naked capitalism

The Moneyless Man: How Did Mark Boyle Spend A Year Without Spending A Dollar? Huffington Post (hat tip reader Francois T)

Congress may sneak through Internet ‘kill switch’ in defense bill Raw Story

Test Failure Economic Policy Institute

Bankers Told Recovery May Be Slow New York Times

The Fed Is Still Clueless About Bubbles and So Is the WSJ Dean Baker

Have We Underestimated Chinese Consumption? Michael Pettis

At the heart of the matter Financial Times

The Case for Reviving Revenue Sharing New York Times

China Begs, Borrows, Steals American Know-How Peter Navarro, Bloomberg

The Billionaires Bankrolling the Tea Party Frank Rich, New York Times

Antidote du jour:

Apologies for thin links, need to be on a very early flight.

Scientist: World’s helium being squandered UPI (hat time reader John M)

Double strike ‘killed dinosaurs‘ BBC

Good Bernanke commentary. Mr. Market wants to believe:

El-Erian: How to read Bernanke’s speech FT Alphaville

Bernanke is neutral, with dovish tinges Gavyn Davies

Really What Bernanke Said Is That He Doesn’t Have What It Takes To Fix The Economy Joe Weisenthal

Driving Me Crazy Tim Duy

Widespread Fear Freezes Housing Market Joe Nocera, New York Times

GDP revised down Jim Hamilton, Econbrowser

What Banks Can Learn from VCs Paul Kedrosky

Antidote du jour:

Live Tiger found in check-in baggage Traffic

Van-mounted body scanners coming to a street near you? Raw Story (hat tip reader John D). So this is where your tax dollars are going….

Beck rally will be a measure of ‘tea party’ strength Washington Post (hat tip reader Skippy):

Beck, who is both admired and assailed for his faith-based patriotism and his brash criticism of President Obama, plans in part to celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. as an American hero. He will speak on the anniversary of the “I Have a Dream” speech, from the spot where King delivered it.

Tea Party Rocks Primaries Matt Taibbi, Rolling Stone (hat tip reader Frank A). You need to read this.

Dodd vs. Warren shows that government is broken Andrew Leonard, Salon

Japan’s Consumer Prices Slide, Adding to Risk of Slower Growth Bloomberg

Despite recovery, the credit crunch actually gets worse Eurointelligence

An Autopsy of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Economix (hat tip Mark Thoma)

Fiscal Austerity and “Third World America” Simon Johnson

David Dayen’s Portrait of HAMP Failures Mike Konczal

Calls for radical rethink of derivatives body Gillian Tett, Financial Times. A generally fine piece, except she calls on ISDA to become a genuine trade body….when we only know how to do lobbying organizations masquerading as trade groups here in the US.

This Is Not a Recovery Paul Krugman, New York Times

Antidote du jour:

Dolphins ‘cough’ up DNA secrets BBC

India, the Rent-a-Womb Capital of the World Slate

Irish debt downgrade raises fears of international deflation spiral Independent

Ooh, they must be bored over at Clusterstock! Look at these stories (hat tip reader John D): 15% Of Women Have Slept With Their Bosses — And 37% Of Them Got Promoted For It (obvious bad risk/return tradeoff) and CEOs Who Wash Dishes Have Better Sex (sorry, when I read the headline, I expected even more tips in the story, like “CEOs Who Dress Up Like Nursemaids Have the Best Sex of All”).

Alan Simpson: Social Security Is Like a “Milk Cow with 310 Million Tits!” CBS

Tough calls after bungee jump recovery George Magnus, Financial Times

Peaches and local investing Lambert Strether

On Doomed Rig’s Last Day, a Change of Plan Wall Street Journal

The Plunge inJuly New Home Sales Was Not Due to the Expiration of the Tax Credit Dean Baker

Valuation ranges Deus Ex Macchiato

More thoughts on what to expect from the Fed Jim Hamilton, Econbrowser

Roubini Says Q3 Growth in U.S. to Be `Well Below’ 1% Bloomberg

“Inequality and the High-End Bush Tax Cuts” Mark Thoma

Lack of skilled workers threatens recovery: Manpower Reuters (hat tip reader John D). We’ve heard this meme before. Some of it seems to be legit, some of it is employers lowballing, and some of it is due to reduced geographic mobility thanks to the housing bust.

