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[ Sunday, September 21, 2008 09:10 ]

Legacy Journal: The Sunday Sermon: Economist Moral Hazard

Section:
Business

Summary:
If it is Sunday is must be time to roll out the interviewees for national television network news programs. New York, Wall Street, financial services now have Washington’s and the country’s attention. Elective national politics has temporarily been bumped off the screen by economic events, Sunday NFL Football, and the Emmy Awards.

Treasury Secretary, Hank Paulson is the guy in the hot seat. He appears to accept the economic moral hazard of recent pragmatic institutional rescues by the federal government. In addition, he seems to affirm that the financial risks and the current value of instruments like nonliquid mortgage backed derivatives are both currently unknowable to even best of financial professionals.

Main:
Tom Brokow retired from NBC has returned to calmly fill the Meet the Press seat vacated by Tim Russert. His most interesting guest today was a Mayor, Michael Blomberg of NYC. However, on this day, the usual group at This Week on ABC were in over their heads when attempting to unravel and explain the economic facts at play.

The Mayor was cool, clear, concise, balanced and analytical. He is not a man in search of a job, but he may be a candidate for the role of mortgage, bond, and derivatives Czar. Markets, governments and legislators would be both informed and reassured by his high profile presence.

He apparently listens as well as he thinks. Another thought, he may be a candidate for a major post in the new administration.

Meanwhile, he and NYC are facing a 12% reduction in tax receipts over the next fiscal year.

More:

Footnotes:

Posted by: webscribe2 on 09/21 at 09:10 AM
Announcements: • Heads Up: • Banking on It: • Basics: • Bottom Line: • Business and Trade: • Calendar: • Sunday: • Cascade Effect: • Changing Course: • Data: • Dollars and Cents: • Follow the Money: • Entitlements: • Frameworks: • IT3 Tech: • Internet Tech: • Google: • Calendar: • Life Lines: • Main Street and Wall Street: • Media Watch: • Money Matters: • Moral Jeopardy: • New York: • Cities: • News: • Hot Spot: • Politically Potent: • SeniorStatesmen: • Truth Telling: • (0) Comments: • (0) Trackbacks: • Permalink:

[ Monday, July 14, 2008 08:33 ]

Legacy Journal: High Finance, Bad Loans, and Banking Reform

Section:
None

Summary:
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are Depression Era hybrid twins that were originally created to extend easy housing credit to individuals, create construction jobs, and bring the power of the federal government to the needs of the poor. Reduced regulatory and reporting standards, minimal reserve requirements, access to low interest funds, no taxes on “profits”, and a presumption of federal protection, if necessary lead to a powerful competitive advantage and a dominant home mortgage market share. Years of increasing size, a Washington, D.C. power base of lobbyists, administration appointments, Congressional inaction , and a looming economic moral hazard contributed to a stock market meltdown of their share prices.

Raines and other friends of Angelo Mozilo, including Chris Dodd, Kent Conrad, and James Johnson, are reported to have received favorable loans from Countrywide. A California Mozilo company, IndyMac is today officially “failed” and in Fed hands.

Main:
Meanwhile, former Freddy MAC chairman and CEO Franklin Raines and his ilk appear to have escaped tainted but largely beyond the reach of the law. Raines, of Harvard, Oxford, the Clinton OMB, and Lazar Freres, had his mismanagement errors and losses partially covered by insurance.

More:

Footnotes:

Posted by: webscribe2 on 07/14 at 08:33 AM
Banking on It: • Business and Trade: • Calendar: • Monday: • Data: • Dollars and Cents: • Follow the Money: • Funny Money: • IT3 Tech: • Internet Tech: • Google: • Calendar: • Missing Parts: • Moral Jeopardy: • Political Watch: • Washington Watch: • (0) Comments: • (0) Trackbacks: • Permalink:

[ Thursday, June 12, 2008 12:27 ]

Legacy Journal: Toxic Planet or Better Living thru Chemistry?

Section:
Environment

Summary:
It may be my imagination, but it seems that the number of narrowly focused research PhD’s in search of projects and funding is driving the explosion of PhD thesis, grant proposals, funding requests, committee meeting, international conferences, popular press articles, and journal publications. One example is environmental endocrine dysfunction, a kind of mini-movement with vocal advocacy hot spots in northern California and New York. Politics and public policy is part of the mix. A staff person for Senator Boxer of California and Marin Country is “connected”

Environmental Endocrine Disruptors (EED) is the title of this week’s GRC group’ retreat at the Waterville Valley Resort in New Hampshire for their 6th annual meeting. Shanna Swan of URMC is the Chairwoman.

