Rest of the World

 

• Chinese Buy Sydney Homes at Unprecedented Rate, McGrath Says http://t.co/EsRV6O2E99 Stylish flight capital does not come cheaply, mate $$ Sep 14, 2013
• Rajan Hailed as Swings Drop Amid Gundlach Warning http://t.co/Cxn6tDBDqe Rajan has courage to defend the Rupee & slow the Indian economy $$ Sep 14, 2013
• Aniston?s Salad Isn?t Enough as Quinoa Farmers Reap Golden Crop http://t.co/CkkKzTR5lC Bolivian farmers rejoice growing quinoa makes $$ Sep 14, 2013
• Catalan Separatists Pull Off Human Chain But Referendum Is Harder http://t.co/Yy15a6AfPW Reaching the limits of bad policy, risking wars $$ Sep 12, 2013
• Norway Pledges to Limit Oil Spending http://t.co/IzVJKwunbq Probably smart, because it is easier 2 overspend an endowment than underspend $$ Sep 12, 2013
• Shipping Rates Seen at 2010 High on Record Ore to China http://t.co/rCXg6JUlzf Means China is likely not rebalancing to consumption yet $$ Sep 10, 2013
• Youngest Japan Boards Beating Oldest With Stocks Rising 139% http://t.co/JDXARNyCku Returns were 52% for other firms over the last 3yrs $$ Sep 10, 2013
• Syrian Christians Pack Passports Fearing Islamist Onslaught http://t.co/vcaHMVzJpz More Coptic churches in US, next comes Syrian Orthodox $$ Sep 10, 2013
• Russia to Brazil Intervention Adds to U.S. Debt Distress http://t.co/wPiBAG35Z7 The real Q is what they are buyingw/the $$ they sell? Sep 09, 2013
• Syria Vote May Derail Obama?s Agenda in Congress http://t.co/oGoHtSGUzD Argues that Obama has to win the Syria vote 2 avoid looking weak $$ Sep 09, 2013
• Ancient Golden Treasure Found Near Jerusalem Temple Mount http://t.co/tLRWZfsNEm Byzantine coins dating from 4th – 7th centuries $$ menorah Sep 09, 2013
• India?s Middle Class Hit as Rupee Plunge Pushes Up Prices http://t.co/AlN4xRJKI3 Another example of how inflation hits the poor hardest $$ Sep 08, 2013
• Tokyo Defeats Madrid, Istanbul for Rights to 2020 Olympics http://t.co/gikYyiO4pY Tokyo wins the prize to build Olympic white elephants $$ Sep 08, 2013

 

US Politics & Policy

 

