Eurozone

 

• Depression Deepens Greek Middle Class Despair With Crime http://t.co/PlMwTLpw They need to leave the euro & end early retirement $$ Dec 07, 2012
• Global Shipping Industry?s Troubles R Threat for Biggest German Banks http://t.co/ZKojm5iZ During good times bankers forget cyclicality $$ Dec 06, 2012
• All recent French Presidents are good examples of why the power of the office should be weakened & term shortened http://t.co/NbtxCyJY $$ Dec 06, 2012
• Don?t Tax Our Wine Irish Cry as Austerity Finds Threshold http://t.co/HdL8bkLI Alcohol exists 2 prevent the Irish from ruling the world $$ Dec 06, 2012
• Paris Faces Darkness as City Set for Illumination Ban http://t.co/sbmoaBEv French politicians r the worst enemies France has $$ #inthedark Dec 05, 2012
• Paulson Said to Blame Bet Against Europe4 Most of Loss http://t.co/AHDHtUNK Betting on disaster is tough; getting timing right tougher $$ Dec 05, 2012
• Merkel’s euro push leaves E. Germany out in the cold http://t.co/3T9Yw6Uu Angela faces weakness in E. Germany politically & economically $$ Dec 03, 2012
• France Sexy No More for Entrepreneurs Escaping Hollande http://t.co/S8OVxgRu The “invisible foot” opposes increasing taxes in France $$ Dec 03, 2012

 

Central Banking

 

• Fed Exit Plan May Be Redrawn as Assets Near $3 Trillion http://t.co/u4Ek0vbc The Fed will never significantly shrink its balance sheet $$ Dec 07, 2012
• Bernanke Cliff Analogy Overstates Immediate Economic Harm http://t.co/dSQxcMtP After the cliff, 2014 will be a good year, &2015 better $$ Dec 07, 2012
• At Press Conference After ECB Interest Rate Decision, Draghi Faces Frustrations & Mistrust http://t.co/nzpJhUE3 No magic, only illusions $$ Dec 07, 2012
• How canceling central banks? holdings of government debt could be a useful thing http://t.co/mOdKposd I don’t agree, but worth reading $$ Dec 06, 2012
• Fed holds lenders’ feet to the fire on mortgages http://t.co/PpeKIjQm Simple: absence of competition w/the lack of shadow banking $$ Dec 04, 2012

 

US Politics

 

• Fannie and Freddie Are Not Piggy Banks http://t.co/8H5VVXg2 Tosh, Congress loves a slush fund, Fed’l Financing Bank, FHA, Ag credit sys $$ Dec 07, 2012
• Obama?s Tax Increases Will Find the Middle Class http://t.co/8ai0z1ID @cabaum1 After all, that is where most of the income 2 tax is $$ Dec 07, 2012
• Push to Curb Union Power Advances in Michigan http://t.co/Qiw3HyyU No one should be forced to join a union, or pay dues 2 get any job $$ Dec 07, 2012
• The Real Reason Warren Buffett Should Pay More Taxes http://t.co/UOWtRvA9 Labor & Capital should b taxed @ same rate, w/no deferral $$ Dec 07, 2012
• Obama?s Tax Plan Would Spare Many Affluent Families http://t.co/C33CRpGi Why the definition of income is more important than tax rates $$ Dec 07, 2012
• Defense Industry Cuts Exceed 500,000 Workers Over Cliff http://t.co/065xIlv2 Living on the DC side of Baltimore, the effect will be big $$ Dec 06, 2012
• Greenspan Says Painless Solution to US Debt is Fantasy http://t.co/fO15WZ1P This is one of the two times per day for this stopped clock $$ Dec 06, 2012
• Medicare is unsustainable in current form http://t.co/WNoFEsKo “As it stands now, Medicare cannot keep its promises 2future seniors” $$ Dec 06, 2012
• Deck the Halls with Macro Follies http://t.co/7gGKMN4R A new video from the guy who brought you Keynes vs. Hayek at EconStories.tv $$ Dec 06, 2012
• Sallie Krawcheck should not run the SEC http://t.co/AECw2pun Her prior career does not suggest that she would be a good regulator $$ Dec 05, 2012
• Elizabeth Warren would bring real smarts to the position. Now if we can find spots for Barofsky and Kauffman. http://t.co/sTf2Piy8 Dec 05, 2012
• Wrong: Five States 2Increase Class Time in Some Schools http://t.co/BNY4Twj4 Little correlation btw class time & educational progress $$ Dec 04, 2012
• Republicans Reprise 2011 Debt-Limit Threat in Cliff Talks http://t.co/njnFXhVO This is not a 2-player game but a 3-player game: t-party $$ Dec 03, 2012
• Obama Bets Re-Election Gave Him Power to Win Fiscal Cliff http://t.co/1hA1Xn4j Think this idea is overplayed; players same now as b4 $$ Dec 03, 2012
• +1 We need genuine capitalists, & not defenders of Wall Street & big business @ the SEC $$ @davidgaffen @footnoted @nminow @Reuters Dec 03, 2012