Main:
This community of environmental toxicologists, biologists and epidemiologists focusing on a wide range of “reproductive failures”. Among the failures are a variety of animal and human gross anatomy and microscopic tissue finding that are associated with maternal or egg exposure to environmental chemicals. Some of the chemicals are pharmaceutics like diethyl stilbestrol, but most are petro-chemicals like agricultural pesticides and herbicides.

More:

Footnotes:

Posted by: webscribe2 on 06/12 at 12:27 PM
Calendar: • Thursday: • Caveat Emptor: • Chances are ---: • Cause & Effect: • Cherry Picking: • Data: • Dollars and Cents: • Follow the Money: • Environment: • Advocacy: • Policy: • Studies: • Fact vs Fiction: • Going Green: • IT3 Tech: • Internet Tech: • Google: • Calendar: • Medicine: • Voice: • Demonization: • Dooms Day: • (0) Comments: • (0) Trackbacks: • Permalink:

[ Thursday, April 03, 2008 06:44 ]

Legacy Journal: Rochester Rites of Spring: Squash, Squash, and more Squash

Section:
Opinion

Summary:
“All human actions have one or more of these seven causes: chance, nature, compulsion, habit, reason, passion, and desire.” ----- Aristotle

* The University of Rochester and the local Squash Racquet community is hosting a “Satellite” Pro event. Erika and Jon Little of Brighton are hosting Armando Olguin , a teaching and touring Pro from the San Francisco Bay area.

As the ground unfreezes, it near time to plant what the Seneca Indians call the “Three Sisters”—corn, beans and squash.

* It is also time to squash a few delusions and predictions : the pending American Hurricane Season, the Future of the American Democrat Party, the state of the American Economy, the failure of American Public Education, the degenerate state of the New American Generation, the Coming Collapse of the Global Climate System, ---- etc.

Main:
: The game of Squash seems to be having a mini surge of popularity. Young kids are being signed up by their parents for lessons in Manhattan, NY to Marin Country, CA. Elitist and expensive, it is seen as a way to starting networking toward the Ivy League and Wall Street. In 2003 Forbes magazine rated the game as the # one fitness sport. Impact injuries are rare. Cardio-aerobics are rated at at 800 - 1,000 kcal/hr among top Pros. Upper, core, and lower body muscle strength and speed are required. Endurance, mental toughness, consistency, and practice discipline complete the competition package.

Clearly, the game has gone global with roots in the British Empire and Commonwealth. Youngsters of 23-26 are top ranked. English is the universal language of the sport. The top players come from Egypt, Scotland, Pakistan. Mexico, Colombia and Canada contribute their share of young, mobile talent. College recruits in upstate NY come from Japan, the Ukraine, and even Pennsylvania. Senors also play the game

:: Prof Jared Diamond of Guns, Germs and Steel fame and fortune, continues, as he has for 10 years now, to remind us from his video reruns that geography, geology, climate, and the accidents of migration have much to do with food production, animal domestication, surplus, technology , social organizations and the sustainability( or not) of primitive cultures. The recently the DNA story, grave site
Aztec archeology in Peru, and Native American finding in Oregon have all added complexity and new time lines to the more simple Diamond narrative and interpretation.

::: Experts from Colorado fearlessly continue to make their embarrassingly bad annual predictions. The 2008 Hurricane season edition in now out. A related inconvenient embarrassment is the $6 per bushel of corn and the $4 per gallon price of diesel full. What happened to all the environmental happy talk about how using corn alcohol and stopping oil exploration and drilling was key to controlling global fever.

Today’s temperature bullseye is Yuma, Arizona where the all time low of 13 degrees was recorded within the past 5 years. The another bullseye is the international hot spot , Venezuela, where General Chavez has announced his intent to nationalize the cement industry. Cemex of Mexico is the major external investor

In addition, the Wigley article from the NCAR on the assumptions of the IOCC on carbon emissions rates and published the early April edition of Nature, the weekly international science journal, is yet another wakeup call at the credibility of some of the IOCC Climate Commission’s claims. From nytimes., science writer, Andrew C. Revkin does a partial journalistic mea culpa on his previous “ robins in Inuit land” reporting. To his credit, Revkin does acknowledge that the error was reported by the climatologist Patrick J. Michaels on a blog site at World Climate Report..

Meanwhile, the good new is that the baseball and local lake and stream trout season is underway.

