
It’s a sore spot for good reason. The AIG rescue is the incident from which all other Goldman conspiracy theories spring—the original sin, in a sense, of Goldman’s current public tarring. It’s the act that first made the average man on the street sit up and say, “Hey, wait a minute. The secretary of the Treasury, who used to be the Goldman CEO, just spent $85 billion to buy a failing insurance giant that happened to owe his former firm a lot of money. Does that smell right to you?” It also seems to have the legs of a potential scandal, with Neil Barofsky, the inspector general overseeing the Troubled Asset Relief Program, conducting an audit of the buyout.
Then again, if you’ve just posted $3.44 billion in second-quarter profits in an environment where, say, Morgan Stanley just reported a $1.26 billion loss, what does it matter what people say? The answer lies in another of Whitehead’s principles: Reputation must be closely guarded, because it is “the most difficult to regain.”"
Nancy Miller - The New Wall St. – Goldman Sachs exec offers ‘Bailouts for Dummies’ - True/Slant
Nancy Miller - The New Wall St. – Goldman Sachs exec offers ‘Bailouts for Dummies’ - True/Slant: "So that makes us all dummies: First the government forces Goldman to take $10 billion in loans to ensure its health. Then it gets another $8.1 billion through the AIG back door to cover fully hedged positions. Maybe Cohn should explain to stressed out small business owners and families at risk of losing their homes how they can come out as well as Goldman Sachs. He could call it “Bailout for Dummies”. I bet it would be an overnight sensation."
Matt Taibbi - Taibblog – New Info: Goldman Really Was In Trouble - True/Slant
Matt Taibbi - Taibblog – New Info: Goldman Really Was In Trouble - True/Slant
t seems things were worse than even I thought at the bank, with then-COO John Winkelreid putting up his Nantucket house for sale in order to raise quick cash and management discussing taking the company private to avoid catastrophe. Hagan describes a bank that was in crisis,
t seems things were worse than even I thought at the bank, with then-COO John Winkelreid putting up his Nantucket house for sale in order to raise quick cash and management discussing taking the company private to avoid catastrophe. Hagan describes a bank that was in crisis,
Saturday, September 5, 2009
Bank Bonus Tab: $33 Billion - WSJ.com
Bank Bonus Tab: $33 Billion - WSJ.com
Nine banks that received government aid money paid out bonuses of nearly $33 billion last year -- including more than $1 million apiece to nearly 5,000 employees -- despite huge losses that plunged the U.S. into economic turmoil.
Nine banks that received government aid money paid out bonuses of nearly $33 billion last year -- including more than $1 million apiece to nearly 5,000 employees -- despite huge losses that plunged the U.S. into economic turmoil.
Bank Bonus Tab: $33 Billion - WSJ.com
Bank Bonus Tab: $33 Billion - WSJ.com: "Nine banks that received government aid money paid out bonuses of nearly $33 billion last year -- including more than $1 million apiece to nearly 5,000 employee"
Peter Martin: How big is one trillion?
Peter Martin: How big is one trillion?
Another example of a trillion.
Deposit a million dollars a day into an account.
After a year the account would have 365 million dollars.
After a thousand years the account would have 365 billion dollars, ie a bit more than a third of a trillion dollars.
A this rate it would take 2740 years to accumulate a trillion dollars.
Another example of a trillion.
Deposit a million dollars a day into an account.
After a year the account would have 365 million dollars.
After a thousand years the account would have 365 billion dollars, ie a bit more than a third of a trillion dollars.
A this rate it would take 2740 years to accumulate a trillion dollars.
U.S. Bailouts So Far Total $2.98 Trillion, Official Says - WSJ.com
U.S. Bailouts So Far Total $2.98 Trillion, Official Says - WSJ.com: "WASHINGTON -- A special inspector general overseeing government efforts to bail out portions of the private sector said Tuesday the U.S. so far has committed nearly $2.98 trillion toward stabilizing financial companies and rescuing domestic auto makers.
Meanwhile, only $109.5 billion remains in a $700 billion program that was launched as a way to remove toxic assets from bank balance sheets, Neil Barofsky told lawmakers. Mr. Barofsky has come to be known as the 'TARP cop' because his office is responsible for policing the $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program."
Meanwhile, only $109.5 billion remains in a $700 billion program that was launched as a way to remove toxic assets from bank balance sheets, Neil Barofsky told lawmakers. Mr. Barofsky has come to be known as the 'TARP cop' because his office is responsible for policing the $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program."
