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Archive for March, 2009

I’ve written….

meanwhile, in Canada…

Smallest known North American dinosaur found [CNN] – Canadian researchers say they have discovered the smallest known North American dinosaur, a carnivore that roamed areas of the continent 75 million years ago and weighed less than most modern-day house cats. Nick Longrich found the dinosaur’s bones in storage at a museum and decided to analyze […]

on the front page!

I guess one can’t avoid the AIG Bonus contraversy. It’s getting pretty complicated, and the universe doesn’t need anymore posts filled with venom about the fat cats getting paid fortunes for destroying the world economy. So I’ll just say "ditto." Here are some resources available that clarify [and/or complexify] the issue as of today: Joseph […]

what’s that about?

Accounting Standards Eased Today! by: Chris Bowers March 17, 2009 Good news! Accounting standards on the financial services industry were eased today! Financial stocks also gained support from news that the Financial Accounting Standards Board, which sets U.S. accounting rules, proposed to give more leeway on mark-to-market accounting rules. Mark-to-market accounting has forced financial institutions […]

if it quacks like an insurance policy…

Credit Default Swap Market Change Is Slow TheStreet.com 03/17/09 By Debra Borchardt A move intended to create more transparency in the market for credit default swaps kicked off this week, but so far the change is unnoticeable to buyers, says a trader of the derivatives. IntercontinentalExchange on Monday began clearing CDS trades, after becoming the […]

wouldn’t it be nice to just be where we’re supposed to be?

and life would return to normal…

pouting isn’t a very good strategy…

Even Republicans don’t like Republican leaders: "The approval rating of GOP leaders among Republicans has plummeted 12 points in a month" AMERICAblog By Joe Sudbay 03/16/2009 Greg Sargent took a look at the latest Pew Poll and found what two other recent polls, from Rasmussen and DailyKos, have also shown. Republicans don’t like their Republican […]

who didn’t know?

Some of Madoff’s employees pursued by prosecutors DailyFinance By Lita Epstein March 11, 2009 Now that Bernard Madoff pleaded guilty to 11 charges, prosecutors’ efforts turn to identifying those who helped him perpetuate the fraud. Investigators say Madoff told 4,800 investors in November that their accounts were worth $64.8 billion, even though he knew their […]

journalistic interpretive inertia [beyond spin]…

Obama Orders Treasury Chief to Try to Block A.I.G. Bonuses By HELENE COOPER March 16, 2009 President Obama on Monday vowed to try to stop the faltering insurance giant American International Group from paying out hundreds of millions of dollars in bonuses to executives, as the administration scrambled to avert a populist backlash against banks […]

tales from the crypt…

Why is this man smiling? Cheney Asserts Obama Has Raised Security Risks By A.G. SULZBERGER March 15, 2009 Former Vice President Dick Cheney on Sunday again asserted that President Obama has made the country less safe, arguing that the new administration’s changes to detention and interrogation programs for suspected terrorists would hamper intelligence gathering. Mr. […]