Detailed Abstractions

News From Respected Sources

• ECB Chief economist disses German banks (and Eurostresstests) 2010/09/09
  A little shock for the Germans while we’re at it, with resonances for the whole Eurozone. From FT Deutschland: The chief economist of the European Central Bank (ECB), Juergen Stark, considers the German banks to be undercapitalized. Stark made this statement on Wednesday at a meeting with the head of Unions Parliamentary Group in Berlin, according to partici […]
  Richard Smith
• *Adam Smith: An Enlightened Life* 2010/09/09
  That is the new book by Nicholas Phillipson from Yale University Press.  I urge all fans of Adam Smith to read this book.  It covers Smith's life and times more than his texts per se.  It is especially strong on Smith and Hume, Smith's work as a customs inspector, Smith's time in France, Smith and Quesnay, and Smith's dedication to his mo […]
  Tyler Cowen
• My Buffalo visit 2010/09/09
  For architecture, it is one of America's best cities.  The Guaranty building, Ellicott Square building, and City Hall are peaks of the art, plus there is lots of Frank Lloyd Wright.  There are hundreds of excellent residential homes, off of Elmwood for instance, but all over town.  Elmwood itself is a fun, walkable area.  There are two good art museums, […]
  Tyler Cowen
• In case you have not been paying attention 2010/09/09
  Here is a tidbit from today's news: Among other policies, the Obama team has also placed a United States citizen on a targeted-killings list without a trial, blocked efforts by detainees in Afghanistan to bring habeas-corpus lawsuits challenging their indefinite imprisonment, and continued the C.I.A. rendition program – though the administration says it […]
  Tyler Cowen
• High stress hormone levels linked to increased cardiovascular mortality 2010/09/09
  High levels of the stress hormone cortisol strongly predict cardiovascular death among both persons with and without pre-existing cardiovascular disease according to a new study accepted for publication in The Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM). read more […]
  (author unknown)
• What Mayor Daley Left Behind 2010/09/09
  It's been said that no man is a hero to his valet. Continuous, up-close exposure can eventually render anyone stale. After nearly 22 years as mayor, Richard M. Daley has definitely worn out much of his appeal to Chicagoans. He's won six straight elections, the last two with more than 70 percent of the vote. Yet in the last poll before he announced […]
  Steve Chapman
• The Irish mess (II) 2010/09/09
  One of the striking features of a really slap-up financial disaster is the immense scale on which those hackneyed old stages of grief (Shock, Denial, Bargaining, Guilt, Anger, Depression, Acceptance and Hope) are worked out. With an eye to illustrating this progression one more time, my last post on Ireland was just a snapshot of the dubious official story a […]
  Richard Smith
• Links 9/9/10 2010/09/09
  Apologies for thin links, still traveling…. Keeping up appearances Ben Goldacre, Guardian (hat tip reader John M) Humpback dinosaur – theropod of the north Guardian (hat tip reader John M) Labor Day 2010 II Joe Costello Pat Choate: Our “Innovation Crisis” & Patent Backlog The Big Picture (hat tip reader Francois T) Retailers – Reality Check Time Jim Quin […]
  Yves Smith
• Richard Alford: Fed Abandoned Its Duty in Pre-Crisis Housing Bubble Posture 2010/09/09
  By Richard Alford, a former economist at the New York Fed. Since then, he has worked in the financial industry as a trading floor economist and strategist on both the sell side and the buy side. The Federal Reserve Bank of Boston recently published a paper titled: “Reasonable People Could Disagree: Optimism and Pessimism About the US Housing Market Before th […]
  Yves Smith
• The Belgian mess (II) 2010/09/09
  Morning all. A spot of short term cover for Yves, who will be back later today after a mini-epic, with the head of Medusa maybe. In Euroland, Ireland (on which more later if I have time), Portugal (whose banks suddenly need a lot more funding help from the ECB) and Greece (where there is a continued run on bank deposits – they’ve now lost 11% of their deposi […]
  Richard Smith
• Use of medication for insomnia or anxiety increases mortality risk by 36 percent 2010/09/09
  Taking medications to treat insomnia and anxiety increases mortality risk by 36%, according to a study conducted by Geneviève Belleville, a professor at Université Laval's School of Psychology. The details of this study are published in the latest edition of the Canadian Journal of Psychiatry. read more […]
  (author unknown)
• “Latest Obama Economic Plan : Long on PR, Short on Economic Reality” 2010/09/09
  I participated in the White House Blogger conference call today, as a stand-in for the traveling Yves. The call was run by Jason Furman, the deputy director of the National Economic Council, who provided a brief recap of President Obama’s speech earlier in the day. The stated purpose of the call was to emphasize the importance of the Administrations three ec […]
  Tom Adams
• Guest Post: Why Current Food Scares are Overhyped 2010/09/09
  By Kalpa, who blogs at big picture agriculture. Kalpa’s formal education was in medicine, science, and the humanities. Having seen the destruction that industrial agriculture has done to the biosystem of the Midwestern Plains, where she grew up, she writes on the comprehensive picture of economics in agriculture, ag science, ag policy, food security, energy, […]
  Yves Smith
• Using chest compressions first just as successful as immediate defibrillation after cardiac arrest 2010/09/09
  Chest compressions before defibrillation in patients with sudden cardiac arrest is equally successful as immediate treatment with an electrical defibrillator, according to a new study by the University of Michigan Health System. read more […]
  (author unknown)
• Abnormal body weight related to increased mortality in colon cancer patients 2010/09/09
  Postmenopausal women diagnosed with colon cancer may be at increased risk of death if they fail to maintain a healthy body weight before cancer diagnosis, according to a study published in the September issue of Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research. read more […]
  (author unknown)