Monthly Archives: July 2008

Extra Credit, Thursday Edition

Posted on July 31, 2008 by Felix

Scholastic puts the blame on "Do Not Call Registry": One of the lamest corporate excuses of all time. Shorts Crack the Code: This appeared in the NYT Business headlines for some reason; it’s not what you think, but it is … Continue reading →

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Lies, Damned Lies, and Blog Rankings

Posted on July 31, 2008 by Felix

I’m not a fan of lists, and I’m especially not a fan of top-blogs lists. But I’m kinda tickled by Wikio’s August blog ranking: Hey look, Market Movers is higher up than really great blogs like Wooster Collective and Stuff … Continue reading →

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SWFs vs Free Trade

Posted on July 31, 2008 by Felix

Matt Cooper says that sovereign wealth funds are "the opposite of free trade" and "anathema to a free-market economy". I don’t see why that should be the case: if anything, the funds are a natural consequence of free trade. If … Continue reading →

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Q2 GDP: Looking at the GDP Deflator

Posted on July 31, 2008 by Felix

Edward Harrison makes a good point about the unreliability of GDP numbers: the headline GDP number is equal to nominal GDP growth minus the GDP deflator — a measure of broad inflation. When the Q4 2007 GDP growth was revised … Continue reading →

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Carl Icahn Gets Bloggier

Posted on July 31, 2008 by Felix

It’s well known that one of the first things that happens to grown men after they get a blog is that they get SIWOTI disease. And Carl Icahn, it seems, is no exception. He still feels constrained from putting up … Continue reading →

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The Limits of GDP Statistics

Posted on July 31, 2008 by Felix

Zubin has the quarter-by-quarter GDP chart; he, like many others, is particularly taken that in the fourth quarter of 2007, the GDP figure fell below zero. But while the Q4 revision from +0.6% to -0.2% was big, the Q2 revision … Continue reading →

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The Problems With For-Profit Microlending

Posted on July 31, 2008 by Felix

After posting about the spat between Muhammad Yunus and Compartamos yesterday, I found a recent Economist editorial in favor of the Mexican for-profit lender. Since it’s one of the more lucid arguments in favor of the for-profit model, it’s worth … Continue reading →

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Towards the Command-and-Control Economy

Posted on July 31, 2008 by Felix

On a day when David Weidner jokingly proposes the "no-loss sale" rule (no selling a stock for a price lower than the last trade), Barry Ritholtz has anecdotal evidence that Wachovia, for one, is refusing to let its clients short … Continue reading →

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Free Zimbabwe’s Banks!

Posted on July 31, 2008 by Felix

As Zimbabwe knocks another ten (yes, ten) zeroes off its currency, the central bank governor, Gideon Gono, is optimistic that somehow this will do some good: so optimistic, in fact, that he’s reintroducing coins. It won’t work, of course. Something … Continue reading →

Posted in economics, emerging markets, foreign exchange | Leave a comment

Extra Credit, Wednesday Edition

Posted on July 30, 2008 by Felix

No News, Little Movement: Lots of noise, no signal in July’s financial markets. The Father of Wine Economics? "[Adam] Smith’s treatment of wine is not complete – there is no discussion of cork versus screw-cap, for example, and no treatment … Continue reading →

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