clipped from blogs.abcnews.com
|
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Grabbing a Cheesesteak in South Philly, Palin Opines on Pakistan -- But Does She Contradict McCain Policy?
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Free Ice Cream---World's Largest Ice Cream Social
Use the link in the clip to find the participating locations.
clipped from www.coldstonecreamery.com
|
McCain Campaign Disputes Post Poll
clipped from voices.washingtonpost.com
|
Clay Aiken acknowledges he's gay
clipped from www.reuters.com Former "American Idol" contestant Clay Aiken has acknowledged he is gay, confirming in an interview with People magazine what most of his fans have suspected for years. Aiken, 29, a born-again Christian who forged a successful career after being named runner-up in the 2003 "American Idol" television talent show, said he decided to come out after becoming a father in August.
In August, Aiken fathered a baby through in-vitro fertilization with his friend, music producer Jaymes Foster. Foster gave birth to a boy Parker on August 8. clipped from www.reuters.com
|
Monday, September 22, 2008
McCain Draws Fire for Health Reform Modeled on Banking Deregulation
clipped from blogs.wsj.com Paul Krugman, op-ed columnist and blogger, at the New York Times, riffs on an interesting piece on health-care reform by John McCain in an obscure, to us, journal for actuaries. In the current issue of Contingencies, McCain makes his case for a freer market for health coverage by arguing that insurance would benefit from the same sort of deregulation that has led to innovation in…wait for it…banking. The money quote from McCain, as noted by Krugman:
|
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Watch the Season Premier of Dexter Right Now!
clipped from stasiaandbob.blogspot.com The season premieres of Dexter and Californication are up and ready to be viewed. Beat the traffic and be the first person on your block too see these two shows scheduled to premier on September 28. To get in use the password "ladykiller" Enjoy and let us know what you think.
|
Watch the Ryder Cup Live on your Computer
clipped from efhutton.blogspot.com
|
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Financial Meltdown--Where there is Smoke, there is Fire
At dinner he described the situation to me. He said, “Where there is smoke there is fire”. He went on to explain that any time a major financial institution gets in trouble you could draw a circle around its location and expect the problem to spread to any other financial institution in a 150 mile radius (keep in mind this was the 1980s and before the Internet). He went on to explain the interconnectivity of financial institutions in a geographic proximity....His trip and fact finding mission convinced him that there was going to be a real financial crisis in Texas and that it would likely devastate the major banks and savings and loans. This was a very unpopular stance that cost him his job....It also was the catalyst of a stock market crash in 1987....I am reminded of other sayings that I heard early in my career on Wall Street—“never try and catch a falling knife”. I find myself thinking right now—“Cash is King”.
Financial Meltdown--Where there is Smoke, there is Fire
Back in the 1980s I learned an important lesson. At the time, I was with Bear Stearns and working in their Dallas, Texas office. The head of credit came to Texas to visit the state’s major banks and Savings and Loans to discuss their financial statements. Specifically he was trying to get a handle on their financial viability. There was a growing concern about the quality of credit and soundness of financial institutions in the southwest and California. The head of credit spent a couple of days in Dallas and Houston talking to the CFOs of these banks. Late in day, at the end of the trip, I saw him sitting alone in the office and asked him what he was doing. He informed me he was done but was not scheduled to fly out until the next morning. I saw this as an opportunity to “pick” his brain and learn something. So, I invited him out to dinner.
At dinner he described the situation to me. He said, “Where there is smoke there is fire”. He went on to explain that any time a major financial institution gets in trouble you could draw a circle around its location and expect the problem to spread to any other financial institution in a 150 mile radius (keep in mind this was the 1980s and before the Internet). He went on to explain the inter connectivity of financial institution is a geographic proximity. His trip and fact finding mission convinced him that there was going to be a real financial crisis in Texas and that it would likely devastate the major banks and savings and loans. This was a very unpopular stance that cost him his job. At the end of the day he was right. Both of the major banks in Dallas failed (Republic and First Interstate) and all of the major S and L’s in Texas failed (Sunbelt and Bright Bank to name two). This resulted in the formation of the Resolution Trust Corporation a government agency set up to dispose of the massive amount of defaulted loans owned by these financial institutions. It also was the catalyst of a stock market crash in 1987.
For years I have been telling my friends that the derivatives and swaps markets would turn out to be the equivalent of the savings and loan fiasco but on a scale that could never be imagined. Let me ask you, do you know anyone that predicted Bear Stearns, Lehman Brothers and AIG would go up in smoke? That Merrill Lynch would be offered at a fire sale? Have you heard prior discussions about the inter connectivity of all these financial institutions? Are they within a 150 mile radius?
AIG, the next to go, is a good example of the direness of the current situation. AIG has been racking up enormous profits for a very long time. Just last week they were considered to be solvent. They are loaded with cash. They are claiming $1,000,000,000,000 in assets (Trillion). They operate world wide. Now if you ask AIG they will tell you their problem is not a solvency issue it’s a liquidity issue. It seems that the financial community is no longer buying this argument and no one is willing to stand up and throw money at the problem. AIG does not have the necessary assets to collateralize the $75 billion in loans it needs right now to keep operating. If they go down someone will be on the hook for the insurance side of the business. I bet you thought as an insurance company there were being regulated. Partially true but this does not include the part of the business that is all wrapped up in the credit default swaps market and other derivatives designed to leverage the balance sheet and create “monster” profits. It appears the Fed and government regulators have finally decided that bailouts aren’t working and decided to say no to Lehman and AIG. Lehman is bankrupt and it appears that AIG will declare bankruptcy soon. The too big fail rule is no longer in effect.
