tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29134455216553327482012-01-29T10:49:00.670-08:00pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01020785896429577414noreply@blogger.comBlogger14491100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2913445521655332748.post-54728995777883114622012-01-29T10:49:00.000-08:002012-01-29T10:49:00.681-08:00

Writing in the Washington Post earlier this week (here), Yale Law Professors Bruce Ackerman and Ian Ayres suggest that one plainly lawful way to restrict corporate spending on election campaigns, after Citizens United, would be for the federal government to impose restrictions in all government contracts with corporations. According to Government Accountability Office (GAO) reports, approximately

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01020785896429577414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2913445521655332748.post-18037869177711302842012-01-29T10:36:00.000-08:002012-01-29T10:36:00.722-08:00

Sandra Day O'Connor has belatedly dissented from the Supreme Court's decision in the Citizens United case, according to this report at ABC News.com. Unfortunately, her dissent does not affect the outcome, but does given an indication of how her replacement, Samuel Alito (the Justice who expressed disapproval of President Obama's remarks about the Court's ruling during this week's State of Union

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01020785896429577414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2913445521655332748.post-81871830977716578412012-01-29T10:30:00.000-08:002012-01-29T10:30:00.454-08:00

One of the first trends I noticed with the latest US expansion is the record amount of debt that was involved. Simply put -- this was a borrow and spend expansion like nobody's business. I'm not the only one who has noticed:Is Kevin Phillips right that something funny is going on in the economy? Yes, although just how funny is less clear.The numbers do suggest he's correct about one thing at

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01020785896429577414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2913445521655332748.post-55605914916338270342012-01-29T08:55:00.000-08:002012-01-29T08:55:00.048-08:00

Of course, a dollar, and by extension a trillion dollar, is gradually less and less worth due to inflation and depreciation, so becoming a trillion dollar economy is far less worth than it was in the past. Nevertheless, it is still noteworthy, that India's GDP have now surpassed the trillion dollar level. This was reached a lot faster than expected as the Indian rupee has appreciated sharply

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01020785896429577414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2913445521655332748.post-23301294509654768802012-01-29T08:06:00.000-08:002012-01-29T08:06:00.197-08:00

The White HouseOffice of the Press SecretaryFor Immediate ReleaseJanuary 29, 2010President Obama Sets Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction Target for Federal OperationsTarget to Drive Energy Cost Reductions in Federal Operations, Creating Clean Energy JobsWASHINGTON, DC – President Barack Obama today announced that the Federal Government will reduce its greenhouse gas (GHG) pollution by 28 percent

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01020785896429577414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2913445521655332748.post-47354979343887612712012-01-29T08:00:00.000-08:002012-01-29T08:00:00.686-08:00

There are times when I could literally just scream at the incredible amount of political bullshit that goes on with economic numbers. It just boggles the mind and frustrates the analysis. So, instead of relying on the news media to inform us, we are now faced with the task of sorting through the noise. What fun indeed.According to the Census Bureau:New orders for manufactured durable goods in

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01020785896429577414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2913445521655332748.post-81786168125615438862012-01-29T07:13:00.000-08:002012-01-29T07:13:00.976-08:00

The Independent has a regular pictorial feature on "The Best of..." various goods. Today, they feature "The Best  of the New Books." I don't know about you, but I don't find such a list to be particularly helpful, when all they  provide are photos of the covers of "the best" new books, 1 through 10, without any commentary explaining why these ten books are exceptional. It's also ironic that a

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01020785896429577414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2913445521655332748.post-71183124383066873952012-01-29T06:31:00.000-08:002012-01-29T06:31:00.193-08:00

Good Morning,Wait, no, it's a Glorious Morning, Comrades! The central planners have good news regarding the health of their country… yes, it’s true that 6 million people losing their jobs is really the same as creating 2 million jobs, and now we can rejoice in knowing that a failing economy is really growing at a 5.7% pace! Truly glorious!And for that masterfully trumped up report we get slightly

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01020785896429577414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2913445521655332748.post-12097778652399920542012-01-29T05:31:00.000-08:002012-01-29T05:31:00.242-08:00

Hat tip: Brad DeLong's "Grasping Reality with Opposable Thumbs" and the Economic Policy Institute

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01020785896429577414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2913445521655332748.post-56311400028055766712012-01-29T05:21:00.000-08:002012-01-29T05:21:00.788-08:00

The great Nobel-prize winning French novelist and biographer of Beethoven, most famous for his 10-novel roman-fleuve, Jean-Christophe. My own favorite of his works is the less well known, Colas Breugnon Burgundian. 

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01020785896429577414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2913445521655332748.post-28146093947468409122012-01-29T02:00:00.000-08:002012-01-29T02:00:06.139-08:00

On the P&F chart, notice one clear point: prices have continually made new highs by breaking through key areas of resistance. Also note this have been going on for some time.On the weekly chart, notice the following:-- Prices have continually made new highs-- Prices have always consolidated gains-- Prices are above all the SMAs-- All the SMAs are headed higher-- The shorter SMAs are higher than

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01020785896429577414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2913445521655332748.post-55512158616240426612012-01-28T15:23:00.000-08:002012-01-28T15:23:00.208-08:00

Governor Mitch Daniels was on hand today as Zipp Speed Weaponry, located in Speedway, Indiana, announced an expansion that would create 105 new jobs - nearly doubling its current workforce -  between now and 2013. Zipp makes some of the lightest and most expensive cycling wheels in the world; they're used by many of the top pro teams (and several of my own teammates). As part of the expansion,

