Auto bailout: there's a better way
Lynne KieslingFor the past 30 years the U.S. auto industry has been like your alcoholic Uncle Bob: his self-destructive habits seem beneficial to him, despite the harm they cause him and the pain they inflict on his family and friends. ...
The Crash Next Time
When five of the richest and most powerful US hedge fund proprietors gave sworn testimony before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform last week, the theatrical opportunities were as rich as the witnesses’ themselves. The billionaires...
Why Credit Default Swaps?, by Arnold Kling
I have argued that credit default swaps are fatally flawed because there is no natural seller. One commenter on this post asked, then, Has Arnold ...
Seminar in Portland, by David Henderson
Next Saturday, November 22, I will be giving two talks at the 18th Annual Freedom Seminar in Portland, Oregon. My two talks are titled, "The Case for Free Trade and Against Barrierism" and "The Paulson Bail...
Metaphors for Financial Reform, by Arnold Kling
It occurs to me that one way to think of people's views on financial regulatory reform is to treat people as using one or more of the following three metaphors:1. MachismoThose who are driven by this metaphor think of regulation/de-regul...
The New Football Czar, by David Henderson
On CBS's "60 Minutes" this evening, almost the whole time was devoted to an interview with Barack and Michelle Obama. They are an incredibly charming couple and it's hard not to like them, especially him. But at the end, interviewer Steve Krof...
And now the real G-20 Communiqué
Give me credit for getting exactly right the first eight words of the G-20 statement issued today, but otherwise there is a fair bit of daylight between my version and the official one. I was not expecting any substantial agreement......
Former Belgian PM Guy Verhofstadt on Europe and the financial crisis
Here is some interesting reading and debating material for our readers (hat tip Sargasso). Former Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt has published an essay through Bertelsmann entitled The Financial Crisis: Three Ways Out for Europe (pdf). Teaser (emp...
The Great Leaders Meet!
So the G-20 met but it seems like a great waste of time and money. They have agreed to meet later toward achieving all great buzz...
The Magnificence of Disposal Diapers
Disposable diapers did not appear out of nowhere, nor were they given to man by beneficent Prometheus; they are the product of human intelligence applied to objective realit...
The Myth of Good Government
One of the great and most persistent errors of classical liberals is to believe in "good government," a government that does "what it is supposed to do."Ther...
Trading the Big Picture: A Conversation with Barry Ritholtz
To most traders and investors, Barry Ritholtz is the voice of The Big Picture, one of the more popular financial blogs on the Internet. Now hosted at ritholtz.com, The Big Picture was one of the more prominent financial must-reads for traders and active ...
