7 Tips to Get the Bailout

Funny tips for getting the bailout from government.
But Big three CEOs used their ways to DC...... so no bailout!

Nobel Economists Offer First Aid for Global Economy

SPIEGEL asked five previous winners of the Nobel Prize for economics to provide their own advice for what world leaders should do.
Even the Godfather of free market - Robert Lucas also calls for a overhaul of financial regulation.

And finally I see Wall Street firms make a smart, correct, and self-regulated move. See Goldman Sachs and UBS.

Hedge Fund Testimony

Congress grilled five of the country's top hedge-fund managers.
It is a 2-hour testimony.

Too Big To Fail

Minneaoplis Fed President came to Winona State to give a speech to our students.
Here is the script about the issue of "too big to fail."

Franklin Delano Obama?

Paul Krugman made a nice point for Obama in NYT.

New President

It is exciting to see Obama to be the next President of the US.
One of the reasons of his win is economy. People said:
1992 - It is the economy, stupid!
2008 - It is the stupid ecnomy!

So how to deal with the economy from now on?
My view is as follows,
1. Increase government spending on infrasturure (more public transportation in metro area), human capital (K12 education system), alternative energy research.
2. Let the Fed do his job.
3. Financial system overhaul. There are so many principal-agent problems out there. The smart regulation is needed.
4. Before we recover from the current recession, put buget deficit problem aside.
5. Before we recover from the current recession, don't think about increasing tax on the rich!
6. If we want to deal with income inequality issue, work hard on reducing health care cost. The current system is a complicated mess.
7. After we recover from the current recession, increasing consumption tax is better than income tax. We should save a little bit more. Current account deficit is an issue we have to face finally.
8. In the long run, a little more tax on gas consumption (Pigou Tax) and securities trading (Tobin tax) sound good to me.

Short Video about Financial Crisis

Nice done and neat video to introduce the current banking problem.

Import Certificates

Today I read this article written by Warren Buffet several years ago about his worries of US trade deficit, which is still substantial amount today. His solution is quite dramatic but not yet applied.

Joe The Plumber

After the final Presidential debate of 2008, Joe the Plumber become the natioanl celebrity.
Here is what happpened the other day. Tax is always an interesting economic issue.

Paul Krugman Wins Economics Nobel

Krugman getting the Nobel is a very interesting result amid current financial crisis.
His contribution is explained here and here.
Update: Krugman explains his own work. Edward Glaeser honors Krugman's work.

Messy Fannie Mae

Charles Duhigg had an in-depth report on the mess of Fannie Mae. For example, one paragraph says:

Whenever competitors asked Congress to rein in the company, lawmakers were
besieged with letters and phone calls from angry constituents, some orchestrated
by Fannie itself. One automated phone call warned voters: “Your congressman is
trying to make mortgages more expensive. Ask him why he opposes the American
dream of home ownership.”

Paul Romer and Gary Becker on Financial Crisis

Paul Romer had an insightful opinion about realists and fundamentalists on economy. In short, fundamentalists are against bailout while realists are supporting bailout.
Gary Becker is one of the realists. See his "We are not headed for depression" in WSJ.

Modern Finance 101 and Credit Default Swap

Here provides a neat chart of modern financial products.
60 minutes provides a good report on Credit Default Swap (CDS).

Sept. Madness

WSJ had a good and detailed article about what went wrong since Government let Lehman go.

Greg Mankiw posted this funny chart to highlight this Sept. madness.

Math and Science in India

WSJ had this article about India's cram schools for college entrance exam. It is pretty astouning. This reminds me of Taiwan, which had similar things before. This is perhaps how most Asian students develope their math and science skills.

Comments on Financial Crisis

Larry Summers on bailout and budget.
Robert Shiller says everybody clam down. .
Lawrence White on WaMu.

Toto, We Are Not In Kansas Anymore!

Princeton had a panel discussion on current financial crisis.
See here.

American Bailouts History

See here for the past.

Here is the latest one.

Remarks by Charles Evans

A decent academic analysis and reference of current finance crisis by Charles Evans, President of Fed Chicago.

Bailout Joke

Here.

Why It Happened So Fast?

Many people are asking why three major investment banks disappeared within 6 months.
Here is one reason, the article back to Nov, 2007. It bothered me that the investment banks still decided giving out so many bonuses amid the housing slump and subprime morgage crisis.

Diamond and Kashyap on the Recent Financial Upheavals

Here.

Notes on Financial Meltdown

Rogoff's opnion Here.
Macroblog's analysis Here.
WSJ's report Here.
NYT's report Here.

What a Crazy Weekend!

The financial hurricane hit Wall Street this weekend. See this.
Krugman had a simple comment.

Getting Real About Health Care

Robert Samuelson had an analysis on the US health care. I agree with this sentence very much:

"The central health care problem is not improving coverage. It's
controlling costs."

The Fall of the Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae

NYT had a good report on the fall of these two mortage giants. The story is as dramatic as the rescue of Bear Stearns in March.

What is the Fair Tax?

Makiw wrote this article about future tax policy. Is he supporting Obama?

Recession Looms in Japan

Another Japanese leader quits as recession looms.

Compared with Japan, US seemed to be OK in terms of economy over the past decade.

Hedge Fund Wizards

Here is an interesting illustration about hedge funds.
I feel a little bit confused that finance professors call on regulations on financial innovations while some economics professors say no.

WSJ has a latest report on hedge funds.

Blanchard Spoke

Blanchard, who is a famous macroeconomist, took a position in IMF.
His interview mentioned about the global economic outlook.