• US Faces Long-Term Care Crisis, Report Says http://t.co/uu68sNvNWz Unsolvable unless we rein in costs, redefine what Medicare will cover $$ Sep 14, 2013
• States Face Decision on Saving Trains http://t.co/Ps5L9Wk631 Federal subsidies end on short Amtrak routes, will states pick up tab? $$ #bus Sep 14, 2013
• Walmart Wins in DC http://t.co/ixe7uC1U6C “Mayor Gray has chosen jobs, economic development and common sense over special interests” $$ Sep 14, 2013
• Republicans Holding Next Fed Chairman?s Fate Stay Quiet http://t.co/k7oIqCtP6w GOP sits & grins over no-win situation 4 democrats & Obama $$ Sep 14, 2013
• How Wal-Mart?s Waltons Maintain Their Billionaire Fortune http://t.co/duLt9Ogtod This is y defining income more important than tax rates $$ Sep 12, 2013
• How to Preserve a Family Fortune Through Tax Tricks http://t.co/xHI585uI8W Graphic showing how GLATs, CRATs & Family LPs work $$ #lowertaxes Sep 12, 2013
• Even a Railway Line Can?t Dodge the Keystone XL Controversy http://t.co/ykz7FdFdoS Given the delay, new projects replace the need 4 K-XL $$ Sep 12, 2013
• New York Mayor Race Worries Business http://t.co/AQUazQsdYa De Blasio pursues policies that made Detroit the great city it is now $$ #FTL Sep 12, 2013
• California city backs plan to seize negative equity mortgages http://t.co/LmTGRhptuK Fail: loss of financing for city & new homeowners $$ Sep 12, 2013
• GE, IBM Ending Retiree Health Plans in Historic Shift http://t.co/Plbc1CK4fG Obamacare leads large corporations 2shed retiree healthcare $$ Sep 12, 2013
• Fraud Stealing $100M Shows Flaws in US Crop Insurance http://t.co/zTEg7Z0UG4 System relatively easy2cheat.Graphic: http://t.co/GkJ8RT0BLn $$ Sep 12, 2013
• NSA Violated Privacy Protections, Officials Say http://t.co/b4cEoloHz5 Much as it would unemploy my friends, we need 2 end the NSA $$ Sep 11, 2013
• Five Revelations From New NSA Documents http://t.co/khGGuAsqpU Government violated its own rules repeatedly, showing no respect 4the law $$ Sep 11, 2013
• Intel clashes w/Obama’s election-year al Qaeda claims http://t.co/r6vM2wtjMz The successes against al Qaeda undone by spread 2 new areas $$ Sep 10, 2013
• Kerry’s ‘Gaffe’ Beats Military Strikes http://t.co/Il4bA172Y1 Hey, getting the chemical weapons out of Syria is @ least a small win, yes? $$ Sep 10, 2013
• Crop Insurers? $14 Billion Some See as Money Laundering http://t.co/39r6zZQrcz Difficult 4 crop insurers 2 lose as US Taxpayers foot bill $$ Sep 10, 2013
• DeVry Lures Medical School Rejects as Taxpayers Fund Debt http://t.co/Ek4gXsIkHB Long article on how Caribbean med schools compete w/US $$ Sep 10, 2013
• The Terrorism Risk Insurance Act: Time to End the Corporate Welfare http://t.co/NPlTkozP4n There is no need to subsidize terror insurance $$ Sep 10, 2013
• Taxpayers Turn US Farmers Into Fat Cats With Subsidies http://t.co/aLE07PrkFt Crop insurance sends all the risk of farming to taxpayers $$ Sep 09, 2013
• In Conversation With Michael Bloomberg http://t.co/dtJ4WJZnaZ Long somewhat hostile article asking Bloomberg his views, plans, etc. $$ Sep 09, 2013
• Dear NSA, Thanks for Making Us All Insecure http://t.co/3sfMaeyR1L NSA weakens security 4all, harms interests of US Internet Corporations $$ Sep 08, 2013
• it also lowers global trust in the US, fragments the internet, & encourages nations that censor & monitor the internet by US bad example $$ Sep 08, 2013

 

Financial Sector Today

 

• Why looser lending standards won’t help you http://t.co/p36wvJj6YC Lending standards fall in markets hit by crash & now prices r rising $$ Sep 14, 2013
• Berkshire, AIG Join Battle Over Lucrative Business http://t.co/P87xoC3YZp $BRK.B roils industry expanding in excess-and-surplus insurance $$ Sep 14, 2013
• House Talk: When an HOA Forecloses http://t.co/7Auan3ZFg2 Yes, your homeowners association can foreclose if you don’t pay your dues $$ Sep 08, 2013
• Upside: Emerging-Market Bond Bargains http://t.co/2wIcJ5a8r5 They look cheap, but Q is how they adjust 2 tighter world monetary policy $$ Sep 08, 2013

 

Financial Crisis Fifth Anniversary

 

