Wall Street
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The word of Lahde
The internets have been having lots of fun with a farewell letter sent by Andrew Lahde, who ran the hedge fund Lahde Capital Management. That fund was up 870 percent last year, so Lahde decided, screw it, he’s rich enough and he’s quitting. And going out with quite a bang too. The entire letter is […]
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The economic crisis should prompt more green infrastructure spending, not less
I’m no expert in macroeconomics. You probably aren’t either. But there’s a battle over macroeconomics shaping up, and everyone keen on shifting the U.S. toward sustainability has a vested interest in how it turns out. (Which is why I keep writing about it.) The question is how to react to the financial crisis and what […]
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Friday music blogging: Eliza Gilkyson
According to dozens of experts surveyed by The Wall Street Journal, we’re heading into a recession that will be the worst in 50 years, with at least three consecutive quarters of less-than-zero growth. Millions of homeowners face foreclosure, trillions of dollars have been lost in the stock market, and we’re going to see a spike […]
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Tough times for agribiz giants — and likely soon for farmers
A few months ago, the "smart money" was pouring into all things agricultural. Corn was flirting with $8/bushel (up from less than $2 as recently as 2005), hedge funds were snapping up farmland everywhere from the Midwest to Africa, and that weird guy who babbles and blusters about stocks on cable TV — Jim Cramer […]
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As GM goes …
GM stock is down 30 percent today — the lowest GM stock price since 1950. Ford dropped by almost a quarter before a slight uptick — lowest since 1983. S&P may downgrade their credit rating (again). Witness: Stocks, which had opened higher, dived into the close, with the S&P 500 index ending down 7.6 per […]
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Financial shock and awe
“Not only have individual financial institutions become less vulnerable to shocks from underlying risk factors, but also the financial system as a whole has become more resilient.” — former Chairman of the Federal Reserve Alan Greenspan, in 2004
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While global markets crater, a Vermont town unites around food
The effort to revive global credit markets has devolved into farce. Every day, U.S. authorities announce some earth-shaking new measure — a $700 billion bailout, the Fed’s extraordinary move into the commercial-paper business, a coordinated global set of rate cuts — and every day, investors continue acting as tweaky as meth heads when the dope […]
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The whole economy needs to be green collar
Bob Herbert lays out a strong argument for a focus on jobs in his column “A Fool’s Paradise”: The economy won’t be saved by bailing out Wall Street and waiting for that day that never comes when the benefits trickle down to ordinary Americans. It won’t be saved until we get serious about putting vast […]
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Is 450 ppm (or less) politically possible? Part 7
No, 450 is not politically possible today. Nor is 550. Nor is action sufficient to stave off 1,000 ppm and 6°C warming. OK, that was clear before because congressional conservatives can certainly block the necessary action and demagogue the energy price issue — and they obviously intend to. But I think the financial bailout bill […]