3 March 2010

Wednesday Links — March 3, 2010

I feel very far behind in my readings of the Economist this week, but I kept up with the blog world a little better than usual. Let’s do some links:

Couldn’t agree more with Miranda on physical gold.  The slippage on entering and leaving physical gold is immense.
Great article by our friend Fred on green [...]

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25 February 2010

Long Term Joblessness

Unemployment is a frightening prospect to all of us. Even worse than losing your job is not being able to find a new one.

While many of us worry about short-term unemployment, long-term unemployment is a specter that haunts societies and individuals alike. Should you be thinking more about the implications of long-term joblessness?

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16 November 2009

Why a Clawback Might Be In Order

While a clawback may seem unwieldy, it may be time to reduce moral hazard by taking a way some elements of the financial industries “free ride.”

It may be unappealing to try to mete out financial justice, but it is even more unappealing to continue with the status quo. Is a clawback the right tool to give some negative feedback to the banking industry about their outcomes?

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6 September 2009

Is America Still the Land of Opportunity?

Many pundits are advocating a flight from the Dollar. The US is apparently in the midst of a spiral that cannot be averted. Should you be moving your money offshore?

While there are many risk factors to investing in the US right now, there are many risk factors in investing in other countries as well. The picture may not be as clear as some would suggest.

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21 June 2009

The Problem with Uncertainty

Many revisionists are now taking aim at government reaction during the 2008 economic crisis. Moreover they are indicting the stimulus and the thinking that powers it.

The question however should not be whether the government has done too much or too little, but when it will stop doing things. While the government can act as a stabilizing force more typically it brings uncertainty.

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14 June 2009

Is the Mortgage Crisis Over?

Many people’s lives have already been dramatically affected by the mortgage crisis. Much of our chances of economic recovery rest on if and when the mortgage crisis will end.

Unfortunately many people may be defining this crisis too narrowly. To figure out if the mortgage crisis is over, we first have to define what mortgage crisis we’re talking about.

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29 May 2009

Debt and Moral Hazard

While we struggle to try to return to “business as usual” in America, we gloss over how things have fundamentally changed.

The current economic situation represents not necessarily a fundamental shift, but the eventual realization of moral hazard. We’ve rewarded the wrong kind of behavior for too long and lost sight of sound decisions making.

Is it too late to return to sound practices?

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16 April 2009

Is the Financial Sector a Utility?

I am a fervent believer in free markets. More specifically I believe that they, much like Democracy, are flawed but vastly superior to any alternative. As various elements in the world decry the current financial crisis as an indictment of the flaws of capitalism, I wait patiently for them to suggest the proven alternative.

Despite this, I am left wondering if the financial sector is an exception to the wisdom of free markets.

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17 March 2009

AIG and Populist Rage

Populist rage is all the…well…rage. Everyone right now is outraged over how much people get paid to do their job poorly, or how much more some people have than everyone else. Now of course you can make arguments that the income distribution of modern society is counter-productive, but one key question is:

Why Do We Care RIGHT NOW?

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