…Calmly observing the changing world

If he can make it through the Senate, Timothy Geithner will be our nation’s next Treasury Secretary. If you’ve forgotten exactly what a Treasury Secretary does, it’s recently become a ridiculously powerful position. Essentially, he will become the “Economy Czar.” Unfortunately, during his Senate confirmation hearing, Geithner made a monumental error in judgment. He accused [...]

Just a quick post detailing the relentlessly rising spread among Euro-denominated bonds. I believe this is an extremely important development and I hope to have a new sidebar with this information soon.  For a previous look at the situation, see Greek Ire. Remember, all of these European nations are selling bonds in Euros. The only [...]

Changes in American administrations are a relatively smooth affair, and 2009 is no exception. Maybe this is because, in many respects, we are only changing the overlaying topography and can never seem to rid ourselves of the problems deeply woven into the fabric of our society. For those who are trusting a new batch of [...]

“You have no idea how bad it was… Roosevelt had to do something.” This is the answer you are likely to get if you ask someone who lived through the Great Depression what they thought of FDR’s policies. The situation was unbearable. Things needed to change and the government responded by trying things (something… anything…) [...]

It’s that time of year again. No – not to lose those extra few holiday pounds, or to rationalize away a perfectly good (but overly optimistic) New Year’s resolution. Not at least, if you’re Russian, and unable to suppress your annual desire to use your oil and natural gas supplies to blackmail foreign nations. Few, [...]