 

Pensions

 

• Benefits Leader Reins In 401(k)s http://t.co/Z8foHZLK $IBM defers 401(k) match 2 yearend; if u leave early, except retiring, u lose $$ Dec 07, 2012
• Baby boomers need annuity simplicity http://t.co/34gJlJKA SPIAs r good annuities don’t sell b/c agents never earn another commission $$ Dec 06, 2012
• Milwaukee task force studies changes to pension system http://t.co/GHBuGNGf Will raise retirement ages & lower the multipliers 4 svc yrs $$ Dec 03, 2012
• Officials call pension reforms a must http://t.co/64PzD8UI Kentucky reduces future pension benefits; good 4 taxpayers, bad 4 employees $$ Dec 03, 2012

 

Other

 

• #FF @Fullcarry @KidDynamiteBlog @Convertbond @foxjust @EconOfContempt @GregorMacdonald @edwardnh @MatthewPhillips @srussolillo $$ Dec 08, 2012
• To Quote Thomas Jefferson, ‘I Never Actually Said That’ http://t.co/mA9MzDbb Yogi Berra, “I never said most of the things I said.” $$ Dec 07, 2012
• Big Test at Johns Hopkins (biz school) http://t.co/fbf5FeKP Scuttlebutt is that it is not doing so well w/their Int’l student focus $$ Dec 06, 2012
• http://t.co/0fOBmunB “[Ransomware] is the new Nigerian email scam,? Mr Haley said. ?We?ll be talking about this for the next two years.? $$ Dec 06, 2012
• The Insourcing Boom http://t.co/h67gWIA3 Can improve labor costs, morale, R&D, product quality, time to market. Wave of the future $$ Dec 06, 2012
• My week on twitter: 42 retweets received, 3 new listings, 26 new followers, 65 mentions. Via: http://t.co/SPrAWil0 Dec 06, 2012
• Dial-a-maid, get-a-slave in middle class India http://t.co/LRlkfbTg No, slavery is not dead yet & women bear the brunt of it $$ Dec 05, 2012
• Hospital Incentives Help Babies Determine Own Birth Dates http://t.co/rAKVBv4X Washington State finds a way 2reduce caesarean-sections $$ Dec 05, 2012
• While at RealMoney, Steve Smith & I tried 2 get Lenny Dykstra 2 explain the risks of his strategies; he never responded http://t.co/ynHZJgoa Dec 05, 2012
• Deere Gets the Wright Stuff http://t.co/88RdyGkb My friend Bill Wright is now making standing lawn mowers 4 $DE ; both firms benefit $$ Dec 04, 2012
• Warren?s Way http://t.co/cW8OQQq4 I respect Buffett a lot, but he is a hypocrite on taxes. Pay off the DTL, Sell $BRK shares, pay a div $$ Dec 05, 2012
• Online Classes Mean No Dorm, Gym or Debt http://t.co/gPttIwpJ My wife thinks there is room 4a quality college w/o the frills $$ #worthatry Dec 03, 2012
• Not news: Burying the “Fed model” http://t.co/BTCVsigi Have 2 decompose in2 real rates & inflation expectations. Result known since 1994 $$ Dec 03, 2012
• Wall Street finds a foreign detour around U.S. derivatives rules http://t.co/4Ypf0atI Do foreign biz through their London subs $$ Dec 03, 2012
• A Free-Market Fix for the Copyright Racket http://t.co/RDPofMPk Keep copyright protections, but limit them to 28 years $$ Dec 03, 2012

 

Fixed Income

?

