The Money Blogs

Disingenuous Credit Card Whining And Questionable Risk Policies At Citigroup

mish — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 16:31:43 -0500

Citigroup is whining that new regulations eliminate pricing for risk. So what does it do? Jack up rates is the answer. To lower interest rates, Citi customers must spend more . read more »

A Few Questions for Belle de Jour, Call Girl and Scientist

Freakonomics Multiple Authors — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 15:30:34 -0500

In 2003, a young American woman in London studying for her PhD. ran into money trouble. To support herself while writing her thesis, she joined an escort service. read more »

A mysterious meeting of taxes, vampires, celebrity dancers and 'Wild' women

kayb — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 14:31:42 -0500

Is it just coincidence that this morning a federal judge, who reportedly is a movie buff, heard the tax conviction appeal of an actor who played a vampire hunter on the very day that the second instal read more »

Did Semitool CEO have to say goodbye to planes for deal to happen?

Footnoted — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 12:32:10 -0500

Earlier this week, Applied Materials (AMAT) announced that it was acquiring Semitool (SMTL) in a $364 million all-cash deal. read more »

Theory, Meet Practice

Joe Kristan — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 11:31:23 -0500

Sometimes a great idea in the lab doesn't work so well in the field. read more »

The Myth of the "Old Right"

Mises — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 10:30:00 -0500

In 1932, according to John T. read more »

When Football Violence Turns Real

Freakonomics Multiple Authors — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 09:32:43 -0500

It's well-established that domestic violence is bad for the children directly exposed to it (and possibly their classmates as well) but experts still debate the drivers of family violence. read more »

Will the end-of-month cycle repeat?

deronwagner — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 08:23:11 -0500

Broad market indices gapped lower on the open and sold off sharply during the first hour of trading. read more »

US Session: Sterling Shines Amongst Majors As Gold Fails To Dazzle

Oxbury — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 13:31:07 -0500

G10 Advancers and Decliners vs USD JPY 0.41 EUR -0.55 GBP -0.62 CHF -0.68 The USD has remained bid throughout the day as poor equity market performances have moderated risk ap read more »

How progressive can state taxes be?

Joe Kristan — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 12:31:00 -0500

The Iowa Fiscal Partnership has generated some headlines by passing around their take on a new study by The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy: Study says Iowa tax system unfair to poo read more »

Improving Well-Being in the Classroom

Freakonomics Multiple Authors — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 11:36:20 -0500

Four of the 26 students in my Economics of Life class proposed delaying submitting their draft term project reports by one week. read more »

The Latest in Naked Self-Promotion

Freakonomics Multiple Authors — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 10:35:34 -0500

If you missed Levitt and Dubner on their U.K. SuperFreakonomics tour, a podcast of their lecture at the London School of Economics is now online. read more »

Economists Can Be Hilarious

Mises — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 09:41:00 -0500

We economists have a reputation for being dry and boring. That's why Ben Stein's scene in Ferris Bueller's Day Off works so well — and why this guy is such a novelty. read more »

iShares Transportation (IYT) at key "make it or break it" level

deronwagner — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 08:31:47 -0500

Like the previous day, moderate morning weakness was followed by equally subdued afternoon buying interest. read more »

European Session: Fed Rhetoric Continues To Stir Up Markets

Oxbury — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 08:30:52 -0500

G10 Advancers and Decliners vs USD JPY 0.44 GBP -0.44 EUR -0.51 CHF -0.56 Gold has once again outshone other assets classes by powering to new highs above $1153, bringing the read more »

The Failure of Regulatory Oversight

Calculated Risk — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 07:33:00 -0500

This is a recurring theme: a bank fails, the Inspector General reviews the failure and discovers that the field examiners saw problems starting around 2002, and ... nothing happened for years. read more »

NY bagel maker charged with tax evasion

kayb — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 06:41:00 -0500

H&H Bagels , bakers of what Zagat once called iconic bagels, now has a new, and unwelcome, claim to fame (or infamy). read more »

Cap-And-Trade "Three-Card Monte" Dead For 2009

mish — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 05:27:52 -0500

Typically, one of the best thing Congress ever does is nothing. And so it is again with the Cap-And-Trade energy bill. Thankfully, Senate Climate Bill Delay Raises Doubt on Chance for U.S. Law . read more »

Islamic Finance: Lower Risk, But at What Cost? - BusinessWeek

mahar — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 16:26:38 -0500

Islamic Finance: Lower Risk, But at What Cost? - BusinessWeek: "Financial products based on 8th-century religious laws may seem an unlikely haven during a global crisis. read more »

Freefall In Small Business Loans

mish — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 15:20:54 -0500

In what should be no surprise, banks are cutting back on small business loans. Please consider Small business loans: $10 billion evaporates . read more »