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01020785896429577414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2913445521655332748.post-76621590371872706222012-01-28T14:53:00.000-08:002012-01-28T14:53:00.536-08:00

The Independent is reporting (here) that two historians from University College London have unearthed  fragments of the Gregorian Codex, a compilation of Roman Law rules from the reigns of Hadrian (118-138 AD) through Diocletian (284-305 AD) and first published in about 300 AD. The Codex is thought to have influenced the Civil Law systems that govern much of Europe to the present day. Before now,

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01020785896429577414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2913445521655332748.post-53667140025365627962012-01-28T14:14:00.000-08:002012-01-28T14:14:00.082-08:00

President Obama reportedly criticized the Supreme Court's Citizens United case during his State of the Union address, claiming that the decision opens the floodgates to political spending by corporations, including foreign ones. According to this blog post at the NY Times, Justice Alito took quiet exception to the President's assertion, shaking his head and muttering "not true." As the NY Times

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01020785896429577414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2913445521655332748.post-62158919019577476952012-01-28T13:10:00.000-08:002012-01-28T13:10:00.716-08:00

I'm on a PF kick today -- and will be using them more often going forward. I like the way they get rid of all the noise and just look at price action. So -- let's see what the PF charts say about all three averages.On the SPYs notice there are two possible interpretations. First, we have a series of lower highs -- which could indicate we're heading lower. However, there is an intermittent

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01020785896429577414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2913445521655332748.post-9407706881719301142012-01-28T11:36:00.000-08:002012-01-28T11:36:00.179-08:00

Blogger "Kash" has an interesting post reminding everyone how stock market highs are often followed by recessions. The archived news story he puts up tells of how the U.S. stock market reached record highs in June 1990, just a month before the start of the 1990-91 recession. Then, as now, this was driven mainly by increased profits of the foreign affiliates of U.S. companies, a factor which is

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01020785896429577414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2913445521655332748.post-32995939685959377432012-01-28T10:46:00.000-08:002012-01-28T10:46:00.143-08:00

The AP is reporting (here) that J.D. Salinger has died. The famous and reclusive author of The Catcher in the Rye (1951), Franny and Zooey (1961) and numerous other novels and short stories turned his back on fame and fortune, not publishing a single word after 1965.It is a very sad day for Salinger fans throughout the world, and the only consolation is that, perhaps, in the near future many

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01020785896429577414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2913445521655332748.post-72650767324821223332012-01-28T10:30:00.000-08:002012-01-28T10:30:01.182-08:00

I'm going to do something different today. I'm going to use Point and Figure charts (PF) charts for the commodities markets. There are a few reasons for this. First, they are a great way to filter out the noise in the markets and see exactly what prices are doing. Secondly, there are some really interesting divergences in the commodities market right now that PF charts really highlight.Let's

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01020785896429577414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2913445521655332748.post-23947387877272825552012-01-28T07:30:00.000-08:002012-01-28T07:30:02.350-08:00

From the WSJ:Already burned by bad mortgages on their books, lenders now are feeling rising heat from loans they sold to investors.Unhappy buyers of subprime mortgages, home-equity loans and other real-estate loans are trying to force banks and mortgage companies to repurchase a growing pile of troubled loans. The pressure is the result of provisions in many loan sales that require lenders to

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01020785896429577414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2913445521655332748.post-22014709539692469272012-01-28T06:50:00.000-08:002012-01-28T06:50:00.045-08:00

Good Morning,Equity futures are higher this morning, below is a snapshot of the overnight action and the ramping that began with the FOMC announcement yesterday:The dollar is about level from yesterday’s close, bonds are down slightly, both oil and gold are up slightly.Yesterday’s FOMC announcement was more of the same, bottom line is that they are still claiming to end many of the support

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01020785896429577414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2913445521655332748.post-62009399562438024792012-01-28T06:37:00.000-08:002012-01-28T06:37:00.241-08:00

That's what the Daily Telegraph suggests (here) about Apple's new iPad (pictured below). But why on earth would I want a computer without an actual keyboard on which to type?

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01020785896429577414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2913445521655332748.post-69895704434961586352012-01-28T05:53:00.000-08:002012-01-28T05:53:00.228-08:00

So, is it safe to come out from under the covers now? Did President Obama fix everything with his speech? Are the Republicans now on board? Did Ben Nelson and Joe Lieberman publicly apologize and promise never to grandstand again? Did all members of Congress hold hands and sing Kumbaya?Do we now have health care reform, climate legislation, energy independence (whatever the hell that might mean),

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01020785896429577414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2913445521655332748.post-46813426179400367942012-01-28T05:44:00.000-08:002012-01-28T05:44:00.197-08:00

The next two weeks may well make or break Arsenal's title challenge. Between now and February 10th, they play at Man U, home to Chelsea, and away at Liverpool.  The Gunners currently stand 3d on the League table, a point behind Man U and two points behind Chelsea (with Chelsea holding a game in hand). Arsenal really must take all three points from the games against those two teams; and they

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01020785896429577414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2913445521655332748.post-39379203940396545522012-01-28T05:24:00.000-08:002012-01-28T05:24:00.059-08:00

One of my favorite British novelists.Here's where he writes at home near Birmingham (from this article in The Guardian) :

