I thought I was over the oil bug.  I spent the better part of last summer getting really mad at analysts who kept insisting that it was the fundamentals market that was driving the price to $140/barrel.  It really couldn't be a function of a bubble in commodities trading or so… Read full post »

There has been alot of hand wringing going on in the run up to the G20 summit in London later this week.  A brief trip around the New York Times and you would think that the US is primed for a serious decline.  Not that the articles are not thought-provoking in their… Read full post »

Despite the myriad of news headlines during the past few days, it seems we still can't get over AIG.  Today's op-eds in papers as varied in outlook as the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal are full of remonstrations and warnings about how we collectively as a nation should… Read full post »

Ok, so this is a bit later than it maybe should be, but here's yet another downbeat tip of the day: don't be fooled by the leak of the Citicorp memo yesterday extolling its two months of profits in early 2009.  I know the markets were happy yesterday (and still glad… Read full post »

As everyone scampers around desperately to find the next engine of growth to get us out of this global downturn (apparently not only should we count on the Chinese consumer- see yesterday's post- but also the Middle East according to this poll), I started to ponder what constitutes an engine and… Read full post »

Is it just me or is anyone else feeling worse and worse about economic recovery these days?  Don't get me wrong, I hope all our stimulus packages, mortgages bailouts, and TALFs work, but when the only thing that gets markets excited these days is the promise of the Chinese consumer, I… Read full post »

The FT ran an excellent synopsis of "what went wrong" in financial markets in yesterday's paper. It's a bit funny but a bit sad that many of the best economists have spent more time trying to understand what the past few months really means or how much worse things can get/… Read full post »

This February marks the three year anniversary of the Dubai Ports World controversy, which began after Dubai Ports World bought the UK’s Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company including its interests in several US ports.  DP World’s acquisition spawned a national furor in t/… Read full post »

Maybe it’s all the eggnog I have been drinking, but these days I often find myself mistaking Uncle Sam for Santa Claus.  After all, they both have long white beards, colorful clothing, and recently a propensity for handing out lots and lots of gifts.  The problem is, though, that we t… Read full post »