Some See Oil At $150 a Barrel This Year (WSJ)
Lots of chatter lately about the next leg of the supersurge in oil. A Goldman guy came out with a call for $200, which would mean a mere doubling from here. Others see $150 comfortably in sights, though that would hardly be a move at all at this point. Nobody subscribes to it really, but we're still kind of partial to the idea that the higher the price of oil the better for the economy. Sure it's rough, but man, when oil goes back down to $35, we are going to be humming.
2008 Democratic Presidential Nominee (Intrade)
You know the media expectations game. There were actually some polls that had Barack Obama winning Indiana. But, he so consistently collapsed on primary day that small poll leads for him usually translated into significant, 10-point losses. SO when that didn't happen, and instead lost by just 2 percent, in a race that went deep into the night, the media called him the victor. Russert called him the nominee and he ticked up about 8 points on Intrade to around $.88 on the dollar.
Sprint and Clearwire to Combine WiMAX Businesses, Creating a New Mobile Broadband Company
Word of this report had leaked last night, and now it's official ailing Sprint and ailing Clearwire (started by ex-AT&Ter Craig McCaw) will merge their wireless broadband businesses (that offer internet over WiMAX) in hopes that a combined company will alleve both of their collective misery? Beyond that, it's got a number of big cable company investors -- a fresh $3.2 billion -- so yeah, seems like a gigantic industry conglomerate. Perfect.
Countrywide Admits Errors at Senate Hearing (NYT)
Steve Bailey of Countrywide admitted to a Senate panel that certain loan officers at Countrywide have made errors. Yes, it would seem that way wouldn't it.
Brainpower ain't free (Information Processing)
So nerds with unflattering bodies may be some sort of metaphysical constant. Apparently, there's solid evidence that increased brain power often comes at the expense of other physical attributes, but then there's no such thing as a free lunch, right? Not even in evolution. That being said, we still think that for the most part, more intelligent people tend to look better than their less attractive counterparts, so perhaps it's only extreme brain power that starts presenting a problem.
Message to Hillary: We Still Make Stuff (Evolving Excellence)
Watching Hillary "concede" last night, it was striking how dim her view of America is these days. It's as if nobody has a job and the best anyone can hope for is that their kid becomes an accounts receivable manager at Mid-state office supply. But, America hasn't been totally gutted -- not even the much-beloved manufacturing sector. Always good to remind folks that manufacturing output continues to expand in this country.
Seeing Inflation Only in the Prices That Go Up (NYT)
Felix Salmon calls this a smart piece of linkbait, and here we are linking. David Leonhardt's argument: we just don't notice the prices that are moving down, or that never went up. Leonhardt argues that back in the day, nobody ever marvelled at cheap food. True, but we did marvel at cheap gas. One time, when traveling through the South during a college road trip, we filled up for less than $10. Other stuff, like home prices and car prices have been falling over the past couple of years. So have some foods. The overall lesson: there's some psychology at play here regarding what we notice and way. Makes sense.
Cisco 3Q profit beats views, shares rise (AP)
We checked out the conf. call on this one. Mainly questions about the economy and nothing else, esp. since the last two quarters were kind of ugly, with warnings about coming weakness. This quarter was weak -- below the Cisco's long-term expected growth rate -- but at least it didn't get worse. And CEO John Chambers says it's all normal in the course of a business cycle. With any luck, we could have the beginnings of a spending uptick by the end of the year.
Posted by guest , May 07, 2008 7:13AM
This is really poorly written. And I'm pretty sure the first item is a good example of how American schools apparently no longer teach math.
Posted by guest , May 07, 2008 7:32AM
prrrrrrrrrr!
my fart,
sorry, I am so sorry
Posted by guest , May 07, 2008 7:57AM
How did you miss this??????? UBS faces US Tax evasion probe....
http://bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=akMbhDu9hSu8&refer=home
Posted by guest , May 07, 2008 8:00AM
YHOO refused MSFT second base. Now YHOO is willing to get down on her knees, MSFT should wait till YHOO is willing to take it up the a$$.