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01020785896429577414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2913445521655332748.post-25400675364672543562012-01-28T03:58:00.000-08:002012-01-28T03:58:00.052-08:00

U.S. first quarter GDP growth, at 1.3% in the "advance" release, came in just as weak as I predicted a month ago, when I wrote it would be 1-2%. As always with the advance number, it could be revised later, but as there is no reason to assume that upwards or downwards revisions are more likely, they can nevertheless be analyzed. Looking at the specific components, they were mostly in line of what

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01020785896429577414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2913445521655332748.post-8967078858891372912012-01-28T02:00:00.000-08:002012-01-28T02:00:07.175-08:00

On the weekly 30-year yield chart, notice that yields are in a broadening pattern, moving between 4.20% and 4.60%. Also notice the yields have broken through resistance that started with the flight to quality at the end of last summer. The question now is will yields go higher or stay in this area.Notice the exact same situation with the 10-year -- that yields have broken through resistance

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01020785896429577414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2913445521655332748.post-88514649408143177172012-01-27T13:45:00.000-08:002012-01-27T13:45:00.790-08:00

At least oil finally dropped in price as did rice. But, so did home prices and consumer sentiment. And thrifts set aside $7.6 billion in loan loss reserves in the first quarter. I'm going to look at the charts a bit backwards today. First, remember the QQQQs have been the market leader for the this rally. That's why today's action is so important. The QQQQs showed some life. Note they

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01020785896429577414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2913445521655332748.post-7247836021423657622012-01-27T10:30:00.000-08:002012-01-27T10:30:02.598-08:00

From Blomberg:Enjoy your next steak, because prices from Shanghai to San Francisco are only going up.The highest corn prices since at least the Civil War, based on Chicago Board of Trade data, mean U.S. feedlots are losing money on every animal they sell, discouraging production as rising global incomes increase meat consumption and a declining dollar spurs exports. Cattle may rise 13 percent by

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01020785896429577414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2913445521655332748.post-56892067565430893622012-01-27T08:00:00.000-08:002012-01-27T08:00:01.368-08:00

From IBD:What should prospective real estate investors be watching to catch the inevitable upturn?Sales and home construction have to stop falling, but that's only a first step, analysts say. The glut of unsold housing has to come down sharply before prices can bottom. And like the stock market, price is often your best indicator about real estate's direction.Real estate slumps are usually local

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01020785896429577414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2913445521655332748.post-68870311386857396732012-01-27T07:59:00.000-08:002012-01-27T07:59:01.030-08:00

Odds that I will be watching the President's State of the Union address this evening? Slim.Odds that I will watching talking heads afterwards? Zero.Odds that I will watch what John Stewart and Stephen Colbert have to say about the speech the following night? Very high.

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01020785896429577414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2913445521655332748.post-24740683924200556592012-01-27T06:51:00.000-08:002012-01-27T06:51:00.071-08:00

Good Morning,Equity futures are higher, no lower, no higher this morning… below is a chart with the DOW and S&P overnight action:The Dollar is higher, bonds are higher, while both oil and gold are lower.Today the FOMC will release their “decision” at 2:15 Eastern. Of course with rates at zero and staying that way we are left only to marvel at their wordsmithing. It is simply amazing to me that

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01020785896429577414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2913445521655332748.post-29799136765463552902012-01-27T06:50:00.000-08:002012-01-27T06:50:00.770-08:00

Spent yesterday at Chicago-Kent College of Law, and was very impressed by the warmth, collegiality, and serious scholarly culture I found there. Nice building and location too.It's a little known fact that I began law school at Chicago-Kent before transferring, mainly for locational reasons, to Lewis & Clark in Portland. I was happy to see a few of my first-year teachers yesterday, all of whom

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01020785896429577414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2913445521655332748.post-41195808653070779262012-01-27T06:41:00.000-08:002012-01-27T06:41:00.249-08:00

John Schwartz has an excellent article in today's NY Times discussing the importance, both strategic and substantive, of lawsuits filed against major greenhouse gas emitters for alleged costs of climate change. The biggest case discussed in the article, still at a fairly early stage in the process, was filed by a village of 400 Alaska natives located on a barrier island that is being eroded away

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01020785896429577414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2913445521655332748.post-9556734027291561042012-01-27T06:32:00.000-08:002012-01-27T06:32:00.342-08:00

He calls the decision, which struck down virtually all restrictions on corporate spending on political campaigns,  "appalling" and "devastating" in this article in the NY Review of Books.

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01020785896429577414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2913445521655332748.post-7903059089549056342012-01-27T06:03:00.000-08:002012-01-27T06:03:01.716-08:00

This Congressional Budget Office Report provides a pretty good overview of the current situation of the economy and forecast for the rest of this year.UPDATE: Brad DeLong is less optimistic than the CBO (see here).