• Despite Risks, Investors Just Can’t Quit US Treasurys [sic] http://t.co/AefCG5rw One of the better deflation hedges out there $$ Dec 04, 2012
• Talking Macro, Fixed Income, & the Strategic Alpha Bond Fund w/Loomis Sayles? Matt Eagan http://t.co/PTWJKX22 w/ @DavidSchawel Well done $$ Dec 07, 2012
• California moves toward open source ratings for city bonds http://t.co/hn8GCnMa Researcher makes case here: http://t.co/r04PVuWA $$ Dec 06, 2012
• Yield-Starved Investors Hoarding EM Bonds http://t.co/kvShvcx5 There is yield & their govts r running finances more orthodox way $$ Dec 06, 2012
• We Were Stunned By The Brand New Patent That’s Been Awarded To Bill Gross http://t.co/zYuLDREM Easy ideas should not be patentable $$ Dec 06, 2012
• Women analysts dominate muniland http://t.co/dQwgDg5U Funny, but when I was a corporate bond mgr, most of my analysts were bright ladies $$ Dec 06, 2012
• BlackRock’s new bond plan http://t.co/rdUd5zmG $BLK does a kind of structuring of covenants (buyer’s due diligence) & coinvests in volume $$ Dec 05, 2012
• Scrounging for Income http://t.co/hfFtkhm4 Okay advice, but if you can reduce need 4 income or harvest capital gains would b better $$ Dec 03, 2012
• Leveraged loans return 0.31% in November; YTD return is 8.8% http://t.co/loDwDKW9 Interesting part of article is strength of CLO bid $$ Dec 03, 2012
• The Great Yield Gamble http://t.co/fRspStAj When risk-free rate is being used as a policy tool, it is harder 2 make rational choices $$ Dec 03, 2012
• Panasonic Swings Ruin Funds? Appetite for BBB Debt http://t.co/w36bv9nQ No notes rated <BBB+ by Japanese assessors offered in November $$ Dec 03, 2012
• High Yield Exhaustion http://t.co/zLSy4GaC High yield feels tired between high supply, and potentially weakening demand $$ Dec 03, 2012

Rest of the World

 

• China listings may soon flee US, expert says http://t.co/0EuxyoAC I usually don’t like when foreign listings leave; exception: China $$ Dec 06, 2012
• Sellers in Toronto, Vancouver just say no as housing markets sink http://t.co/HUTgOVnh Feels like the US in late 2006 $$ Dec 06, 2012
• Russia’s problem is not a petrified Soviet economics but corrupt politics impeding growth w/o fully blocking it $$ http://t.co/YL7QGR9j Dec 05, 2012
• Top US Firms Are Cash-Rich Abroad, Cash-Poor at Home http://t.co/EZcwLITM Buy foreign businesses & hire clever transfer pricing accts $$ Dec 04, 2012
• Are We Watching Another North American Financial Crisis Unfold? http://t.co/BmwRzIPp Canadian taxpayers r on the hook for >C$1T in mtges $$ Dec 04, 2012
• Shangai broken dreams – changing gear? http://t.co/nWX3jIuz Argues Chinese mkt has broken support, but might have value 2 locals that dig $$ Dec 03, 2012

 

Companies

 

• Cook Says Lives Enriched Matters More Than Money Made http://t.co/cJ7XWQkM Summary & Manufacturing Macs in US http://t.co/hyvQAdRB $$ Dec 06, 2012
• Apple?s Halo Cracked http://t.co/EHrFjZGG $AAPL ‘s valuation requires that their products remain competitive for a long time to come $$ Dec 06, 2012
• Banks book record profits off Fannie and Freddie http://t.co/Z4Ej4Zlu It’s more that much origination capacity is gone -> wide spreads $$ Dec 06, 2012
• Freeport to Buy Plains, McMoRan for $9 Billion http://t.co/avB6cIII I prefer resource extraction firms to be focused, not diversified $$ Dec 05, 2012
• Steak Price Rising as Cattle Seen 20% Higher at JBS http://t.co/58h0CsHp Combination of loose $$ policy & high feed prices from weather Dec 05, 2012
• That fiscal cliff? $DOW Chemical says China’s a bigger worry http://t.co/H1viDTWR Not a good sign for commodity chemical producers $$ Dec 04, 2012
• Trucks — Boats – Planes – Trains http://t.co/vFirg2PB Transports are hinting at more economic weakness $$ Dec 04, 2012
• Diamonds Dug in Gusty Arctic Too Remote for Diesel Fuel http://t.co/AZiGApP4 How mining companies generate power in remote areas $$ #wow Dec 03, 2012