Posted by diablo , May 07, 2008 8:29AM
Last time I heard the Goldman guys were long on crude, so whatever the Goldman guy says. They've been right before. If you can spend $1,000 a month for heating during winter, I guess it's all OK. (If you do, consider your next SUV should be armored).
But no doubt this will continue to fuel inflation, no matter what the "core" inflation number says. Lots of money to be made here. Get to work.
Posted by diablo , May 07, 2008 9:10AM
Bess should pick up on this story. Already bizarre, but worth some Bess magical embellishment.
http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/05/07/a-feud-in-the-bear-stearns-family/
Posted by guest , May 07, 2008 9:20AM
I read that story yesterday when it was posted on the International Herald Tribune, before the New York Times edited it. The New York Times added a bunch of details that made both men seem slightly more sane. (We're talking Jimmy Cayne and Alan "Ace" Greenberg. Alan Greenberg is apparently full of long-held rage against Jimmy Cayne, and spilled his guts in an interview with the New York Times.)
Bizarre, yes, and puts both men in a less than flattering light.
Posted by guest , May 07, 2008 9:52AM
Hold on a minute, @8:29 ! GS would never talk their book because they are one of the "Four Pillars of Society", a mythical structure of institutions that, when bound together, protect us and support "fair play" for us and our future generations.
What are the other 3 "Pillars" you ask? In no particular order they are:
1. The drug free reputation of our professional American baseball players.
2. The safety protocols and "on time" excellence of our American airline companies.
3. Products hawked on TV by Billy Mays.
Posted by Billy Ray Human , May 07, 2008 9:57AM
Now that Herbert Kornfeld is dead, the AR Manager job with Mid-State is available... can't seem to find it on the DB Career Center, though.
Posted by guest , May 07, 2008 11:34AM
Michelle Obama isn't exactly the picture of optimism either. She makes HRC look downright giddy.
Posted by guest , May 07, 2008 12:44PM
Greenberg was depressed, his dog was depressed and his dog wasn't doing well in dog shows.... quelle horreur!!!
Posted by guest , May 07, 2008 1:15PM
Greenberg was depressed because his dog was sick and not performing well in dog shows.
Apparently the fact that Bear Stearns' stock was steadily dropping after the two Bear hedge funds collapsed in June 2007 until it reached about half its previous value (immediately prior to the bank's collapse) didn't register as a mood factor.
Now, as Greenberg approaches his new role at JP Morgan Chase, he feels positively rejuvenated!
Posted by guest , May 07, 2008 1:43PM
@1:15 I wouldn't be too concerned over the collapse of the bank either if I had cashed in the stock he has over the years. Fuck 'em, every man for himself!
Posted by guest , May 07, 2008 1:46PM
@1:15
Didn't all of those dumb sh!ts learn anything from the collapse of Enron? Don't put your retirement in your employers' equity. Many of these people wouldn't be nearly so bad off if they hadn't compounded their problems by losing all of their retirement.
Posted by guest , May 07, 2008 2:36PM
@1:46
You obviously don't work on the street otherwise you would know that many of these employees do NOT have a choice. As much as 70% of the bonus's are paid via restricted company stock. Clearly if you work for GS a great thing and if you
work(ed) for BSC, sorry.
Posted by guest , May 07, 2008 2:45PM
@2:36 That's actually a relatively new thing. The result of 1) accounting rules that came into place a few years ago that require expensing of stock options; restricted stock is also expensed, but treatment is much less harsh from the P&L standpoint 2) a realization post Enron that stock options, where you either win big or loose nothing, don't result in any skin being in the game. Stock awards do. Repeat however, all this is relatively new. If people are overly committed to their employer's stock, its likely that this was the result of a conscious decision on their part and a misplaced opinion on the long-term propects of their firm.
Posted by guest , May 07, 2008 2:53PM
@2:45
Well said, thank you. @2:36 is obviously a neophyte without much common or practical sense. Its scary to think he could be running money.