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01020785896429577414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2913445521655332748.post-43908841665531944982012-01-27T05:49:00.000-08:002012-01-27T05:49:01.197-08:00

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01020785896429577414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2913445521655332748.post-69651471562702132692012-01-27T02:00:00.000-08:002012-01-27T02:00:03.686-08:00

Except it's on Tuesday. I will be doing the Treasury market tomorrow.Although the markets were rallying for the better part of the last two months, the technical picture has changed. To demonstrate this, I'm going to use line charts to filter out some of the noise. The SPYs have clear broken their support line.The QQQQs are just barely hanging on.The IWMs have broken support, and The

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01020785896429577414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2913445521655332748.post-34958625650299605682012-01-26T14:58:00.000-08:002012-01-26T14:58:00.444-08:00

Bob Prechter of Elliott Wave International issues his latest comments on CNBC today. He has been calling a top since November, and believes the next wave down has begun… (ht RRH)

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01020785896429577414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2913445521655332748.post-35697391239261565902012-01-26T06:35:00.000-08:002012-01-26T06:35:00.462-08:00

Good Morning,Equity futures are down this morning, below left is a 30 minute chart of the DOW so that you can see the waves from the top, and on the right is a 5 minute chart of the S&P futures showing the overnight action:While we can see the waves above, it would appear that yesterday proved to be a sideways wave 4 and we broke lower overnight in the start of wave 5. Wave 5 could already be

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01020785896429577414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2913445521655332748.post-51547415968533939282012-01-26T06:27:00.000-08:002012-01-26T06:27:00.634-08:00

Joe Klein slams the electorate (here), and his argument is difficult to deny. Given that the lion's share of stimulus spending has gone to middle-class taxpayers, on what basis do they believe - as polls indicate - that the stimulus was "wasted"? Here are Klein's answers to that question:1. The Obama Administration has done a terrible job explaining the stimulus package to the American people...

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01020785896429577414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2913445521655332748.post-28915414474073229142012-01-26T05:40:00.000-08:002012-01-26T05:40:01.528-08:00

Which picture is better?

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01020785896429577414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2913445521655332748.post-6901512152245849672012-01-26T03:21:00.000-08:002012-01-26T03:21:00.520-08:00

The markets are closed today. I'll be back in the morning.

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01020785896429577414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2913445521655332748.post-57360708055033585592012-01-25T19:40:00.000-08:002012-01-25T19:40:00.070-08:00

Back in December 2009, EPA proposed new national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) for ozone, a precursor to urban smog. Today, the EPA finalized a new one-hour NAAQS for nitrogen oxides, which are emitted predominantly by power plants and motor vehicles. The rule limits concentration levels to100 parts per billion or less over any one hour period. This new rule supplements the pre-existing 

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01020785896429577414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2913445521655332748.post-5353192295871959412012-01-25T11:15:00.000-08:002012-01-25T11:15:01.346-08:00

In the middle of January, 2009, the “Group of 30” (check out this cast of characters) which was formed in 1978, is Chaired by Paul Volcker and comprises a group of central bankers and others, released what it calls “Financial Reform – A Framework for Financial Stability.”Group of 30 Reforms - Volcker

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01020785896429577414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2913445521655332748.post-38987200169662042092012-01-25T08:11:00.000-08:002012-01-25T08:11:00.638-08:00

I'm sitting in the Indy airport, waiting on a flight to Chicago. The airport is as busy as I've ever seen it. Lot's of Colts fans proudly wearing the blue. Many chastened Jets fans heading for home. And lots of other folks heading who knows where for every conceivable reason.

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01020785896429577414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2913445521655332748.post-5632833167546237532012-01-25T06:46:00.000-08:002012-01-25T06:46:00.249-08:00

Good Morning,As it turns out, it was a good idea to take profits on Friday if you were short, as the equity markets are up over the weekend after the SPX landed right on a support level in the 1,090 area.Below are the DOW and S&P futures, I left the DOW chart on a longer timeframe so that you can see the descent that was made last week. I can count that descent as a 5 wave move, so that may mean

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01020785896429577414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2913445521655332748.post-81061599653108370712012-01-25T05:34:00.000-08:002012-01-25T05:34:00.723-08:00

One of the great 20th century composers.An excerpt from his 3d symphony:

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01020785896429577414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2913445521655332748.post-49368376269947965802012-01-25T00:12:00.000-08:002012-01-25T00:12:00.265-08:00

It's time once again, boys & girls, for Uncle Jay to Explain the News...

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01020785896429577414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2913445521655332748.post-66423815755787721242012-01-24T07:53:00.000-08:002012-01-24T07:53:00.492-08:00

A friend of mine recently suggested that Obama pushed too quickly for health care reform, and that a slower approach would have yielded better results, both substantively and politically. I'm not so sure.It's not obvious that Obama was wrong to believe he needed to act quickly and decisively, at least prior to the mid-term elections, when the party out-of-power is almost always strengthened,

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01020785896429577414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2913445521655332748.post-25098222891183069012012-01-24T07:33:00.000-08:002012-01-24T07:33:00.430-08:00

Eurostat reports that Euro-zone budget deficits fell from 2.5% of GDP to 1.6%. Unfortunately though, most of it reflected higher government revenues. The burden of government spending fell from just 47.5% to 47.4%.Combining it with the 2002 numbers in last year's release, you can see that compared to 2002, Euro-zone spending fell by 0.3%: points between 2002 and 2006, from 47.7% to 47.4%. But the

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01020785896429577414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2913445521655332748.post-37830656709284931582012-01-24T07:23:00.000-08:002012-01-24T07:23:00.252-08:00

Well, not yet. But increasingly investors fear it will. And at any rate, the rate of house price increases is certainly slowing. The 12-month increase in house prices was just 7.2% in March, half of the rate of increase in previous years.I've dealt before with the issue of the Spanish housing boom. Clearly, some of it has been fueled by ECB holding interest rates far too low for far too long. And