 

Insurers

 

• Insurers’ Sandy Claims Estimates Show No Long-Term Damage http://t.co/HJq6Ufmk Prudent insurance underwriters & investors bounce back $$ Dec 06, 2012
• Re: Principles based stat reserving. As a life actuary, I wonder what will happen to old blocks of biz that get reinsured 2 get new acctg $$ Dec 03, 2012
• Insurers Add Reserve Power http://t.co/5X4htlOh Move 2 principles-based reserving 4 Stat acctg is a mistake; lower margin of safety $$ Dec 03, 2012

 

Retweets

 

• Kind of fitting that $UBS discovered it $$ RT @graemehein: Swiss counter-intel is making Canada look good! http://t.co/394i35mW Dec 04, 2012
• OTOH, many other schools r athletic progs glued2 educ charity $$ RT @carney: Is Harvard really just a giant hedge fund? http://t.co/9AgVniPZ Dec 07, 2012
• I believe it has a small educational charity attached $$ RT @carney: Is Harvard really just a giant hedge fund? http://t.co/9AgVniPZ Dec 07, 2012
• I think Andrea encourages him to get fresh air now & then $$ RT @ecchymosis2009: Who let him out of his crypt? Dec 06, 2012
• Barofsky 4 SEC Chair RT @matthewstoller: Important statements from @neilbarofsky on how to reform the SEC. http://t.co/Tty50eQi $$ Dec 06, 2012
• +1 Good news $$ RT @cate_long: .@matthewstoller reporting that Sallie Krawcheck seems to have been knocked out of the running as head of SEC Dec 06, 2012
• Probably correct $$ RT @munilass: CalPERS likely 2 lose next court battle, San Bernardino bankruptcy observers predict http://t.co/QxsiiNUD Dec 05, 2012
• You got it RT @James_Karn: @AlephBlog Don’t forget ethanol policy as a factor in high feed prices. Dec 05, 2012
• UN = Useless Nations $$ RT @marykissel: Debacle-in-the-making: @UN takes a step toward regulating the #Internet http://t.co/tngedHds Dec 05, 2012
• +1 true $$ RT @LorcanRK: congrats to whoever is running the @euromoney account these days. Has completely transformed a semi-dormant feed. Dec 04, 2012
• RT @ritholtz: ENOUGH ALREADY! I propose the hashmark #CLIFFHYPE to mark conversations about the excess hype regarding the so called Fis … Dec 04, 2012
• Incongruous, huh? Or maybe it takes a thief… $$ RT @felixsalmon: Bob Merton on a financial stability committee??? http://t.co/tnJvIOIJ Dec 03, 2012
• Yes, & I lost some $$ on it last year RT @GaelicTorus: @AlephBlog panasonic is a value trap, imo $PC Dec 03, 2012
• +1 For sure RT @footnoted: @joshuademasi @AlephBlog Well, nobody would accuse me of being a defender. That’s for sure. Dec 03, 2012
• +1 RT @neilbarofsky: The more things change…Good for @benlawsky for voting no: New Rules for Life Insurers http://t.co/gVW1Zl80 $$ Dec 03, 2012
• Had good ideas in 2001 now jumps shark $$ RT @LDrogen: Taleb should have quit while he was ahead, this is just nonsense http://t.co/rRPrCLLT Dec 02, 2012

 

Replies

 