• TARP didn’t save banks, it ruined them: Kovacevich http://t.co/o6BjBjNqbK Contradicts Paulson who said the TARP funds were voluntary $$ Sep 14, 2013
• By every measure, the big banks are bigger http://t.co/nmfyAJ2CG9 The top 6 banks hold 67% of all assets in the banking industry $$ Sep 14, 2013
• A Toxic Subprime Mortgage Bond’s Legacy Lives On http://t.co/NdJy3NLyih Story of CWABS 2006-7 Borrowers, Investors & Others Touched by It $$ Sep 14, 2013
• Lehman’s Cold Dead Hand Is Still Reaching Out For Money http://t.co/tbqVCB32LV Many games can b played w/derivatives of a BK counterparty $$ Sep 14, 2013
• Five years after Lehman, risk moves into the shadows http://t.co/9hootI4MGa Bank runs still possible due2 repo, margining, putable debt $$ Sep 12, 2013
• 2008-2013: The Financial Crisis in 9 Charts http://t.co/2JmO98tqzA GDP, S&P500, Finance profits, employment, income, cars, homes & more $$ Sep 12, 2013
• Lehman Brothers Abyss Had Paulson Seeking Prayer Amid Crisis http://t.co/y5ucZK5dNX I’m getting tired of seeing Paulson in the news $$ #long Sep 12, 2013
• Embracing Wynne Godley, an Economist Who Modeled the Crisis http://t.co/dEm8njuXmT The right answer involves Minsky and the Austrians $$ Sep 12, 2013
• Financial Crisis: Lessons of the Rescue, A Drama in Five Acts http://t.co/EIdEVqnkWa John Taylor blames Govt policy for creating crisis $$ Sep 09, 2013
• Henry Paulson Defends Fannie Mae Bailout http://t.co/Rtvjlv8vsF As a result, we have maintained an overleveraged economy, more govt debt $$ Sep 09, 2013

 

Central Banking

 

• Why Michael Woodford Thinks the Fed Should Taper http://t.co/Lyy1oLnhfC Contends that we need more safe assets in the financial system $$ Sep 14, 2013
• Is the Demographic Shift Weakening Monetary Policy Effectiveness? http://t.co/SDaTi4zItG Older ppl react less 2changes in interest rates $$ Sep 10, 2013
• Fed wants yet another tool in its swelled policy kit http://t.co/5BvNPM0ro6 fixed-rate, full-allotment overnight reverse repo agreements $$ Sep 09, 2013

 

Other

 

• Detroit?s Bankruptcy and Pension Solution Depends More on its Planned Recovery and Rebirth – Not Just Cutting Costs http://t.co/RbkP5qNbeo! Sep 14, 2013
• The prior article tweeted I disagree with. There r many high sounding words, amounting 2 “If we all clap, Tinkerbell will live!” $$ #nohope Sep 14, 2013
• Insight: In Silicon Valley start-up world, pedigree counts http://t.co/tg1ox11QsK The school u went 2 or the firm u worked 4 matters $$ Sep 13, 2013
• MIT?s Williams Decodes Economics of Gene Sequencing http://t.co/jPeJXSGK7d Economist connects intellectual pprty & incentives 2 research $$ Sep 12, 2013
• Intergovernmental Panel On Climate Change Admits Global Cooling? http://t.co/qZCWogzNwD Climate changes; it always changes $$ Sep 12, 2013
• Financial Secrets Revealed! (Just Don?t Ask Where They Came From) http://t.co/5U6tugKpWV @retheauditors tells journos&readers2check facts $$ Sep 11, 2013
• Fate or Destiny? http://t.co/FyEmhLLK0K @reformedbroker goes on hiatus? My but I will miss him. The financial blogosphere will miss him $$ Sep 11, 2013
• The Weak Recovery Explains Rising Inequality, Not Vice Versa http://t.co/5fWR45Z3gi When growth was strong, incomes more even $$ Sep 10, 2013
• Alcoa, H-P & Bank of America to Be Replaced on DJIA http://t.co/lDsl4dYVTL Nike, Visa & Goldman Sachs enter $$ $V $GS $NKE $AA $HPQ $BAC Sep 10, 2013
• 10 ways to wipe out your retirement savings http://t.co/HjTw5raXEd Complexity, leverage, low diversification, self-custody, slick-talkers $$ Sep 09, 2013
• Are the Baltic Dry Index Telling Us to Expect Stronger Economic Activity? http://t.co/5xZSe3HvTT BDI has been turning up lately, so maybe $$ Sep 09, 2013
• http://t.co/Ti2RuDFD37 Did you read the deal terms? Looking at a special dividend of ~$5/share plus ~0.23 shs of $VZ per sh of $VOD. $$ Sep 09, 2013
• AT&T Gets Tentative Approval to Fund Pension With Preferred Stock http://t.co/FS7tWqkxo8 In BK, pref stock worth little;PBGC holds bag $$ $T Sep 08, 2013