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01020785896429577414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2913445521655332748.post-12482961848811469992012-01-24T06:26:00.000-08:002012-01-24T06:26:00.820-08:00

Arsenal have taken a risk, fielding a relatively weak side in today's fourth-round FA Cup match at Stoke. But so far, so good. They are tied 1-1 at halftime. Stoke got a goal just 30 seconds into the match, immediately raising questions about an Arsenal defense comprised of Sol Campbell (playing his first game for the Gunners in three or four years), Michael Silvestre, Armand Traore, and Francis

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01020785896429577414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2913445521655332748.post-40672818125938773502012-01-24T06:00:00.000-08:002012-01-24T06:00:16.665-08:00

Eleven full days after the earthquake in Haiti, a man was rescued from the rubble, severely dehydrated but otherwise unharmed. The chief of the French rescue team that freed him pointed to the sky declaring, "This is God" (see here). I do not question the Frenchman's religious conviction, but I do want to ask him, what about the 150,000 people (at latest count) who have died?

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01020785896429577414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2913445521655332748.post-17885234381492728292012-01-24T05:32:00.000-08:002012-01-24T05:32:00.193-08:00

An article in today's Washington Post (here) makes the following assertion:Republican Scott Brown's victory in the Massachusetts special election on Tuesday cost the Democrats' their filibuster-proof Senate majority.But what has really changed? Even before Scott Brown's victory in Massachusetts last week, the Democrats did not have a "'filibuster-proof Senate majority" because the Democrats,

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01020785896429577414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2913445521655332748.post-34922688554740949442012-01-24T05:02:00.000-08:002012-01-24T05:02:00.480-08:00

Co-inventor, with John von Neumann, of the branch of mathematical-economics known as game theory, which has greatly influenced virtually all of the social sciences (as well as biology).

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01020785896429577414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2913445521655332748.post-60979607027855920382012-01-23T17:42:00.000-08:002012-01-23T17:42:00.571-08:00

Call me a "homer," but I smell a Colts win tomorrow. Big deal, you might say, pretty much everyone expects the Colts to win. Here's the difference: I'm expecting a blow-out. The Colts offense puts up at least 24 against the league's top-rated defense, and the Jets score no more than 1 touchdown (if that). Peyton & Co. head back to Miami, the site of their victory over the Bears in Super Bowl 41,

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01020785896429577414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2913445521655332748.post-18168587170769639092012-01-23T16:55:00.000-08:002012-01-23T16:55:00.186-08:00

It would appear that we are at an important juncture in the markets. I wish I had more time to work on and report on technical analysis for you, but I am choosing instead to focus my attention on trying to enact change. I am still organizing volunteers, developing the new website, and working on strategy. Again, any help along those lines is appreciated.Friday was an 87% down day on the NYSE by

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01020785896429577414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2913445521655332748.post-6010705163834914802012-01-23T16:38:00.000-08:002012-01-23T16:38:00.265-08:00

Richard S.J. Tol, a top climate economist, is somewhat surprisingly endorsing the extension of the Kyoto Protocol (here). His argument makes some sense - as he notes, the Protocol itself does not expire in 2012, only its emissions reduction targets do that. Still, I think the Protocol is fatally hampered by its overly ambitious emissions trading system and   offset mechanisms that really are

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01020785896429577414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2913445521655332748.post-50540868664158232712012-01-23T15:21:00.000-08:002012-01-23T15:21:00.253-08:00

The Blogosphere is, predictably, all abuzz about the Supreme Court's decision in Citizens United v. FTC, about which I posted (here) the day the decision was announced. The Wall Street Journal's Law Blog (here) has a pretty good round up of visual sound-bites about the ruling.To the litany of complaints about the decision, I would add my one of my own, which has become something of a hobby horse

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01020785896429577414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2913445521655332748.post-43143857156060107772012-01-23T14:23:00.000-08:002012-01-23T14:23:00.694-08:00

It's that time of the week again. Take a break from the markets are have yourself a weekend. See you on Monday.

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01020785896429577414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2913445521655332748.post-8587485402512045692012-01-23T13:22:00.000-08:002012-01-23T13:22:00.102-08:00

So now it is clear that it will be Nicolas Sarkozy versus Segolene Royal. Sarkozy has his shortcomings. He has spoken out in favor of affirmative action. He has furthermore embraced a protectionist and populist (in the worst sense of the word) rhetoric. However he has also talked of some badly needed free market reforms of France's statist economy. Many people dislike the fact that he referred to

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01020785896429577414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2913445521655332748.post-4612847093414430332012-01-23T12:43:00.000-08:002012-01-23T12:43:00.523-08:00

As a mirror image to the previous post about how profits of U.S. companies are rising in their foreign subsidiaries while falling in domestic operations comes this observation from Michael Mandel of Business Week that investment spending from U.S. companies are much stronger than government statistics of U.S. investment spending indicates. The reason for this is that they are in fact investing a

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01020785896429577414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2913445521655332748.post-28865902923660172942012-01-23T11:56:00.000-08:002012-01-23T11:56:00.424-08:00

Great day for a ride! 43 degrees, overcast, misty, wet roads, and a consistent 16 mph wind from the SE.41 miles at an average wattage of 231, according to my iBike (though I bonked at mile 33).It is impossible with current technology to simulate in indoor training the qualities of an outdoor ride -  the wind, the heaviness and moisture content of the air, the bumps and gradations in the road,

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01020785896429577414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2913445521655332748.post-605112022849821252012-01-23T10:30:00.000-08:002012-01-23T10:30:00.201-08:00

From Bloomberg:The number of previously owned unsold homes on the market at the end of April jumped to 4.55 million, up from 4.12 million in March. The total represented 11.2 months' supply at the current sales pace, the highest on record and up from 10 months at the end of the prior month.This is a super-glut. Combine this with the price news from earlier today and you have big problems. Still.