It would be foolish to believe that once AIG goes over the cliff it will bring an end to the financial crisis we are seeing today. You should be thinking of the inter connectivity of AIG and all the counterparties they are doing business with AIG worldwide. Companies doing business with them will get wounded, maybe mortally wounded. What looked like a US problem is now a global problem. This will spill into financial markets world wide.
It appears it is finally being recognized that this is not smoke, it’s a FIRE. It appears that “too big to fail” is no longer a workable strategy to fix the problem. It appears the reality of the credit swaps derivatives market is finally being recognized. It’s likely that much of this paper is worthless or only worth cents on the dollar. This financial crisis is not likely to go away over night. There is more to come before all this “paper” can get unwound or find a home. In the interim there is an enormous risk in the stock and other financial markets.
The Fed will address this issue by adding massive liquidity to the markets. The world’s central banks will do the same. It is the right thing to do. But, it is a short term fix that is like prescribing an aspirin for a major infection. It might lower your fever but it won’t cure your illness.
In closing, I am reminded of other sayings that I heard early in my career on Wall Street—“never try and catch a falling knife”. But, right now I find myself thinking—“Cash is King”.
Palin Saturday Night Live Video Featuring Tina Fey
From TV guide: Opening: A Nonpartisan message from Sarah Palin and Hillary Clinton
OMG! How awesomely perfect is Tina Fey as Palin? Thank goodness they coaxed her back! She nails Palin's mannerisms and accent. Poehler is amazing as Hillary; her timing is better than ever. My favorite line was Tina saying "I can see Russia from my house!" The skit is all about asking the public to respect them and stop calling them names like, "Attractive, beautiful, MILF," (or for Hillary) "bon*r shrinker and flerg." It's brilliant and perfect given the current media obsession with attention given the former Mayor of "Alaska's crystal meth capitol." Watch it here:
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Tina Fey does Sarah Palin on Saturday Nigt Live Video
NBC doesn't want anyone showing this video direct. So follow the link.
I found myself thinking, Tina Fey looks more like Sarah Palin than Palin does.
Friday, September 12, 2008
Small (Car, House) Is Beautiful
clipped from dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com
Another is a story about tiny houses, which resonated particularly because on Tuesday night I went to an art show in Beacon, N.Y., organized by friends, including the sculptor Simon Draper, who are building tiny free-standing artists’ “habitats.” The Times story, by Steven Kurutz, descrbes a growing “small house movement Below is a video showing Simon Draper building a tiny artist’s shed (set to music by the songwriter Dar Williams, for whom he’s also building a similar creative nook). |
Thursday, September 11, 2008
WHAT PEOPLE WILL DO FOR NEIL DIAMOND TICKETS
Watch to the end like he says. I'm still laughing.
clipped from shankman.com
|
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Alzheimer's and the Thyroid
clipped from alzheimersreadingroom.blogspot.com I wish I could shout this from the mountain top: "when Alzheimer's or dementia present themselves get the thyroid checked". |
The Sahara Forest Project
clipped from www.exploration-architecture.com
|
Serial Liars
clipped from commentsfromleftfield.com
cause, you see, McCain has said multiple times that he will be ruthless in going after pork barrel spending; going so far as to say he will “make them famous.”
|
US Govt payouts to states: Alaska grabs most
clipped from www.dailykos.com
Alaska also ranks No. 1, year after year, in money it sucks in from Washington. In 2005 (the most recent figures), 18th in federal taxes paid per resident ($5,434) but first in federal spending received per resident ($13,950) in the absolute amount it receives from Washington over and above the amount it sends to Washington, Alaska ranks No. 1. |
Emperor's New Clothes: Palin Pork Public
clipped from www.motherjones.com
Today, states receive roughly $50 per person in earmark funds from the federal government. Alaska gets a stunning $506 per person small towns in Alaska never sought federal earmarks until Palin pioneered the tactic, even using an Abramoff-connected lobbyist to get them |
Monday, September 8, 2008
Experts Confirm Open Water Circling Arctic
clipped from dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com
|
Storm Warning: Ike’s Impact Could Go Far Beyond Hurricane Season
clipped from blogs.wsj.com
That’s the argument laid out in a new report from Jeff Rubin at Canadian investment bank CIBC World Markets, the guys who earlier this year projected $200 oil.
|
Canadians are the Biggest Foreign Buyers Of U.S. Homes
clipped from www.google.com The strong Canadian dollar and the American housing downturn have led many Canadian investors to buy properties in the U.S., June Fletcher writes in today’s Wall Street Journal. Fletcher found that Canadians made up the largest portion of foreign buyers of U.S. homes between May 2007 and May 2008. At 24% of all foreign buyers, that’s double the percentage of the year prior, Fletcher writes, citing the National Association of Realtors. Fletcher’s House Talk column today also touches on the Canadian influx. |
New “Green” Designation Available for Realtors
clipped from blogs.wsj.com
|
Good Mark Wahlberg read in the NY Times
clipped from www.nytimes.com
|
Friday, September 5, 2008
Woodward: Bush slow to react on Iraq
clipped from blogs.usatoday.com
Woodward's book, The War Within: A Secret White House History 2006-2008, tells of a president slow to react to the growing violence in Iraq, The Washington Post reports. The book also says the Bush administration has conducted an extensive spying operation on Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. |
Thursday, September 4, 2008
The Business of Connecting Gamers
clipped from www.google.com
That’s why Dennis Fong, a former professional computer gamer and serial entrepreneur is launching Raptr.com, a startup whose service is entering a public beta test Thursday. The company does what social-aggregator sites such FriendFeed do for more normal folk–help gamers keep track of what their friends are doing, what online games they are playing and discover new games they might like. Otherwise, finding fellow gamers can be a hit-or-miss process of logging on to multiple gaming sites, or social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter. Raptr is “kind of like FriendFeed for your gaming activities,” Fong says. “How else do you figure out what else is out there?” |