Covert Operations Jane Mayer, New Yorker. Today’s must read. A very well researched piece on the extraordinary influence of the Koch brothers, who since the 1970s have been working assiduously to promote their business interests, both narrowly and by systematically promoting a radical libertarian makeover of the US. Also discusses how the Kochs, who have major oil and coal businesses, have been the architects and funders of a many-headed effort to sow doubts about global warming.

Antidote du jour:

Geoengineering ‘not a solution’ to sea-level rise BBC

Digital Devices Deprive Brain of Needed Downtime New York Times. Confirms my Luddite biases against being constantly or merely frequently plugged in.

How a government is formed Sydney Morning Herald (hat tip reader Crocodile Chuck). Another primer on politics Oz style.

‘Hitler war verwandt mit Somaliern, Berbern und Juden’ or for those of you who don’t read German, Nazi leader Adolf Hitler had Jewish and African relatives, DNA test suggests New York Daily News (hat tip reader Scott A). Um, aren’t we all descended from Africans? Any trust me, anyone whose family has been in the US long enough is not lily white.

TSA’s Frisky New Pat-Downs Mother Jones (hat tip reader John D). Calling all perverts! The TSA is your new dream job!

New microbe discovered eating Gulf oil spill Associated Press. Reader Scott A notes:

I had heard there was another oil-eating microbe that had been successfully tested and used by Texas.

An Oil-Eating Microbe That’s Been Around Since 1989 Could Single-Handedly Clean Up BP’s Entire Oil Spill

It’s interesting to see that while the bureaucracy hasn’t managed to deploy the Texas-tested oil-eating bacteria, another one has managed to come into play on its own.

Methane-eating “extremophiles” were common billions of years ago before there was much oxygen in Earth’s atmosphere, and can still be found in out-of-the-way environments where there’s no oxygen and sunlight – such as around deep-sea vents.

This seems similar to the Living Machines approach as pioneered by John Todd

Slow Violence and the BP Coverups Anne McClintock, Counterpunch (hat tip reader Crocodile Chuck)
The anatomy of a housing bubble city Dr. Housing Bubble (hat tip reader Doug T)

U.S. Rejected Hen Vaccine Despite Success in Britain New York Times (hat tip reader John M)
Woman Wall Street Hates Most Is Right for the Job Tim Duncan, BusinessWeek

Credit Card Debt Drops to Lowest Level in 8 Years Associated Press

US economy is slowing more than the Fed has recognised Gavyn Davies

The Parent Company Trap Jon Stewart (hat tip reader John L). An uneven piece, the first half is not so hot, but the second part is worth it.

Bush tax cuts for the rich must go John Podesta and Robert Greenstein, Financial Times

Russia in color, a century ago Boston Globe. As reader Scott say, not exactly an antidote, but some amazing pics nonetheless.

Antidote du jour:

Space is the final frontier for evolution, study claims BBC

Software Predicts Criminal Behavior ABC (hat tip reader John D)

Minneapolis will pay $165,000 to zombies Minneapolis Star Tribune (hat tip reader John D)

The conservative counter-revolution Martin Wolf

America Won the Cold War But Now Is Turning Into the USSR, Gerald Celente Says Tech Ticker

Two Top Investigators Leave Financial Crisis Commission Shahien Nasiripour, Huffington Post

Mortgage Fraud Is Rising, With a Twist Wall Street Journal (hat tip reader Don B)

Fiscal austerity is undermining growth – the evidence is mounting billy blog

Dealing with the Sunset of the Bush Tax Cuts (Part III in a series)–considering the ill-advisedness of favoring capital income Linda Beale

Washington Post Invents Debate Over “Free Trade” Dean Baker

Household Debt as a Percent of Disposable Income Mark Thoma

Portrait of California Foreclosures Alan White. Debunks the idea that the people losing their houses were typically profligate yuppies.