More:

Footnotes:

Posted by: webscribe2 on 04/03 at 06:44 AM
Basics: • Calendar: • Thursday: • Data: • Numbers: • Dollars and Cents: • Follow the Money: • Environment: • Advocacy: • Features: • Quotes: • Fitness: • Harvest: • IT3 Tech: • Internet Tech: • Google: • Calendar: • Leading Indicators: • Authentic: • Memory Lane: • New York: • Towns: • News: • Sports: • Political Watch: • Race: • Score Card: • Tenure: • Vital Signs: • Voice: • Poetry: • (0) Comments: • (0) Trackbacks: • Permalink:

[ Friday, March 28, 2008 12:38 ]

Legacy Journal: Friday Final Edition: Philanthropy, mandates, and Spring in the Rockies

Section:
Almanac

Summary:
* George Will recently brought to our attention that Compassionate Conservatives a better givers than Liberals

That reminds us of a recently passed health insurance coverage mandate in Arizona. It is for an expensive, intense, and unproven treatment for early childhood autism. This is an example of a non-evidence based public policy favoring a small group at the expense of others including rate payers and those denied benefits of expensive but clinically effective treatments like organ transplants.

* This week a group of global warming gurus are meeting in Aspen, Colorado where the ski season has been spectacular. One story has been on large sea ice sheets become detached and exposing the face and underbelly advancing glaciers. One Stanford based “Climate Scientist” with a PhD in Mechanical Engineering appears to be concerned about the heat generated by the rock on rock rubbing at the glacial - gravel interface. The result is water that lubricates and accelerates the glacially march to the sea where may tend to change local salinity and raise ocean levels over centuries. Hum.

Main:
: It appears that Conservatives contribute both time and treasure to causes that are often faith based. Yes, Mormons are expected to tithe. Environmental
preachers are not.

:: Special interest insurance mandates are an example of an economic moral hazard. In the case of mandating coverage of chest spiral CT for screening smokers for early lung cancer appears to also included an unknown financial conflict of interest on the part of at least one Columbia University Weil Medical Center radiologist.

::: Meanwhile, the temperature in Aspen last night was a cool 29.

More:

Footnotes:

Posted by: webscribe2 on 03/28 at 12:38 PM
Calendar: • Friday: • Cascade Effect: • Cherry Picking: • Climate: • Climateering: • Climate Police: • Southern Comfort Zone: • Culture Clash: • Data: • Numbers: • Dollars and Cents: • Follow the Money: • Earth Sciences:: • Entitlements: • Environment: • Water: • Expressions: • core: • Western: • Frontiersmen, Cowboys and Indians: • GeoEngineering: • Media Watch: • TV Journalism: • Moral Jeopardy: • Rock and Rule: • Rule of Law: • Legal Remedy: • Tall Tales: • I could be Wrong, but---: • Voice: • Chorus: • Dooms Day: • Punditry: • Weasel Words: • possible: • studies suggest ---: • (0) Comments: • (0) Trackbacks: • Permalink:

[ Wednesday, March 19, 2008 05:22 ]

Legacy Journal: Race, Coals to Newcastte, and Wednesday Technology

Section:
Commentary

Summary:
* Race Matters: At a recent URMC New York Society of Cardiology CO-hosted lectureship on the state of genomic research and technology in health, disease and in the retail consumer market, one was able to witness a race based concern. “Why are there not more African-Americans in the studies?” was the question from the only black practitioner in the audience. “ Why are some of the studies not coming from Africa?” No satisfying answer was forthcoming from the expert from California. While the largest private employer in Rochester NY is URMC, ironically, it is dependent on the black community to staff and operate its facilities 24 x 7 x 365. The residents living in the home of Fredrick Douglass has heard and seen it all. The black church, failing inner city public schools, crime in the neighborhoods, limited job opportunities in a street environment rife with petty and organized crime, substance abuse, abandoned property. High taxes, political patronage, and union restrictions are long standing facts of life that colors much of the black perspective.

Coal:

* RIT CMIS : Manufacturing technology institute funded by the Federal Government, the state of New York, and private industry.

Main:
: A new black Superintendent of Public Schools, a new black Governor, and a new black President will not qwell “prophetic” rhetoric from the pulpit, balance the state budget, or eliminate a 200 year old backlog of white guilt. Barak Obama may be perfect poetic fusion messenger to the new generation of American voters, but he can not govern well or effectively , if he is viewed as pandering to the rapidly fading black leadership elites and their supporters-- and they know who they are.

