I have never been so upset by a poll in my life. Only 22% of Americans now believe "the movie and television industries are pretty much run by Jews," down from nearly 50% in 1964. The Anti-Defamation League, which released the poll results last month, sees in these numbers a victory against stereotyping. Actually, it just shows how dumb America has ( Read more... )

Sommes-nous les jouets du destin
Souviens-toi des moments divins
Planant, éclatés au matin,
Et maintenant nous sommes tout seuls.
( Protege Moi )

Despite the transformation of the information age, the financial elite has continued to act like a cartel, enjoying princely fees and eyepopping spreads to perform what are becoming technologically trivial services and trade instruments of recent invention and dubious value. The speed and abandon with which an already impoverished U.S. Treasury ( Read more... )

Siemens was fined because it made payments to foreign governments in order to win contracts. It's amusing that the remedy is for the company to pay an equivalent sum to the U.S. and German governments - two entities that had not received the bribes. Siemens' motivation to settle was its desire to continue having access to the U.S. government ( Read more... )

A weaker exchange rate helps exports and slows down imports, and thus leans the balance of trade to a smaller deficit/bigger surplus. This helps domestic producers and protects jobs, thus keeping the local economy employed to mitigate damage to the fiscal position. Classic example is the GBP's 1992 ejection from the ERM (Exchange Rate Mechanism) ( Read more... )

According to Forbes.
Labor cost per hour, wages and benefits for hourly workers in 2006:

Ford: $70.51 ($141,020 per year)
GM: $73.26 ($146,520 per year)
Chrysler: $75.86 ($151,720 per year ( Read more... )

On Education:The US lead in highly skilled labor will likely narrow as large developing countries, particularly China, begin to reap dividends on recent investments in human capital, including education but also nutrition and healthcare. India faces a challenge because inadequate primary education is widespread in the poorer regions and top-flight ( Read more... )

Congress made fun of auto industry executives using expensive corporate jets for travel to Washington recently. Now GM is trying to have the last laugh by making those jets invisible. GM has asked the FAA to ban public tracking of any jets the company owns or leases. It's a request that the aviation agency routinely grants and aircraft owners don' ( Read more... )

1) write smthg decent on corellation between ABS, MBS' TALF and Offshore SPVs. media don't understand/ignore importance of offshore SPVs in the crisis. citi $1.2T in such a vehicle(s) i.e. off-ballance ( Read more... )

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