Category Archives: Economics

Marching Towards Another Depression

A fascinating article at New Deal 2.0 details the steps we are taking towards a likely second Great Depression. At a time when economies are teetering on the edge of recovery and a second recession, governments are starting to make noises, particularly in Europe, about reducing deficits as a model for responsible financial health. Unfortunately, …

June 8, 2010 – 9:18 am | By Scotch Drinker | Posted in Economics | Tagged , , | Comments (0)

Can Civilization’s Birthplace Become Its Funeral Pyre?

Overreaching headlines aside, the Eurozone is a bit of trouble. Greece has been bailed out in an attempt to avoid a sovereign default. Those in the know think the Greeks are unlikely to be the last country in the Eurozone to require a bailout and the conditions the IMF are expecting Greece to conform with …

May 18, 2010 – 10:42 am | By Scotch Drinker | Posted in Economics | Tagged , , , | Comments (1)

Not Out Of The Woods

JP Morgan Chase reported today and it sure sounds like everything is coming up roses for the banking behemoth. Income is up 85% over last year at 74 cents a share compared to 40 cents a share a year previous. Revenue is up as well. Of course, as with most financial reporting these days, you …

April 14, 2010 – 7:58 am | By Scotch Drinker | Posted in Economics | Comments (0)

And The Rich Get Richer. . .

There is currently a movement underfoot in Congress to recompense investors in the Bernard Madoff and R. Allen Standford Ponzi scheme debacles. It is couched in the terms of people having lost their life’s savings being fairly represented and treated but is actually a disgusting reminder of how those in power control much of our …

March 10, 2010 – 10:17 pm | By Scotch Drinker | Posted in Economics | Tagged , | Comments (0)

Fear The Boom And The Bust

When they start making rap songs about dead economists, I think it’s probably a sign of the apocalypse. Still, this one is excellent and instructive.

January 26, 2010 – 6:46 pm | By Scotch Drinker | Posted in Economics | Comments (1)

Baby Steps

This week, President Obama proposed regulatory changes that would limit big banks, implicitly those that received the guarantee of a government backstop during the crash last year, from investing for profits using their own hedge-funds or proprietary trading desks. This would be an excellent first step in reining in the power that the JP Morgans …

January 23, 2010 – 5:56 am | By Scotch Drinker | Posted in Economics, Politics | Tagged , | Comments (4)

Why The Federal Reserve Is Immoral

Tim over at The Mess That Greenspan Made writes about why the Fed is immoral and I can hardly improve on it. You should read the whole thing. Once you’re done with that, read about why our crisis will deepen even further instead of getting better over at Cafe Americain. I believed when I first …

August 12, 2009 – 9:19 pm | By Scotch Drinker | Posted in Economics | Comments (6)

Insider Trading Suit Against Mark Cuban Dismissed

A judge threw out the SEC’s case against Mark Cuban today related to his sale of stock in Mamma.com. I initially wrote about it here pointing out the possibility that this case was political payback. You have to think it might have been since I’d imagine the SEC doesn’t normally bring a case against someone …

July 17, 2009 – 10:09 am | By Scotch Drinker | Posted in Economics | Comments (0)

What Do Spending Habits Tell Us About Being A Supreme Court Justice?

As most people know, President Obama recently tapped Sonia Sotomayer to be the next Supreme Court Justice. There’s been quite a bit of discussion regarding her legal theories, recent comments on white men and Latina women and her overall ability to do the job. I personally doubt that she is terribly dangerous even though she …

June 9, 2009 – 9:35 pm | By Scotch Drinker | Posted in Economics, Legal Affairs | Comments (0)

Green Shoots Are Sometimes Weeds

As any gardener will tell you, healthy lawns hardly ever have weeds in them. This is because when a lawn is healthy, it is lush and thick and weeds don’t have a chance to grow. Weeds only show up in a lawn when there is something wrong with the underlying soil or lawn. If the …

May 21, 2009 – 8:54 am | By Scotch Drinker | Posted in Economics | Tagged | Comments (0)