 

Verizon Bond Deal

• How to Borrow $49B with a Stroke of a Pen http://t.co/v4djHDzgjh Bond deal of $VZ had weak covenants versus most investment grade deals $$ Sep 12, 2013
• Verizon Nets $2.09 Billion Windfall for Bond Sale Buyers http://t.co/3EWb3AvE6z In order to get the deal done $VZ had to offer 4%+ gift $$ Sep 12, 2013
• Verizon Pays Premium to Top Apple Bond Record http://t.co/VqnMkvWvn4 I would b wary of holding much long $VZ debt. Who doesn’t own it? $$ Sep 12, 2013
• Verizon Plans $20B Debt Sale http://t.co/uwWhFrvlwY Biggest ever, & on top of $48B+ of existing debt, will have 2have juicy yields $$ $VZ Sep 10, 2013
• Verizon may boost size of bond offering: sources http://t.co/CGF0NsXD24 $VZ gets ready 2 issue biggest USD corporate bond deal EVER $$ $25B+ Sep 10, 2013

 

Wrong, Etc.

• Gundlach Says Fed Is Mistaken in How It?s Ending Easing http://t.co/LPAZUFia7n This article does not make clear what Gundlach objects to $$ Sep 12, 2013
• 4 investment tips that you should never use http://t.co/hjfumLxV3u Mixed analysis where the author knocks down falsehoods and straw men $$ Sep 12, 2013
• Confused: Buffett?s investing advice is a portfolio killer http://t.co/nQF65PRnaD More a criticism of Peter Lynch than Warren Buffett $$ Sep 12, 2013
• Wrong: Systemically Important Banks in the Post-Crisis Era http://t.co/seuYEsF5L4 Long, and misses liquidity issues like repo financing $$ Sep 10, 2013

 

Retweets, Replies, and Comments

• @munilass I read this and thought that things haven’t changed much since Heraclitus and Parmenides. Would like to hear his thoughts on Godel Sep 14, 2013
• @jeffdanoff1 Of course I know that. I detest Paulson’s 5-year anniversary self-justification obfuscation. Kovacevich shoots straight. Sep 14, 2013
• RT @munilass: Feynman’s lectures are now available online (Volume 1) http://t.co/K4TfrMkQuD (via @jtc_19) Sep 14, 2013
• @munilass @BarbarianCap I too have appreciated your writings. They are worth keeping. If you don’t want to pay to do it, I could host them Sep 14, 2013
• I just left a comment in “Buffett?s investing advice is a portfolio killer – Jeff Reeves’s Strength in Numbers – Ma?” http://t.co/6oyVHvcKgK Sep 12, 2013
• Thanks @munilass | I knew u had written about this in the past. I’m a generalist w/bonds, so I thought I would show it 2u4 your thoughts $$ Sep 12, 2013
• Hey @munilass — I would b interested in your opinion on this from The Committee For A Responsible Federal Budget http://t.co/GwHTQNSzfy Sep 11, 2013
• Commented on StockTwits: @Financial_Iceberg Saw that & tweeted it yesterday. The question is how long China can c… http://t.co/b7dmG6PvE3 Sep 10, 2013
• I just left a comment in “David Einhorn was right about this stock – MarketWatch” http://t.co/koU5CehwBZ Sep 09, 2013
• @mcuban @howardlindzon Here is my reply, 2 large for twitter: http://t.co/qSgjjTYFRe Yes, most retail investors r dumb, but money can b made Sep 07, 2013