Category Archives: Politics

Is the Bear Collapse Good for Clinton?

Posted on March 17, 2008 by Felix

Might the Bear Stearns collapse be good for Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign? John McIntyre thinks so: The very serious meltdown in the financial markets is likely to focus the country’s attention on the health, stability and future of the American … Continue reading →

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Cramer on Spitzer

Posted on March 12, 2008 by Felix

Just, wow. Cramer as you’ve never seen him before. (HT: Levin.)

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Spitzer: The Monoline Angle

Posted on March 12, 2008 by Felix

It looks very much as though Eliot Spitzer is toast right now: the NYT is reporting that he’s expected to resign this morning. If and when that happens, whither the monoline insurers? Gari does some analysis: It’s interesting to note … Continue reading →

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Spitzer’s Legacy on Wall Street

Posted on March 10, 2008 by Felix

Andrew Leonard mourns a (former) hero: I cheered him on. He was the unexpected underdog who comes out of nowhere and starts landing one uppercut after another into the chins of a murderer’s row of 800-pound gorillas. We called him, … Continue reading →

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In Defense of the Patriot Employer Act

Posted on February 26, 2008 by Felix

Willem Buiter and Anne Sibert are really tough on Barack Obama today, calling his Patriot Employer Act "reactionary, populist, xenophobic and just plain silly". Andrew Leonard doesn’t even attempt to defend Obama on the merits, instead painting this Act as … Continue reading →

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Barack Obama Datapoint of the Day

Posted on February 13, 2008 by Felix

The 2008.PRES.OBAMA contract last traded at 51 – which means that, at least according to InTrade, and as of right now, Barack Obama is probably going to be the next president of the United States. (HT: Mankiw)

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Evan Bayh is Worried by Sovereign Wealth Funds

Posted on February 13, 2008 by Felix

Senator Evan Bayh takes to the op-ed pages of the WSJ today to warn darkly of the threats posed by sovereign wealth funds. Such funds should be allowed to invest in the US he says (so big of him!), but … Continue reading →

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Obama vs Clinton: The International Perspective

Posted on February 4, 2008 by Felix

Moldbug thinks he’s being cynical: I would go with Obama, and here’s why. First, the election of Obama makes the transformation of the President into the pontifex maximus of the Potomac much clearer. The Democrats are the party of the … Continue reading →

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When Sovereign Wealth Funds Invest for Political Reasons

Posted on January 31, 2008 by Felix

The US is the world’s sole superpower: it has global influence both politically and militarily which no other country can even dream of. What’s more, it does not hesitate to use that influence in its own best interests. The one … Continue reading →

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What the Next President Needs to Know About the Economy

Posted on January 31, 2008 by Felix

Read a book, save the economy! Floyd Norris is holding out some hope that his readers might be able to come up with a book or three that the next US president could read in order to understand "how the … Continue reading →

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The Credit Crunch and US Politics

Posted on January 30, 2008 by Felix

It’s pretty obvious that the incumbent party is always going to have a harder time being reelected if it’s running during a recession. But a post by John Quiggin today implies that the thing that the Republicans should be most … Continue reading →

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The Politics of Equity Capital Inflows

Posted on January 21, 2008 by Felix

If a country runs a current-account deficit, that means that it’s going to run an equal and opposite capital-account surplus: it’s simple economic mathematics. And when the federal budget deficit is a bit over 1% of GDP while the current-account … Continue reading →

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It’s OK for Tony Blair to Cash Out

Posted on January 10, 2008 by Felix

Yves Smith says that Tony Blair’s decision to work as a part-time adviser to JP Morgan is "reprehensible". I’m more sanguine about it. Yes, the amount that Blair is pulling in is huge: 5 million pounds for his memoirs, millions … Continue reading →

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Can Politicians Boost Stock Prices?

Posted on January 9, 2008 by Felix

There’s an interesting letter in the WSJ today, from John Callister in Ithaca. Callister has about $700,000 invested in the stock market, and all he cares about, in terms of the presidential election, is which candidate will make that sum … Continue reading →

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Gordon Brown and the Independence of the Bank of England

Posted on January 8, 2008 by Felix

Willem Buiter is shocked that UK prime minister Gordon Brown, along with his finance minister Alastair Darling, might attempt to have any influence at all over the monetary policy of the Bank of England: I could not believe my eyes. … Continue reading →

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In Praise of a Pessimistic President

Posted on January 8, 2008 by Felix

My favorite line from the NYT coverage of Bush’s speech on the economy: Still, Mr. Bush must be careful not to depress the economy with pessimistic talk, and so his speech in Chicago on Monday offered a delicate balancing act. … Continue reading →

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Can a President Delegate the Economics Stuff?

Posted on December 19, 2007 by Felix

John McCain says that he’s "really never understood" economics, and that he might give responsibility for economy to a more financially-literate vice-president. Is that realistic? I think that maybe it is. There are certain areas where a president really has … Continue reading →

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How Far Apart are Edwards and Obama?

Posted on December 17, 2007 by Felix

Paul Krugman today lauds the populism of John Edwards, saying that the best strategy for a Democratic candidate is to "run with the populist tide". I wonder what he thinks of Matt Cooper’s latest piece in Portfolio, which says that … Continue reading →

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Barney Frank’s Opposition: It’s Not Hank Paulson

Posted on December 10, 2007 by Felix

Paul Krugman blogged the mortgage-freeze plan on Friday; today he has a column on the subject in the NYT. What’s interesting to me is that the column is so much more partisan than the blog entry was. Krugman’s take on … Continue reading →

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The Subprime Plan: Now, It’s Political

Posted on December 6, 2007 by Felix

The Paulson subprime mortgage plan, it would seem, is now the Bush subprime mortgage plan. According to the WSJ, the plan "includes" a non-binding agreement by servicers and investors to freeze the teaser rate on some loans for five years. … Continue reading →

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Chris Dodd Has Lost His Mind

Posted on December 4, 2007 by Felix

Dennis Kucinich, maybe, I could understand. Even John Edwards, with his populist streak. But Chris Dodd? I know the chap’s presidential campaign is struggling, but has he forgotten that he’s chairman of the Senate Banking Committee? It would seem so. … Continue reading →

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And You May Find Yourself in a Beautiful House…

Posted on November 28, 2007 by Felix

One of my favorite bloggers ventures into political-economy territory: was the subprime-mortgage bubble responsible for the re-election of George W Bush in 2004? I wonder if the mortgage and credit debacle is a clue. Could it reveal one of the … Continue reading →

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The Electability of Al Gore

Posted on October 24, 2007 by Felix

According to the most recent trades on InTrade, the chance of Al Gore running for president is 11%, the chance of his receiving the Democratic nomination is 6.4%, and the chance of his winning the presidency is 5.7%. Which means … Continue reading →

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US Inequality Hits New Record Highs

Posted on October 12, 2007 by Felix

Greg Ip is all over the inequality beat today, with a whole series of datapoints from the IRS: New data from the Internal Revenue Service shows that in 2005, the richest 1% of tax filers earned 21.2% of all income, … Continue reading →

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Numeracy in the White House

Posted on October 8, 2007 by Felix

Why is it that Saturday Night Live applies more critical judgment to Fred Thompson’s statements than the Wall Street Journal does? The WSJ’s Amy Schatz lapses into full-on stenographer mode today: Mr. Thompson has advocated reining in discretionary spending and … Continue reading →

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