:: Coal production and export report from the nytimes..

::: CIMS is the Center for Integrated Manufacturing Studies on the RIT campus in Rochester, NY.

Today a OLLI tour group got a dose of sustainability, a lesson in manufacturing, and a perspective on a post Kodak western upstate NY economy. Locally, part of
the manufacturing view of green sustainability is part rehabilitation and waste management. Quality control , systems management of the product cycle, and energy efficiency is part of the package. One demonstration bay had a half million dollar articulated arm laser surface scanner for image input for product design.

Most of the projects are small simulations and tests of critical mechanical parts like aircraft hydolic systems and gearboxes.

More:

Footnotes:

Posted by: webscribe2 on 03/19 at 05:22 AM
Backgrounder: • Basics: • Business and Trade: • Calendar: • Wednesday: • Common Ground: • Community Service: • Culture Clash: • Popular Culture: • Data: • Dollars and Cents: • Follow the Money: • Diversity: • Energy: • Alternative Sources: • Coal: • Features: • Permalinks: • Going Green: • IT3 Tech: • Internet Tech: • Google: • Calendar: • Justice: • Leap of Faith: • Life Lines: • New York: • Cities: • News: • Hot Spot: • OLLI (Osher): • Politically Potent: • Race: • Salt and Pepper: • Signs of the Times: • Voice: • Poetry: • (0) Comments: • (0) Trackbacks: • Permalink:

[ Tuesday, March 18, 2008 07:17 ]

Legacy Journal: Economic Moral Hazard

Section:
Politics

Summary:
* “Moral Hazard” is the current term of ART among the political and economic crisis oriented media pundits. What does it mean? Perhaps we should attempt to define the idea behind the phrase.

Main:
It seems to be an insurance term that began in England. One can imagine the talk in the early coffee houses of London where Lloyds of London syndicates were pooling investors stakes to insure the nations trading ships, their cargos, and maybe event the lives of their crews against accidents and piracy as they sailed at sea to the edges of the known world. The talk among these sober risk takers may have incluced the possibility of some imprudent risks. like overloading, if insurance was inforce and playable if the ship, cargo and crew capsized and all were lost. London, the west’s first metropolis, had long been supplied with coal via coast carriers, before they were replaced by canals and railroads. Captain James Cook learned his hazardous trade aboard vessels of just this type.

Today, the term moral hazard has a similarly negative connotation ---- imprudent risk taking without a penalty or price like bankruptcy or insolvency of a business or loss of a house. Bear Stearn’s most valued asset, trust, was lost, liquidity evaporated and its partners and customers would not trade. Insurance can not cover or restore loss of trust.

Currently, the economic good news is that not all Wall Street investment firms took the same risks in low quality mortgage backed derivative instruments at Bear Stearns. Today Lehman Bros. profit report excessed expectations. The nation’s unemployment rate is low and stable. Productive is good. Exports are Strong. Technology, transportation and services sectors are growing. Biotechnology and genomics are red hot. Agricultural incomes and land prices are a boom for the heartland and the national balance sheet. The stock market continues to contain safe and sure value. Pension and Truct funds are performing well.

Yes, New York and other states are facing budget deficits. Inflation rate outpaces Treasury returns. Discretionary consumer spending may continue to contract. Housing construction continues to contract in California and Florida. Decreasing defense spending is not currently an option. Health care and medical insurance costs are rapidly rising to fund patient expections, institutional and professional liabilty protection ,applied documentation imaging technology, and nursing shortages.

The weaking dollor and low interest rates are a double edged sword,

Meanwhile, in the wild and wonderful worlds of evolutionary biology and genetic molecular biology, guarantees of individual and species perfection and survival are hard to come by.

More:

Footnotes:

Posted by: webscribe2 on 03/18 at 07:17 AM
Basics: • Black and White: • Bottom Line: • Business and Trade: • Calendar: • Tuesday: • Caveat Emptor: • Chances are ---: • Roll of the Dice: • Chronicles: • Culture Clash: • High Brow: • Data: • By the Numbers: • Dollars and Cents: • Follow the Money: • Deal: • Fact vs Fiction: • Finance: • Heartland: • IT3 Tech: • Internet Tech: • Google: • Calendar: • Language: • Rhetoric: • Metaphors: • New York: • Cities: • News: • Retrospect: • Personal Pearls: • Insurance: • Sign of the Times: • Word Play: • (0) Comments: • (0) Trackbacks: • Permalink:

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