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01020785896429577414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2913445521655332748.post-67091784392105015262012-01-23T08:00:00.000-08:002012-01-23T08:00:05.237-08:00

First, here is a long term chart of oil:Does anybody see a trend here? Anybody? It sure looks to me like oil is in the middle of a multi-year bull market, intensified by the economic growth of two of the worlds largest countries India and China. For those of you in the economic forecasting department at Ford that's called "an increase in demand" and it means prices will go up. At some point

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01020785896429577414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2913445521655332748.post-13693613087639444432012-01-23T06:47:00.000-08:002012-01-23T06:47:00.746-08:00

Still one of the greatest voices in rock. Pictured below with one of my dearest friends, the late Kevin Kelly.

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01020785896429577414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2913445521655332748.post-41201389290547559872012-01-23T02:37:00.000-08:002012-01-23T02:37:00.089-08:00

From the WSJ:Home prices are falling faster as the economy slows and turmoil in the mortgage markets continues.Prices fell an average of 1.7% nationwide in the first quarter from the final three months of 2007, according to the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight. The decline was the largest in the index's 17-year history. The government index, which is seasonally adjusted and based on

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01020785896429577414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2913445521655332748.post-8944712054755259202012-01-23T02:03:00.000-08:002012-01-23T02:03:00.298-08:00

Actually, this is yesterday's markets, but who's counting, right?The big news from two days ago was the indexes dropping hard through support. Let's see how that has played out.The SPYs are still through the 10 and 20 day SMA along with the support line started in mid-March. But yesterday the markets cooled off a bit, making today that much more important -- especially the close. If prices

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01020785896429577414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2913445521655332748.post-39655153548242850782012-01-23T02:00:00.000-08:002012-01-23T02:00:10.699-08:00

Let's start with a long-term chart of the dollar:Remember we're dealing with an incredibly weak chart. Prices have been dropping for the better part of to years, with prices continually breaking through downside support and making new lows. This had been going on for two years -- long before the economy started to slow. That means traders saw fundamental problems with the economy long before

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01020785896429577414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2913445521655332748.post-46808057166131626002012-01-22T12:00:00.000-08:002012-01-22T12:00:05.002-08:00

Today's markets will be posted tomorrow morning. Bonddad and Mr$. Bonddad are signing many papers as they purchase a house.

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01020785896429577414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2913445521655332748.post-30078695648016175882012-01-22T11:34:00.000-08:002012-01-22T11:34:00.708-08:00

As most readers know, I recently wrote a article about why a U.S. recession is likely in 2007, an assessment I haven't changed. However, then as now, I emphasized that it was only likely, not certain. The reason is that it is possible that the U.S. could be as lucky as Australia was in 2005 and be helped by some positive shock. I mentioned one of these possible shocks, falling oil prices, and

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01020785896429577414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2913445521655332748.post-54143896378553957262012-01-22T10:52:00.000-08:002012-01-22T10:52:00.439-08:00

Big kudos to Trader Mike for this catch.Let's start with this chart:Each arrow is point to a possible top. Now -- let's carry this out a bit further. Let's use Dow theory, which states the averages have to confirm each other. In other words, more than one sector of the economy has to be doing well in order for stocks to rise. So, if the economy is doing well, then transports have to rise as

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01020785896429577414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2913445521655332748.post-47830275926233394712012-01-22T09:01:00.000-08:002012-01-22T09:01:00.502-08:00

The following are in no particular order of importance:From "This Week in Petroleum":The U.S. average retail price for regular gasoline climbed to another all-time high, going up 6.9 cents to 379.1 cents per gallon. This was the eighth consecutive week for the national average price to increase, with the cumulative change totaling 53.2 cents. All regions recorded price hikes, with the East Coast

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01020785896429577414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2913445521655332748.post-78880351138639152152012-01-22T06:27:00.000-08:002012-01-22T06:27:01.052-08:00

Good Morning,Equity futures are mostly flat to down a little in the overnight session, DOW and S&P activity are shown below:The dollar and bonds are roughly flat overnight, both oil and gold are down some more. Oil is back into the $75 range and gold is approaching the $1,080 support level, there’s more support for gold about $1,050, then again at the $1,000 level. We are definitely seeing

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01020785896429577414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2913445521655332748.post-23037258172358227652012-01-22T04:01:00.000-08:002012-01-22T04:01:00.237-08:00

The great philosopher, statesman, and developer of the scientific method.