I am Superman: The Federal Reserve Board and the Neverending Crisis Chris Whalen

Thanks to those of you who came to see me last night. We had a wee logistical challenge at the outset, since the rain meant we assembled inside and thus couldn’t mingle as easily had the outdoor space been available. But my impression was that folks had a good time.

Antidote du jour:

Alien hunters ’should look for artificial intelligence’ BBC. In other words, it occurred to someone that the Singularity is already on, somewhere else. But our notion of corporeal life is awfully limited.

Chiefs are not allowed to spy on toilets Der Spiegel (hat tip Slashdot). Be warned, this is the Google Translate rendition. Germany is proposing to give employees the right to privacy at work.

Peruvian hallucinogen ayahuasca draws tourists seeking transforming experience Washington Post. Huh? I heard about ayahuasca at least ten years ago.

Is concern for the environment a luxury good? Evidence from Google searches Matthew E. Kahn, Matthew J. Kotchen, VoxEU

Management Consulting Myths James Kwak. The real issue is more critics of management consulting miss the real problem with consulting: the consulting firm is typically hired by the problem, and the most profitable form of consulting is propping up diseased management (McKinsey was at GM for years, for instance)

Dallas’ Wyly brothers break silence, deny charges in SEC fraud allegations Dallas News (hat tip reader John M)

Disincentivizing greed Nick Gabler, Los Angeles Times (hat tip reader John M)

Debt’s Deadly Grip Gretchen Morgenson, New York Times

The consensus in favour of Swedish thinking Ralph Atkins, Financial Times

Facing Budget Gaps, Cities Sell Parking, Airports, Zoo Wall Street Journal

5 most (and least) affordable housing markets Housing Wire

Income distribution matters for effective fiscal policy billy blog

They Still Don’t Get It Elliot Spitzer, Slate (hat tip reader Foghorn Leghorn)

The Chimerical Cost Savings of Outsourcing David Isenberg, Huffington Post. Today’s must read.

A reminder to Manhattan-based readers: I’ll be at Cafe Centro (45th Street between Lex and Vanderbilt, the north side of Grand Central Terminal), in the outdoor seating area starting at 6:30 PM if you want to stop by and join me for a coffee or a drink (or have me sign your copy of ECONNED).

Today is Go Topless Day! (hat tip reader John D).

Walk ‘could track down criminals’, researchers claim BBC. Really? Just put in a heel lift or rigid knee brace on one side to induce a limp, or wear super high platforms, or use a cane!

Face Verification (2008-Present) Dr. Philip A. Tresadern. Another step down the path of giving up more information about ourselves to third parties in the name of convenience and security.

High-tech carts will tell on Cleveland residents who don’t recycle … and they face $100 fine Cleveland Plain Dealer (hat tip reader John D)

A guide to the Australian election for non-Australians John Hempton

Back to the Heart of Darkness in America’s Unended War in Iraq Chris Floyd

U.S. restaurants starved for business Los Angeles Times

In Striking Shift, Small Investors Flee Stock Market New York Times. Investors are now down to a 57% allocation. Maybe I am a hopeless old fart, but that strikes me as a high number, if you look to a broader sweep of history. Even as late as the early 1980s, bank trust departments saw stocks as speculative and were loath to invest client assets in them.

Monty Some humor, hat tip reader John M

Monday at the Treasury: an overlong exegesis Steve Waldman. This is am extremely good and gracious summary (he gives a little credit to every participant and has links to all the other writeups of the session) but I’m a bit astonished to find that Waldman found the session enjoyable. I was often annoyed and was finding it hard to maintain my usual WASP composure (but all annoyed WASPs do is put on a stony disapproving face, we really are not good at confrontation). I am also aware of the effect of having spent time there (my Santa Fe friends would call it being psychically attacked, the weird mental hangover which is finally wearing off is enough to make me start taking that sort of talk seriously).

