With ongoing grateful thanks to the Wall Street Journal for kindly providing such a neat summary, and so – for Saturday January 31st 2009 – here’s what what’s what was hot during the past week, and what……wasn’t;
From the monthly archives:
January 2009
With ongoing grateful thanks to the Wall Street Journal for kindly providing such a neat summary, and so – for Saturday January 24th 2009 – here’s what what’s what was hot during the past week, and what……wasn’t;
From WSJ Real Time Economics
The Senate Finance Committee approved the nomination of Timothy Geithner for Treasury secretary today, but not before mulling over 102 pages of written answers to questions.
[splutter] 102 pages? That’s utterly absurd. It’s one thing to grill a nominee – expected, and in fact (in my personal opinion) damn well required, but vomiting up a massive questionaire like that is nothing less than a farce.
At the end of Wednesday’s Senate Finance Committee hearing, Sen. Max Baucus announced that committee members would have until 5 p.m. (about three hours) to submit questions in writing for the Federal Reserve Bank of New York president. Mr. Geithner would have until 10 a.m. today to provide responses.
So they gave this poor bastard (and to be fair, his staff also) 20 hours in which to answer 163 questions? Gimme a ^%*&ing break here!
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What if one of the member states of the eurozone were to default on its debt? On the occasion of the euro’s 10th birthday, this has become the most frequently asked question about the single currency zone. The probability of a default is low but clearly rising. The decision by Standard & Poor’s, to downgrade Greek sovereign debt and to put Spanish and Irish debt on watch seriously rattled investors last week, for good reason. If the financial crisis has taught us one thing, it is to take perceived tail-risks more seriously.
Before trying to answer the question, it is best to consider what would not happen. To start with, the eurozone would not fall apart. A government about to default would be mad to leave the eurozone. It would mean that, in addition to a debt crisis, the country would also face a currency and banking crisis. Bank customers would simply send their euros to a foreign bank to avoid a forced conversion into a new domestic currency.
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“To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history; but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.”
Washington DC (d’uh)
Times Square, New York (YAY)
Here at the Ranch we’re not thinking (much) about what’s going on in the markets today. Instead we’ll be having a party with the TV tuned in to the events in Washington DC all day long. And so it should be. This day shouldn’t happen however, without a few moments of introspection on the meaning and significance of the occasion.
The inauguration of the president is an occasion to reflect on the solemn ritual that symbolizes the transfer of state power. It is the formal event where we, as citizens, are all asked to move on. There are no tanks in the streets and no bloodshed.
When we reflect on transfer of power, we should think of less auspicious ways a change of command has been accomplished in former times.. When the forces of Henry Bolingbrook (later Henry IV) vanquished the army of King Richard II in 1399, Henry came to claim the crown. Instead of voluntarily taking the crown off his own head, the cunning Richard said prophetically, “Cousin, seize the crown!” For the next half-century, the blood drenched War of the Roses pitted two great houses as bitterly disputed claimants to the English throne.
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With ongoing grateful thanks to the Wall Street Journal for kindly providing such a neat summary, and so – for Saturday January 17th 2009 – here’s what’s what was hot during the past week, and what……wasn’t;
Unless you already live in California (in which case it gets no more than a yawn) this is pleasant to look at during the winter;