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01020785896429577414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2913445521655332748.post-63330698752293719792012-01-22T03:14:00.000-08:002012-01-22T03:14:00.874-08:00

From Wikipedia:Peak oil is the point in time when the maximum rate of global petroleum production is reached, after which the rate of production enters its terminal decline. If global consumption is not mitigated before the peak, an energy crisis may develop because the availability of conventional oil will drop and prices will rise, perhaps dramatically. M. King Hubbert first used the theory in

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01020785896429577414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2913445521655332748.post-14322369127488931162012-01-22T02:00:00.000-08:002012-01-22T02:00:04.863-08:00

Today I'm just going to show three charts so we can look at the long, medium and short term oil markets. Short version: this is what a bull market looks likeAbove is a monthly chart. Notice that prices are rising from a base established over 10 years. Here's an old trader's adage for you (which you probably don't want to hear right now). The longer the base, the stronger the run. Also note

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01020785896429577414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2913445521655332748.post-38993852781189747102012-01-21T19:11:00.000-08:002012-01-21T19:11:00.306-08:00

Brad DeLong writes a glowing review of Paul Krugman's new book, The Accidental Theorist (here).

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01020785896429577414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2913445521655332748.post-84151736840357233282012-01-21T12:29:00.000-08:002012-01-21T12:29:00.400-08:00

Guess what? Oil hit another record today. And that will probably lead to a lower number of Americans driving over memorial day weekend. American Airlines announced they would be cutting jobs and charging for the first bag. We also learned the Fed is lowering it's growth forecast for the economy.In market land, we had some really big developments.Notice the QQQQs have been in a rally since

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01020785896429577414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2913445521655332748.post-47269164938366209212012-01-21T11:43:00.000-08:002012-01-21T11:43:00.399-08:00

The January 21st issue of Nature contains a useful article (here) about "The Real Holes in Climate Science" (as distinct from the mythical problems often cited by skeptics). It also includes an editorial (here) putting in proper perspective, and drawing appropriate lessons from the controversy surrounding the leaked e-mails of several climate researchers, including: Perhaps the most important

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01020785896429577414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2913445521655332748.post-66317988444372870012012-01-21T09:49:00.000-08:002012-01-21T09:49:00.029-08:00

Robert Solow's review in The New Republic (here) of John Cassidy, How Markets Fail: The Logic of Economic Calamities (Farrar, Straus and Giroux 2009). The book sounds good as well, but Solow's views are  always worth reading. The brilliant Paul Collier's January 2009 report to the United Nations (here) on "Haiti: From Natural Catastrophe to Economic Security." Collier's analysis of policies to

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01020785896429577414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2913445521655332748.post-30722750768569844942012-01-21T09:30:00.000-08:002012-01-21T09:30:01.599-08:00

Below I mentioned that agricultural prices have started to cool a bit. Let's look at some individual charts to see what's going on.On rice's daily chart, notice that prices have clearly broken two different upward support trend lines. In addition, prices are clearly in a downward sloping trend channelOn rice's weekly chart, notice that while prices are still technically in an uptrend they are

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01020785896429577414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2913445521655332748.post-72137029464694466602012-01-21T08:25:00.000-08:002012-01-21T08:25:00.377-08:00

The Supreme Court has just handed down a 5-4 ruling in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, which overturns central provisions of the "McCain-Feingold Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002" that  limited the amount of money corporations could contributed to political campaigns. Equating money with political speech and corporations with human individuals, Justice Kennedy's majority

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01020785896429577414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2913445521655332748.post-59078381904048701252012-01-21T07:53:00.000-08:002012-01-21T07:53:00.287-08:00

Velocity Zero To download a .pdf for printing, please click here.VELOCITY ZERO -Yet Ripples Propagate Through Time…Please allow me the discretion to begin this discussion seemingly far removed from the primary topic of Velocity Zero. Not to worry, we will circle back around.You see, my last surviving grandparent, Marion Temple, passed away this past weekend. She was the

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01020785896429577414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2913445521655332748.post-69931312795758254482012-01-21T07:37:00.000-08:002012-01-21T07:37:00.657-08:00

Each year the scientific humor magazine Annals of Improbable Research awards "Ig Nobel Prizes" (a parody of Nobel Prizes) to ten serious scientific studies "that first make people laugh, and then make them think." For example, in 1993 the Ig Nobel Prize in Physics went to French alchemist Corentin Louis Kervran for his finding that calcium in chicken eggshells was a result of cold fusion.The 1996

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01020785896429577414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2913445521655332748.post-48954191705020964222012-01-21T07:24:00.000-08:002012-01-21T07:24:00.822-08:00

Political pundits and sports reporters seem to suffer from extreme forms of a common malady known to cognitive psychologists and behaviorial economists as the "availability heuristic." Simply put, they tend to base predictions of future events or outcomes on the most recent and vivid experiences they recall, regardless of how unrepresentative or unreliable those experiences might be. The Israeli

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01020785896429577414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2913445521655332748.post-24590172793332739782012-01-21T06:39:00.000-08:002012-01-21T06:39:00.396-08:00

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01020785896429577414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2913445521655332748.post-81339428525046510772012-01-21T06:37:00.000-08:002012-01-21T06:37:00.044-08:00

Good Morning,Equity futures are lower again to flat this morning but the 1,133 pivot is still supporting prices so far, here’s the overnight on the DOW and S&P:The dollar is higher at new recent rally highs. It appears as if the dollar has begun either wave 3 or c up, and thus we can expect something that’s probably at least equal in size and duration from the first leg up. Bonds are up

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01020785896429577414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2913445521655332748.post-23921495480889947512012-01-21T03:59:00.000-08:002012-01-21T03:59:00.529-08:00

Actually, I was thinking of the headline "Moody's probes self" because that's basically what's going on: Moody's Investors Service said it's conducting ``a thorough review'' after the Financial Times reported that a computer error was responsible for Aaa ratings being assigned to complex debt securities that slumped in value.Banks obtained the highest grades in 2006 and 2007 for constant