The Sausage Making Begins. I’m Sure It Will Turn Out Swell. Streetwise Professor. A really good piece on what a disaster the derivatives clearing house is likely to be.

Beyond City Limits Parag Khanna, Foreign Policy (hat tip reader John D). Today’s must read.

Antidote du jour:

Study tracks ocean plastic spread BBC

Report Says Public Transportation Makes You Skinny inhabitat (hat tip reader John D)

LOYOLA RESEARCHERS ZERO IN ON PROTEIN THAT DESTROYS HIV Loyola Medicine

‘Zombie ants’ controlled by parasitic fungus for 48m years Guardian (hat tip Lambert Strether). Ugh

Australian exit polls point to narrow Gillard win Telegraph

Dealing with the Sunset of the Bush Tax Cuts (Part II in a series) Linda Beale

Democrats Hold Financial Advantage Over GOP Huffington Post. I find this remarkable, but I have to remember first, the Dems have plenty corporate friendly, they’ve just tried throwing the occasional bone to the peasants, and second, the Republicans have managed the neat feat of being generally less well liked.

With consumers slow to spend, businesses are slow to hire Washington Post. Some interesting quotes, but a failure to connect the dots. Businesses have record profits but complain that there demand outlook is uncertain because consumers aren’t spending like they used to. They mention the immediate culprit, high consumer debt loads, but predictably omit that the utter lack of labor bargaining power, and the attendant lack of job security, are also a big part of the picture. Grind down on workers for thirty years, take away the debt punchbowl, and guess what, you don’t have such a great customer base left. Dean Baker also objects to the piece, see The Washington Post Reports Businesses Tell Them That Stimulus Will Boost Hiring, but Doesn’t …

Bankruptcy and the Crisis: Why so Few? Alan White, Credit Slips

U.S. Mortgage Relief Effort Is Falling Short of Its Goal New York Times

Economic forecaster: ‘Greatest Depression’ coming Raw Story (hat tip reader John D)

Corporate Rotten Eggs Robert Reich (hat tip reader Francois T).

The June Trade Release: A Clash of Narratives Menzie Chinn, Econbrowser. Late to this, but still germane.

The Pain Caucus Comes to National Review MIke Konczal

Fighting Flares on New Rules For Street Wall Street Journal. I’ve been skeptical that a derivatives clearing house would be implemented in a way that would reduce systemic risk, and these discussions are not looking good. Although nothing has been decided yet, the intensity of the pressure means the odds the regulators will cave are high. So much for Treasury’s cheery assertions earlier this week to the contrary.

Antidote du jour:

‘Terror bird’ was prize fighter BBC

Canadian pot growers use wild bears to guard stash Raw Story

Cigarette smoke causes harmful changes in the lungs even at the lowest levels PhysOrg

The Brain: What Happens to a Linebacker’s Neurons? Discovery

Australian election on knife edge BBC

Rennen um Rohstoffe: Forscher entdecken großes Ölfeld in Afghanistan Der Spiegel (hat tip Tom F). the headline says it all: Race for Raw Materials: Investigators Discover Great Oil Field in Afghanistan.

Report Paints New Picture of Gulf Oil Science. Team Obama efforts to declare “Mission Accomplished” and portray the impact on the leak as comparatively minor and fast to mend keeps bumping into observable reality.

Time for debate on equity market structure Gillian Tett, Financial Times

Crowded trades in capital arb Deus Ex Macchiato

The Wingnuts go after Fannie and Freddie Randy Wray

Developed economies could get trapped in a limbo land of zero inflation Gavyn Davies, Financial Times

Greek crisis refuses to go away Ambrose Evans-Pritchard, Telegraph (hat tip reader Scott)

Hotel Occupancy Rate: Almost back to 2008 levels Calculated Risk

The Washington Post Says Bill Gates Is Broke Dean Baker

The Boom Not The Slump: The Right Time For Austerity Arjun Jayadev, Mike Konczal

Appeasing the Bond Gods Paul Krugman, New York Times

Needed: a new economic paradigm Joseph Stiglitz, Financial Times (hat tip reader Don B)

Antidote du jour: