Monthly Archives: February 2009

How to Fix America’s Housing

Posted on February 2, 2009 by Felix

Ed Glaeser’s massive, 3,000-word TNR review of the new book by Robert Ellickson is a thought-provoking must-read for anybody interested in the dynamics of the housing boom and bust, and the policies which should be followed now. I’m not going … Continue reading →

Posted in housing | 1 Comment

The University of Vermont Uninvites Ben Stein

Posted on February 2, 2009 by Felix

The good news is that Ben Stein is not going to be the University of Vermont’s commencement speaker after all: the choice of Stein caused such an uproar that he withdrew. The bad news is that the uproar seems to … Continue reading →

Posted in ben stein watch | 1 Comment

Frenkel Scuttles Away From AIG

Posted on February 2, 2009 by Felix

In AIG’s last annual report, there’s a list of 31 "directors and executive officers of AIG" (it’s page 69 of the PDF, page 15 of the 10-K). On the list is vice-chairman Jacob Frenkel: we are told that he has … Continue reading →

Posted in insurance | 2 Comments

Auto Financing Datapoint of the Day

Posted on February 2, 2009 by Felix

Alex Kellogg reports: AutoNation Inc., the largest chain of auto dealers in the U.S., in December secured only 22 auto loans for car buyers from Chrysler Financial and nine from GMAC, down from 823 and 1,527 a year earlier, respectively. … Continue reading →

Posted in bonds and loans | 1 Comment

How David Rubenstein is Like Eliot Spitzer

Posted on February 2, 2009 by Felix

Why would you invest money with the Carlyle Group? Is it because of their "disciplined approach" to investing? Their "conservative and disciplined investment philosophy"? Their "conservative investment philosophy and disciplined investment process"? Well, Carlyle co-founder David Rubenstein has some news … Continue reading →

Posted in private equity | 1 Comment

Art as a Financial Asset Class

Posted on February 2, 2009 by Felix

This is one of the most depressing abstracts I’ve seen in a while: This paper analyzes the performance and risk-return characteristics of three major emerging art markets: Russia, China, and India… The Russian art market exhibits positive correlations with most … Continue reading →

Posted in art | 2 Comments

Extra Credit, Monday Morning Edition

Posted on February 2, 2009 by Felix

Why stimulus spending should go to public art Bailouts for Bunglers: Paul Krugman on why the government should nationalize. Hazardous Materials? Jim Surowiecki on overblown moral-hazard concerns. OpenTable files for IPO, finally: And it might actually make sense, even in … Continue reading →

Posted in remainders | 1 Comment

Why Brandeis is Closing the Rose Art Museum

Posted on February 1, 2009 by Felix

The Brandeis Hoot has put up an audio recording of a Wednesday presentation from Jehuda Reinharz, the president of Brandeis University, and Peter French, its COO. There are summaries here and here which give an idea of how the presentation … Continue reading →

Posted in art | 1 Comment