• @Ryknow16 Not yet.. I expect the Fed to overdo it until it is obvious that they have to shift & then some; when shift comes it will b brutal Dec 08, 2012
• “Thanks for writing this… this will be an important signal when the Fed finally hints at tightening,” David_Merkel http://t.co/AXbhvTBv $$ Dec 08, 2012
• @DividendMaster Granted, but I have a rule of thumb: Removal of policy accommodation always is tougher than the Fed claims & imagines $$ Dec 07, 2012
• @DavidSchawel You are welcome. Excellent interview & ideas. I also follow Pettis & Lacy Hunt — I’m an information hound $$ Dec 07, 2012
• @EddyElfenbein It was a good indicator, but now it is used for policy purposes in Operation Twist, making it useless as an indicator now. $$ Dec 07, 2012
• “Challenge for Apple is perpetuating successful innovation. Difficult to continually get high ROEs?” ? David_Merkel http://t.co/WfTxOVbJ $$ Dec 06, 2012
• @neilbarofsky I have a compromise proposal on MMFs that gives everyone 90% of what they want. Can I show it to you? http://t.co/uTaSQoIv Dec 07, 2012
• @DoubleDeuce Women I was speaking of were investment analysts, not actuaries, but u r right there also; famale actuaries tend 2b junior $$ Dec 06, 2012
• @USTreasury Don’t care if this came from McConnell or Paul Krugman. The executive is *not* supposed to have any power over spending. Dumb $$ Dec 06, 2012
• @DoubleDeuce Yo, friend. Men tend to be better at the risk-return tradeoff. Women tend to be better at estimating risk. Dec 06, 2012
• @ivorroy I won’t live longer; eating meat in moderation is good 4u, &enjoying your life prolongs life far more than avoiding a few toxins $$ Dec 05, 2012
• @Dan_Dicker Wrote a piece similar 2your “Embrace the Cliff” http://t.co/pseXvwlP last June. “Might not be so Bad” http://t.co/pYICXUOq $$ Dec 05, 2012
• @cate_long I have a compromise proposal b4 the SEC on MMFs. Talked w/senior lawyers there: http://t.co/OG4zyTQy Really tough 2do good $$ Dec 05, 2012
• @cate_long Personally, I think running the SEC is beyond everyone. The $$, the politics, can’t easily fire/hire people, etc. Dec 05, 2012
• @cate_long Only be Chairman of the SEC. Only difficulties r managing the politics & incompetence. I would be willing 2 help. Dec 05, 2012
• @rszbt Maybe we should nominate Cate Long. never reada bad article from her. Dec 05, 2012
• @CondorOptions Ted Kauffman, Sheila Bair, Neil Barofsky, (giggle) Harry Markopolous, David Merkel (who?), Jack Ciesielski, I have more $$ Dec 05, 2012
• @nelson3748 I expect nonsense from academics. Dec 05, 2012
• @nelson3748 How has she been a disaster for consumer banking, and local and regional banks? Many of her proposal seem reasonable. Dec 05, 2012
• @AppFlyer Yes, I heard about that… thought it was more dumb than lying… it was lying, but I didn’t see how she would gain from it. Dec 05, 2012
• @AppFlyer Maybe I’m out of it. How is she a liar & a cheat? Links welcome. Dec 05, 2012
• ‘ @StockRealist Hello from another member of the penny stock truth squad. Article of mine: http://t.co/jJ79L4Ac Got $IMNG today #spitspit $$ Dec 04, 2012
• .@drVTC It’s more what u do w/whatever time u spend w/kids, than the amount of time. I agree, tho; character is the most important factor $$ Dec 04, 2012
• @paulvieira Typically u hear a few pops b4 the tree falls; inn the US that was mid-2007 $$ Dec 04, 2012
• @EddyElfenbein Makes sense, thanks Dec 04, 2012
• @buzzfeedben What r u looking for from someone to run your possible business vertical? I know of a lot of talent in financial writing… Dec 04, 2012
• @EddyElfenbein your latest piece deals w/correlations — how well do the betas match up? Dec 04, 2012
• @Fechtmeyer Thanks, I get it now. But technology is creative destruction, while Wall Street’s risk control methods were just wrong. $$ Dec 03, 2012
• @Fechtmeyer SV? WS? Dec 03, 2012
• @LDrogen “They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither safety nor liberty.” Ben Franklin $$ Dec 02, 2012
• @kyles09 That is, how much profit there is in the deal 4 the originator, whether in % upfront, or in the excess interest strip Dec 02, 2012