Submitted by Businomics Blog
“Preparing for a Slump in Earnings” is a new article from the McKinsey Quarterly.  The authors estimate the corporate earnings could fall 20 to 40 percent this year.  The offer some suggestions for corporate executives preparing for a downturn.  These include both contingency planning for the downturn, and being prepared to take […]

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Submitted by CARPE DIEM

What do English-speaking soccer superstar David Beckham and working-class Mexican immigrants have in common? Drew Carey says they both make America a better place on Reason.tv.
“Americans, especially LA Galaxy fans were very excited and greeted David Beckham with open arms when he came here to play in Los Angeles, even though he […]

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Submitted by CARPE DIEM

CBS Evening News: More Americans Turning To Food Stamps: Amid Economic Slowdown, Record 28 Million In U.S. Expected To Use Program In Coming Year

NY Times: As Jobs Vanish and Prices Rise, Food Stamp Use Nears Record
The Independent: USA 2008, The Great Depression. Food stamps are the symbol of poverty in the US. […]

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Submitted by unsettling economics

I usually do not appreciate when people send me a video clips. This one was an exception. It takes about 10 seconds before the humor becomes apparent. Please do not get impatient if you watch it, because, besides being humorous it is an interesting commentary on the economy.
I could not upload the […]

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Submitted by The Capital Spectator
Whipsawed is the best way to describe recent action in the major asset classes. What was down is up; what was up is down.
Consider the horse race for March, as per our table below. Commodities were the top performer, posting a 12.2% total return. A month earlier, commodities were dead last […]

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Submitted by CARPE DIEM
Alt-Tab is the name for a keyboard shortcut on Microsoft Windows used for switching between windows without using the mouse.
If you press ALT+TAB to switch between Windows-based applications, Windows displays a box that identifies the last application that you accessed. If you hold the ALT key down, pressing TAB cycles through all […]

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Submitted by CARPE DIEM
Thanks to my pal Larry Kudlow for a nice mention of this Carpe Diem post last night on CNBC’s “Kudlow & Company,” in the segment “The Case Against Case-Shiller” (starting at about 1:40).
Visit 1800blogger to see all of our industry leading blogs.

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Submitted by CARPE DIEM
There is no question that the people who run the Federal Reserve System today are a lot more knowledgeable about economics than those who ran it back in the days of the Great Depression. Indeed, the average student who has passed Economics 101 today is probably more knowledgeable than those who ran […]

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Submitted by Econbrowser
How far will house prices fall? Implications from the latest WSJ survey.

About 5 months ago, I posted a figure depicting the impending resets on subprime mortgages, option adjustable rate and Alt-A ARMs. Resonding to one comment, another reader made the following observation:
…a fall of 50% in [valuations on residential housing].
Nonsense.
…
I have to say […]

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Submitted by Businomics Blog
I keep reading about the credit crunch.  Can’t find it myself.
Oh, if you’re a sub-prime person who wants a house with nothing down and no income verification, then credit is not available.  But outside of real estate, I can’t find a credit crunch.  I’ve been talking to my many banker clients, and […]

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Submitted by A Dash of Insight
A major market problem relates to how financial institutions must recognize the  value of securities  that are not trading in a liquid market.  The financial assets include complicated securities including various tranches of mortgage debt.  Everyone agrees that these are difficult to value.
Given this problem, buyers have stepped away.  There […]

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