May 2009

Stories I'm reading this Thursday: S&P says banking crisis will last until 2013 Emerging market, commodities also say worst may not be behind us T Boone talks oil and energy with Liz Claman Mortgage modification programs still running slowly Nearly 60% of all foreclosures are in these four states American Samoa and the unintended consequences ... read more

Stories I'm reading this Wednesday: Government wants to dictate banker pay Smokers and drinkers to pay the price The cardholders are the real problem Brookings: Have job losses peaked What makes us happy? Madoff-related investor kicked out of his country club Bankruptcy rumor mill in California towns Recession even impacting global drug prices Footnoted: Another $3 million ... read more

Interviewed Secretary of Education Arne Duncan today.    We discusssed many topics, but primarily it was about why more spending will help our kids. Right now, we spend a lot but the test scores don't show it.   Check out the data below: ----- 2005 -- Expenditure on education institutions per pupil/student in EUR (Euros) PPS (Top countries when comparing the United States with ... read more

Stories I'm reading this Tuesday: Obama health care plan facing big odds GM executives selling their stock as company heads toward likely chapter 11 Record executive wants to buy the New York Times Oil moves back above $59 as gas prices go higher Has the government completely overreacted to the ... read more

Last week the Administration happily touted the $17 billion in budget "savings" it had found by going "line by line" through the massive bill.   This prompted me to write about how the $17 billion is actually just 0.5% of the total budget, and how can you argue about 'savings' when the budget is up more than 14% from the previous spending plan. Some people wrote in saying "setttle down ... read more

Pepsi made a bid weeks ago to buy its largest bottler, Pepsi Bottling Group (PBG).   PBG rejected the bid as too low. Nothing unusual there, as negotiations like that happen all the time.   But now its turned ugly (and litigious, but that's really the same thing). According to Dow Jones: PepsiCo (PEP) filed a lawsuit Monday claiming Pepsi Bottling Group Inc. (PBG) and some of its ... read more

Stories I'm reading for Monday: Banks and government scaled back the stress level of the stress tests Study: Unions really do impact the value of companies The class of '09's curse of low wages Will the Fed buy more bonds to bring mortgage rates back down? Australia apparently learned nothing from America's housing boom Tips on rebuilding the family ... read more

The President today asked every American to commit to at least one year of post-high school pcollege or vocational training.     He said the government will do what it has to do to help, and (of course) rolled out yet another new website, www.opportunity.gov (on a side note, wouldn't it stink to be in the private sector of any of these businesses that the government keeps building new ... read more

Today the President outlined some proposed cuts in his $3.40 trillion dollar fiscal 2010 budget. Those include cuts in defense spending, the elimination of a diplomatic position in Paris (saving $630,000 per year) and a few other cuts.   All-in, the President says the cuts will trim about $17 billion from the budget. Cuts of any kind are generally a good thing.  The government has ... read more

Stories I'm reading this Wednesday: Union gets (partial) bailout as taxpayer loan to Chrysler won't be repaid Hedge fund manager blasts the President's tactics Study: 20% of homeowners 'underwater' 4 ways to manage through surprises Bernie Madoff's secretary reveals his bizarre habits Disney results spark some optimism Why high speed rail is the key to ... read more