oldumbguy

IBM Interested in Sun? A Flaming Red Herring

PS, don't discount the Amazon link. IBM is a services company and the Sun Amazon link might be of some value.

IBM Interested in Sun? A Flaming Red Herring

About 24% of stock held by insiders, any buyout deal will probably be welcome by the company.

Getting a Tax Clawback Right

Thoughtful and constructive. I hope the congress and administration are thinking in this direction.

How to Not Pay the AIG Bonuses

I like it. I also think offering orange jump suits as a consolation prize might be cool.

AIG Suddenly Takes the Full Disclosure Route

Absolutely amazing that anyone at AIG could "earn" a bonus for performance. Any $s they get can only be described as ransom for agreeing to help in the cleanup or outright theft.

I want to see people in orange jump suits. Bring on the perp walks.

Santelli's Chicago Tea Party: The Quest for Our Nation's Soul

Honestly, I think Santelli is an idiot.

I actually think that this country is more than just capitalism. Capitalism is a part of our society but I do not think it is or should be the sole defining element.

Capitalism in this country has become a shield that allows greed and criminal behavior to thrive. If it is to continue as an important part of our society then it must be reformed. This can come from the outside (government) or within. The total lack of self policing by the financial industry that brought us to this point is unforgivable. The government is left to deal with the wreckage of this greed and criminal behavior.

Rick Santelli would like to ignore the mess capitalism has created and focus on the inequity of the government attempt to clean up the mess. That is an excellent way to change the subject but does not address the real problems that brought us to this point.

A more productive rant would be to root out the problems that made it necessary for government intervention in the first place.

A good start would be the elimination of CDS. If borrowers and lenders think they need insurance policies then let them buy real insurance policies not some pseudo unregulated substitute.

Detroit's Bailout Invites Competitive Response from Abroad

Interesting drivel from the southern GOP congressional team, since they are heavily invested in foriegn auto manufacturing plants I guess I would expect no less.

BTW for those union bashers, you might want to take a look at the "assembly" labor $s in a US vehicle versus a transplant. The labor hours for assembly of a vehicle has declined significantly as all of the manufacturers depend more on suppliers. So while I know you all love to blame this problem on the UAW they really are a decreasing part of the equation.

IBM: Lessons from the Great Depression

Actually if is an even better story when you realize that many of those IBM employees of that time were getting IBM stock through an employee stock purchase program. This in fact ultimately lead to millionaire janitors.

Robbing Peter to Pay Paul: More on Wachovia / Citi

With over 70% of WBs stock held by institutions I think this deal is already cooked. Stick a fork in it.

McCain's Economics

Good read on the debate. I have been trying to get more details on how the House Republicans proposal helps this situation and so far all I see is a huge tax break for some very wealthy individuals. Am I wrong here?

No Wonder the $700 Billion Bailout 'Deal' Failed

Where were these guys 2 weeks ago?

No Wonder the $700 Billion Bailout 'Deal' Failed

Were were these guys 2 weeks ago?

You Can't Handle The Truth

Actually, I do not think the credit markets will come to a halt. What will change is the cost of credit. The US economy has been propped up by cheap money for a long time. We even gave cheap credit to risky borrowers (read sub-prime). The new reality is that the people with capital to lend are going to want either very low risk or very high interest rates. This will definately have a cooling affect on our economy. The end result will probably be a period of negative growth that is actually a healthy part of the normal business cycle. While every politician in Washington would like to see steady/endless economic expansion, real economists know that downturns are inevitable. The one we are about to enter has been long postponed but can not be avoided.