Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Dealbook - Bank Profits Appear Out of Thin Air - NYTimes.com

Dealbook - Bank Profits Appear Out of Thin Air - NYTimes.com

I still think that replacing the CEOs of these companies with a bunch of smart B-School grads would be more useful than keeping these destroyers of capital around.

The point about stress test is a good. What is the best case scenario? Everyone passes, but then that means the test isn't stressful enough putting all banks under a shadow. Some bank pass, some fail, the banks that fail evaporate. That puts all banks under a shadow. If there were a way to keep the results secret, then the Feds help out the banks. Secret gets out putting all banks under a shadow. I hope they come up with something good.

Monday, April 20, 2009

Sources: Chrysler Financial Refused Government Loan Over Limits on Executive Pay - washingtonpost.com

Sources: Chrysler Financial Refused Government Loan Over Limits on Executive Pay - washingtonpost.com

Geniuses! I wonder if this is a good thing or not. It would be good to take out some car building capacity. It would also be good to see Bob Nardelli have to live on his severance pay from his last job. He has got to have a record of the amount of capital he has destroyed though. It is staggering.

Friday, April 17, 2009

Democrats: Perry should disavow secession talk | AP Texas News | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle

Democrats: Perry should disavow secession talk | AP Texas News | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle

Sounds like he's a traitor. I'm not sure what the circular firing squad is going to do next, but it sure is fun to watch.

Thursday, April 16, 2009

The Beachwood Reporter

The Beachwood Reporter

About the lack of Quorums in the Chicago City Council committees. Not exactly the most exciting stuff, but it could bite someone in the butt. They are pretty well paid and should probably show up. Ask about it some more.

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Clout Street: Politics Explained. The not so 'accessible' mayor -- chicagotribune.com

Clout Street: Politics Explained. The not so 'accessible' mayor -- chicagotribune.com

I should have posted this a while ago. Not the most insightful, but does shed some light on the Mayor Daley's "available, but not answering questions about that right now" attitude. Would it be possible for the media organizations in town to make this a crusade? Pick one question and ask him about it constantly. "Who hired Angelo Torres?" or "How did the HDO get its start?" It would at least give him the opportunity to dodge constantly and make news in the fact that it's day 51 in not answering the question. Just an idea.

Monday, April 13, 2009

Fair Game - He Doesn’t Let the Money Managers Off the Hook - News Analysis - NYTimes.com

Fair Game - He Doesn’t Let the Money Managers Off the Hook - News Analysis - NYTimes.com

This seems like some common sense legislation. Obviously someone is doing something right because there are so many funds out there that charge high fees. Sunshine would be best for the consumers.

Friday, April 10, 2009

Stroger seeking 2nd term | Crain's Chicago Business

Stroger seeking 2nd term | Crain's Chicago Business

Impressive and delusional. I wonder if he is being setup or if he will win. He does have a strong base and the reformers seem a little out of sorts with Quigley moving up. The machine will definitely "back him" for now. He could also end up wearing the jacket.

Tuesday, April 07, 2009

Analysis: Daley's big game: All or nothing :: CHICAGO SUN-TIMES :: News

Analysis: Daley's big game: All or nothing :: CHICAGO SUN-TIMES :: News

I wonder if any of this matters for the 2016. On one hand there are tons of problems, but every cty at this stage of the game has problems. What does the IOC want? Back in the day, the voters wanted massages, jobs for relatives, and cash. They supposedly cleaned it up, but I'm not so sure. It still seems like a European Boys club to me. They represent the world like the color black represents a choice for Model Ts.

Anyways, it's still going to be about cash, but this time maybe TV money from NBC Universal? The times would be convenient for the East Coast viewing if they were here or Rio. Madrid would be following right on the heels of London. Tokyo would have to do some serious scheduling contortions to get live on East Coast primetime. It would be similar to what they did in Beijing. The other thing is that it hasn't been in the Western Hemisphere since 1996 Atlanta.

It will be very expensive and the tax payers of Chicago and Cook County will be on the hook. The plan's current price tag is seriously unrealistic. The security stuff seems nice but counts 8,200 retired police officers in the total number of security personnel? I don't know about you, but 83 year old retired police officers don't put me at ease when managing crowds.

So as my old Poli Sci teacher used to write on his exams, "So what?" Chicago does have a good chance to get the Olympics. If we get them it will cost us a lot of money, time, and energy focused on something that will last a couple of weeks. If we lose we get an angry mayor and save at least $5 trillion. I don't think it's a tough trade off.

Monday, April 06, 2009

Deadspin - I'm Assuming The Tar Heels Are Also Welcome To Service Sparty - Michigan State

Friday, April 03, 2009

A charmless oligarchy of schools has sucked the excitement out of the NCAA Tournament. - By Charles P. Pierce - Slate Magazine

A charmless oligarchy of schools has sucked the excitement out of the NCAA Tournament. - By Charles P. Pierce - Slate Magazine:

"The Final Four is now the Super Bowl, is now the Derby, and so on."

I'm not sure that any major sports event is worth attending anymore. It's turning away the obsessives with their tacky basements and dog-like loyalty. It's an occasion to sell something, cement "relationships", and become boring. That's probably why news of the weird has any sort of following. Somebody is sick of the same old same old.

Thursday, April 02, 2009

Stimulus Stance Isolates Sanford - WSJ.com

Stimulus Stance Isolates Sanford - WSJ.com

The GOP is in serious trouble. They are forming circular firing squads all over the country. In Pennsylvania, Senator Spector's seat is under heavy threat from conservative candidates. He may pull off winning the primary, but the general could be tough as the state trends Blue.

SC is crazy for turning down federal money. With the second highest unemployment rate in the country, you might think that funding schools and police might be a good idea. I'm not sure what the long-term effects of this will be but, I can see a DNC ad when Sanford runs for Prez about how he refused to take care of teachers and public safety when he had a chance to.

The issue is that the GOP is the Democratic party of 1972. They are the party of special interests. The Club for Growth crazies feel that principles are more important than being competent. The "Conservatives" have to give special dispensation from to raise funds. The Democrats will have an easy time picking off moderate GOP seats as long as "principle" and "Reagan" are paramount before governing and competence. Perhaps that is Karl Rove's greatest legacy to the Democrats?

Wednesday, April 01, 2009

Gmail: Google's approach to email

Gmail: Google's approach to email

A good April fool's Day joke?