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01020785896429577414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2913445521655332748.post-78349914332571485642012-01-21T03:04:00.000-08:002012-01-21T03:04:00.033-08:00

Below I mentioned that it looks as though certain commodities are now dropping in price. While we're not out of the woods, it appears things are setting up to ease. The following is from today's IBD:Crude oil prices rose again Tuesday, hitting record highs near $130 a barrel and sparking a gold rally for a second straight session.But the mixed performance in agricultural, softs and metals

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01020785896429577414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2913445521655332748.post-44309949144351046142012-01-21T02:50:00.000-08:002012-01-21T02:50:00.831-08:00

According to the latest PPI release finished energy prices -- after adjusting for seasonal factors -- decreased .2% last month. Let's look at that again.The prices of finished energy prices decreased .2% last month.Here's more from the same report:In April, the index for finished goods other than foods and energy moved up 0.4 percent and was partially offset by prices for energy goods, which

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01020785896429577414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2913445521655332748.post-53985711441427794842012-01-21T02:00:00.000-08:002012-01-21T02:00:01.065-08:00

Let's take a look at the commodities charts to see how they've been behaving. After looking at some of these charts, I'm going to tie them into the recent inflation numbers. We'll start with the weekly CRB chart. Notice two points.-- The sharp uptrend that started at the end of last summer is still in place.-- The double top that appeared to be forming didn't. However --On the daily chart,

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01020785896429577414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2913445521655332748.post-28953697475136016962012-01-20T14:00:00.000-08:002012-01-21T02:54:43.459-08:00

Professor Bob McChesney and journalist John Nichols talk about the perils of a shrinking news media landscape, and their proposal to save journalism with (ugh) government subsidies. They have some very valid points of discussion, especially the part about the shift from true investigative journalism to corporate and government propagandas. Their discussion of the importance of free press to

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01020785896429577414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2913445521655332748.post-39984055740015421242012-01-20T13:50:00.000-08:002012-01-20T13:50:00.601-08:00

Arsenal beat Bolton 4-2 this afternoon at the Emirates Stadium. After going down 2-0 early in the first half, the Gunners cut the deficit to 1 just before halftime before putting the game away in the second half. Their 2-goal victory leapfrogs Arsenal past Manchester United and Chelsea into first place in the English Premier League, although Chelsea have a game in hand. No one should any longer

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01020785896429577414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2913445521655332748.post-18363653992858459772012-01-20T11:53:00.000-08:002012-01-20T11:53:00.393-08:00

In the "the housing market is nowhere near bottom" file, we have Home Depot's earings which dropped 66%. Oil crossed 129 a barrel (thank God it's not part of core inflation and therefore unimportant). And while Target also missed earnings, Saks and Staples saw increases (but note that Staples increase came from overseas increases rather than increases at US stores). We also saw Iceland get its

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01020785896429577414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2913445521655332748.post-10488939923492811162012-01-20T07:17:00.000-08:002012-01-21T02:56:58.522-08:00

Good Morning,Equity futures are lower this morning following yesterday’s very suspicious looking ramp. Yet another save following a broken trend line. That was the 18th of the last 20 first day of the trading week ramp jobs. That is NOT a natural phenomenon. What was so sick and perverse about it to me is that the brokerage houses that I get updates from (you know, where the “professionals”

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01020785896429577414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2913445521655332748.post-13634077193566050712012-01-20T07:14:00.000-08:002012-01-20T07:14:00.329-08:00

Yesterday's election to replace Ted Kennedy in the US Senate sent shock waves through Washington, as Republican Scott Brown defeated the anointed successor Martha Coakley, who, the outcome suggests, must be among the worst campaigners of all time.I don't know much about either Brown or Coakley, except that the later was far more likely to support two  pieces of legislation currently hanging in

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01020785896429577414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2913445521655332748.post-69338290461421724852012-01-20T06:58:00.000-08:002012-01-20T06:58:01.159-08:00

From Larry Kudlow's TV-show:KUDLOW: All right. Don Luskin, let me go to you. I'm looking at some of the distributional aspects of our current tax code. The top 1 percent now pays 37 percent of income taxes. Back in 1980, they only paid 19 percent. The top 5 percent pays 57 percent. That's up from--that's up from 37 percent back in 1980. And if you make over a million bucks, 181,000 people, they

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01020785896429577414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2913445521655332748.post-11376239371307225122012-01-20T06:51:00.000-08:002012-01-20T06:51:00.028-08:00

A.A. Gill has a very humorous piece in the new Vanity Fair (here) about his visit to the "Creation Argument, err, Museum" in Northern Kentucky:The Creation Museum isn’t really a museum at all. It’s an argument. It’s not even an argument. It’s the ammunition for an argument. It is the Word made into bullets. An armory of righteous revisionism. This whole building is devoted to the literal veracity

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01020785896429577414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2913445521655332748.post-54786838103465646472012-01-20T06:23:00.000-08:002012-01-20T06:23:00.030-08:00

In yesterday's New York Times, Stephen Dubner of Freakonomics fame, wrote (here) about this new study, which finds that mandatory helmet laws, currently in effect in 21 states, do three things, two of which are intended and one of which is unintended. The two intended effects are to increase the rate of helmet use and reduce the rate of cycling fatalities. So far, so good. However, mandatory

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01020785896429577414noreply@blogger.com0