How Did Economists Get It So Wrong? - NYTimes.com
How Did Economists Get It So Wrong? - NYTimes.com:
Krugman long article: "Few economists saw our current crisis coming, but this predictive failure was the least of the field’s problems. More important was the profession’s blindness to the very possibility of catastrophic failures in a market economy."
Krugman long article: "Few economists saw our current crisis coming, but this predictive failure was the least of the field’s problems. More important was the profession’s blindness to the very possibility of catastrophic failures in a market economy."
Adding Up the Government’s Total Bailout Tab - Interactive Graphic - NYTimes.com
Adding Up the Government’s Total Bailout Tab - Interactive Graphic - NYTimes.com: "Adding Up the Government’s Total Bailout Tab
Beyond the $700 billion bailout known as TARP, which has been used to prop up banks and car companies, the government has created an array of other programs to provide support to the struggling financial system. Through April 30, the government has made commitments of about $12.2 trillion and spent $2.5 trillion — but also has collected more than $10 billion in dividends and fees. Here is an overview, organized by the role the government has assumed in each case."
Beyond the $700 billion bailout known as TARP, which has been used to prop up banks and car companies, the government has created an array of other programs to provide support to the struggling financial system. Through April 30, the government has made commitments of about $12.2 trillion and spent $2.5 trillion — but also has collected more than $10 billion in dividends and fees. Here is an overview, organized by the role the government has assumed in each case."
Firm overseeing Harvard endowment _ battered by recession _ names 2 senior managers
Firm overseeing Harvard endowment _ battered by recession _ names 2 senior managers: "Harvard spokesman John Longbrake said the university was projecting a 30 percent decline in the value of it endowment in the fiscal year that ended June 30. The fund — the largest in higher education — was valued at $36.9 billion on June 30, 2008."
Endowment Losses From Harvard to Yale Force Cuts (Update1) - Bloomberg.com
Endowment Losses From Harvard to Yale Force Cuts (Update1) - Bloomberg.com
Harvard will “have to reshape and reset to being more like a $24 billion university than a $36 billion university,” President Drew Faust said in May.
Harvard will “have to reshape and reset to being more like a $24 billion university than a $36 billion university,” President Drew Faust said in May.
Friday, September 4, 2009
Epoch Times | China Using Up Natural Resources Fast, Report Says
Epoch Times | China Using Up Natural Resources Fast, Report Says: "China is drawing on natural resources such as farm land, timber and water twice as fast as they can be renewed in its drive for development, a report from Chinese and international environmentalists said on Tuesday."
FT.com / China / Economy & Trade - China’s stimulus shows the problem of success
FT.com / China / Economy & Trade - China’s stimulus shows the problem of success: "problems looming. More investment thanks to China’s rescue package threatens to worsen the already severe overcapacity, while the cash injection is already creating asset bubbles."
New Statesman - The Spectre at the Feast: Capitalist Crisis and the Politics of Recession
New Statesman - The Spectre at the Feast: Capitalist Crisis and the Politics of Recession: "It is too soon to tell what those new thoughts might be. But three things are reasonably clear. The first is that there is more to be learned from Schumpeter and Marx than from any of the other great names of the past. The second is that what Gamble calls the “anti-capitalist” (in effect, green) critique of neoliberalism cuts closer to the bone than any other on offer. The third is that the best starting point for the long road to reconstruction that the left now has to take is Gamble’s new book."
FT.com / Books / Essays - What a carve up
FT.com / Books / Essays - What a carve up: "Over the past 10 months, publishers have issued books about the credit crunch with almost the enthusiasm and frequency with which banks once issued structured products. As with structured products, however, many of them are the same material in new packages."
John Kay on Crisis books
John Kay on Crisis books
FT.com / China / Economy & Trade - China’s growth figures fail to add up
FT.com / China / Economy & Trade - China’s growth figures fail to add up: "China’s gross domestic product figures are among the world’s most closely watched since they can move markets or boost hopes of an imminent recovery.
But the latest set of first-half numbers provided by provincial-level authorities are far higher than the central government’s national figure, raising fresh questions about the accuracy of statistics in the world’s most populous nation."
But the latest set of first-half numbers provided by provincial-level authorities are far higher than the central government’s national figure, raising fresh questions about the accuracy of statistics in the world’s most populous nation."
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