“I’m in control, so I serve to kiss the feet of stupid and/or megalomaniacal Presidents!”
Gorilla says: “Another indispensible man for the graveyard!”
Archive for February, 2010
Shorter Al Haig
Sunday, February 21st, 2010A Wonderful Actor
Friday, February 19th, 2010The marvelous British actor and director Lionel Jeffries died today.
He (along with Peter Sellers and Bernard Cribbins) was in the first movie Gorilla saw that made him howl with laughter, The Wrong Arm Of The Law (1962):
Gorilla says: “I’ve never seen it again, afraid it would be disappointing, but it’s a childhood memory I’ll never forget!!!”
Unemployed Delinquents
Friday, February 19th, 2010Calculated Risk as usual has a very informative discussion with graphs about the record rate of prime mortgage foreclosures in the 4th quarter of 2009.
Foreclosures won’t be going away for years, and the unemployment rate says the number of delinquencies might grow further.
It’s difficult to see how the economy recovers when the housing market remains moribund and unemployment remains high.
The housing market won’t be helped much when mortgage interest rates start to rise as the Fed exits the mortgage-backed security buying business in the spring.
Gorilla says: “Maybe we can all rent a place on Ben’s helicopter!”
Assassins Divide And Conquer
Friday, February 19th, 2010Did the Mossad assassinate a top Hamas military commander in Dubai?
The Dubai government thinks so, the Israeli government isn’t saying.
Did Fatah provide logistical support to the Israelis?
Hamas thinks so.
Did Hamas get infiltrated by the Israelis so as to make the assassination easier?
Fatah thinks so.
“Is all this brouhaha yet another demonstration that nobody on either side is serious about peace?”
Gorilla thinks so.
First Fall In 28 Years
Friday, February 19th, 2010Core consumer prices fell 0.1% last month, the first time that’s happened in 28 years!
Back then, interest rates were sky high as the Fed tried to wring inflation out of the economy.
Today, interest rates are up against the zero bound.
The Fed remains obsessively worried about inflation, when it appears there’s some chance, perhaps not great but certainly greater than any similar chance in the past 70 years, we’re heading for a Japan-like deflationary spiral.
Gorilla thinks: “The hawks think the field mouse is fatter, when he may in fact about to be extinct!”
True To Your School
Friday, February 19th, 2010The Chinese hackers who went after Google were actually students!
And these kids are so good, the NSA still doesn’t know who was responsible; best they could do was trace it to some servers in Taiwan.
The schools where the attacks originated are very close to the Chinese military, but a professor at one of them suggested it was just a few rogue geeks out for a bit of patriotic hacking fun!
Gorilla says: “Our kids, meanwhile, are trying their best not to make up snow days!”
Operation Pointless War
Friday, February 19th, 2010The war in Iraq is now called: “Operation New Dawn”!
The Pentagon thinks this better reflects our evolving relationship with the Iraqi government.
Operation Civil War would be a more appropriate monicker, now that the Sunnis are off the payroll and bombing again, while the Shiites send in the army to keep their guys in power.
Gorilla says: “Or Operation Waste Of Time And Treasure, whichever you like!”
Want To Get Banks Lending?
Thursday, February 18th, 2010Stop running with the inflation hawks, and lower the discount rate to (your choice, Ben, perhaps -5?) percent…
Hoarding zombies won’t be too keen on piling up more losses, so they might decide to be good, but courage, like unemployment, apparently is no longer in the Fed’s remit…
Ben wants to be seen as winding down, preparatory to being really semi-tough, so up goes the discount rate, markets think uh oh, the party’s over, and the economy tanks for another year (or three or four)…
Gorilla says: “Break through the zero bound and save America from itself!”
“Um, No, Ben, It’s Still Not Over”
Thursday, February 18th, 2010Whoops, back up go the jobless claims!
Back on the K Street Ponderosa, nobody’s doing a damn thing about it, they’re still crying about deficits, non-existent inflation, and not reforming health care.
Brad de Long puts all the stimulus numbers in perspective, as usual.
Imagine how well off the Cartwrights and their fellow Americans would be if the stimulus had been 3-5 times larger!
Gorilla says: “Hoss has left the barn for a green job in nuclear power!”
This Week’s George T. Platter And Bait
Thursday, February 18th, 2010The tidetime folklorist wonders why systemic financial risk would have been addressed by a council headed by those who never saw it coming.
The Platter: “Beat City” by the Raveonettes (want to bail out banks who’re set on stun?)
The Bait: The Leech Tamer (you could print some cash when things go too slow)
